Irish Racing Yearbook published

COPIES of the Irish Racing Yearbook 2023 (€32.95/£29.50) are now on sale in all good newsagents and bookshops. It can be ordered online (irishracingyearbook.com) or by phone (056 7761504).

First cousins Patrick, Emmet, David and Danny Mullins feature on the front cover. The publication also features interviews with Rachael Blackmore, Aidan O’Brien, J.P. McManus, Billy Lee, Liz Lalor, Dermot McLoughlin, Shark Hanlon, Paddy Corkery, Ralph Beckett, Sean Levey, John McConnell, Dylan Browne McMonagle, Shane Crosse, Ellen and James Doyle, Kevin Coleman, Liam Keniry, Jack Foley and Paddy O’Hanlon.

The Flooring Porter story is covered and bloodstock enthusiasts will enjoy the features on Moyglare Stud, the Aga Khan operation and Kirsten Rausing, as well as stallion men Ronnie O’Neill and Paul Cashman of Whytemount and Rathbarry Studs respectively.

As usual the Yearbook includes admission vouchers for 96 specific racemeetings in 2023, valued at €2,500.

Ballylinch Stud wins award

BALLYLINCH Stud has won the Connolly’s Red Mills The Irish Field Breeder of the Month Award for October. The Co Kilkenny stud bred Bayside Boy, winner of the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot. Bayside Boy will stand at Ballylinch next season, alongside his sire New Bay.

Waldkonig arrives

at Knockhouse

NEW stallion Waldkonig has arrived at Knockhouse Stud in Kilmacow, Co Kilkenny. The Kingman half-brother to Prix de l’Arc winner Waldgeist won three of his five starts for trainer John Gosden, including the Group 3 Gordon Richards Stakes at Sandown. The five-year-old’s fee has been set at €2,500 with concessions for filly foals.

Marco Ghiani banned

FLAT jockey Marco Ghiani has been banned from riding for six months by a BHA disciplinary panel after testing positive for cocaine. The 23-year-old, who was crowned champion apprentice in Britian in 2021, admitted two uses of the drug, including one just two days before failing a test at Newcastle on August 25th. His suspension is backdated from September 5th. In a statement, Ghiani said he was “hugely embarrassed” at the situation, while his legal representative Rory MacNeice told the panel: “Essentially Mr Ghiani succumbed to the temptation at a time when he felt vulnerable professionally. Mr Ghiani puts a great deal of pressure on himself to succeed on behalf of those who engage him to ride their horses.”

EFTBA meets in Newmarket

THE European Federation of Thoroughbred Breeding Associations held its 2022 autumn meeting at the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket on Tuesday. The meeting saw representatives of many European thoroughbred breeding nations come together to discuss challenges facing the industry as well as the many opportunities A press release will be circulated in due course.