Stable tours
THE Wallace family are based at Newtown Stud, right underneath the flight path of the planes, which have taken so many of their racehorses from nearby Dublin Airport to Yonkers, Pocono and Woodbine.
Like a lot of the larger stables, they have scaled back their operation as the harness racing community in Ireland wait anxiously for news about the much-discussed new track for the Fingal region.
Alan and his son Alan junior have 10, maybe more in work for this campaign. The patriarch of the family, Liam ‘The Governor’ Wallace, passed away in 2021. Liam was involved as a driver, trainer, breeder, owner, dealer and track owner - not unlike one of his idols, Delvin Miller of Pennsylvania.
American stallions
Liam brought in a steady stream of American stallions. Flight Messenger, Direct Current, Sure Cam and Young Commander were testimony to Liam’s eye for a potential stud horse, while naturally, some others left behind a trail of headache tablets.
To the present day and Liam’s sons Alan and Gary have banked on the 16-year-old stallion Bolt The Duer to click with a nice band of US-bred mares, which wander the paddocks at Cloghran.
“Our Canadian friend Jimmy Whelan helped us arrange the deal to buy Bolt The Duer out of America,” explains Alan, who turned 60 recently. He celebrated like a true Irishman by watching Cheltenham in Tenerife.
“This horse won the Adios Stakes and The Messenger. He was a double world record holder, pacing 1.47.4 and winning $1.8 million.”
Wallace and Whelan’s judgement better be right, as this piece will reveal that the training roster at Newtown is heavily dominated by sons and daughters of Bolt The Duer.
The gritty Welsh import For A Few Pearls More is the only animal, not a home-bred to warrant a mention.
NEWTOWN HAPPY FEET
3yo g (Ire) Bolt The Duer – Onyx Killeen
We spent a lot of money to get chips removed from his hocks at two. We had him down to 2.10 before we laid him off.
He is a credit to Nadina Ironia (provides photos of harness racing), as she practically raised him - he had problems at birth. Hopefully, all his bad luck came early.
NEWTOWN ELECTRA
3yo f (Ire) Bolt The Duer – Newtown Scooter
She was nervous to break, a real mind of her own. The dam was by Matts Scooter, you don’t get better breeding.
She is pacing nicely now, with the minimum of equipment. She is classy, but accident-prone.
NEWTOWN DANI
3yo f (Ire) Bolt The Duer – Rock Queen.
We named her after Nadina’s daughter. Like the others, very professional and straightforward. She picked up an injury at two, but she’s great now.
NEWTOWN LEGACY II
3yo f (Ire) Bolt The Duer – Newtown Hannah
There was a Newtown Legacy before, but the ‘Legacy’ bit is a reference to my father. The dam is a full-sister to Newtown Rock.
She’s a grippy sort (takes a hold of the bit), but she wants to get on with it. She ran in qualifiers behind Ayroplane and wasn’t disgraced.
FOR A FEW PEARLS MORE
6yo m (GB) For A Few Dollars More – Tyssul Pearl
My son Alan bought her last year. He left her with the Cullens in Scotland and she won a race or two at Haugh Field. She was a smashing mare for Alan last season and was only beaten by a whisker by the visitor, Messiah.
She always gives 100%. We sold her to Daithi Reel in the closed season – he might even tempt my brother Gary out of retirement!
KEVIN Corey (49) was unavailable when contacted recently to discuss his horses for the 2025 season. Therefore, his son 18-year-old Adam, filled in for this preview. Adam’s comments were measured and relevant, real ‘old head on young shoulders’ stuff.
Adam will be amongst a healthy crop of young drivers fighting to represent Ireland in the 2025 and 2026 European Apprentice Championships (see accompanying article).
The Coreys have a fine facility at Mallusk, the highest part of Belfast.
Adam is driving most of the stable’s runners. He is well-supported by mum Marguerite and, not one but two, sets of twin sisters. Grandfather Seamus is a talisman of the sport. He no longer attends, but keeps a keen eye on Adam’s progress.
“Extrem Ryld hitting form in the late season last year was a highlight,” said Adam, who has driven all three horses listed to win races. “We have cut down on numbers a bit, as we are busy in our haulage business. However, we have entered the ballot process for a new French Trotter in the next intake.”
Shortlist
The IHRA liaise with Le TROT of France to draw up a shortlist of horses for sale to Ireland. A buying panel of drivers and observers travel to France, drive the sale horses (a breeze-up of sorts) and whittle the list down.
Eventually, a dozen or more new owners draw lots to obtain a new horse. You could draw a topper or an average sort, but after a decade of the scheme, the majority of the horses seem to give connections regular race appearances.
The Coreys got Amitie Briangault and Flash Mac de Couet through the sales process, although they bought Extrem Ryld privately from their cousin, Kevin Rafferty.
ARTS PRINCESS
5yo m (Ire) Sweet Lou – Art n Soul.
She delighted us at three, but did not carry that form at four. So, we got a wind op in the winter and she seems better than ever.
The vet thinks it was 100% successful, but we’ll know better when she gets down to racing speeds. She’s down in grade a bit, which makes it interesting.
FRANCHAN DE ROCHE
9yo m (FR) Korean – Quelle Jolie Idee.
A good honest wee mare. She is always in the money. She won two races in 2024 and was unlucky not to make it four or five.
She wears aluminium shoes all round and we think she likes a grass track. The Red John meeting at Lyre is her target – she’ll be a mid-grade type.
EXTREM RYLD
10yo g (FR) Pagalor – Minette Florette.
He has been some servant. The problem now is he’s up into Grade A with Harry Knows and the boys. There’ll be no margin for error. He wears steel shoes all round and we tie his tail for balance.
He has been on the walker and we started jogging about a fortnight ago. Andy Lyttle helps us with all three horses, and old pal of my granda.
THERE’S nothing like a good news story to shorten the closed season in any sport. Yet again, the IHRA have sold Ireland as a viable trotting nation to UET (Union Europeenne du Trot /European Trotting Union).
The organisation recently announced that this country has been awarded the European Apprentice Championships for ‘summer 2026’.
No doubt the wins in Europe of Chris O’Reilly, Sean Kane, Eoin Murphy and Jonny Cowden helped our credibility. Charlie Flanagan was a narrowly beaten third in the overall championship in Sicily in 2024. Paddy Kane’s gelding Harry Knows raised the profile of Irish harness racing.
Lyre
Presumably, these championships will be held at the new track at Lyre, which is scheduled to open this summer. The 2025 Irish apprentice champion will also get the honour of donning the green, white and gold colours at the 2026 competition on home soil.
An IHRA press release said: “We look forward to welcoming our fellow federations, their nominated drivers and families to a momentous occasion.”