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"The most exciting maiden hurdler we've seen this year"
Who would have thought that an analogy about chaos theory: “If a butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazonian rain forest, it can change the weather half a world away” would resonate so well with the situation horse racing finds itself in today?
Last week the British Government announced a rather modest 5% hike in the tax rate on slot machines. It turns out that this apparently insignificant budget measure is predicted to have a dramatic impact on the future finances of horse racing, not only across Britain, but also in Ireland.
My Racing StorySponsored By Tote
I'm from a town called Randalstown in Co Antrim and I grew up with horses all my life. My dad had horses and then my sister Megan rode when she was younger. She was out in Australia for a few years and was the first female to win a jumps race at the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival aboard Lord Pierro in 2022. I followed in their footsteps - it was hunting and pony club when I was growing up.
I started off at Ian Fergusons yard; he was only 20 minutes away from me and Megan worked in the yard at the time. I started there on Saturday mornings and rode an odd horse, mucked out, and generally learnt about racing. Ian was a great man to learn from, and I even went on to do sales work for him. I saw another side of racing through that. My first point-to-point ride was at Farmacaffley in February 2022 for Jamie Sloan. Jamie worked in Ian's yard when I started there and then took over the yard. I worked alongside him.
By Tom Weekes - Constitution River’s half-sister SENSATIONAL FILLY can put her experience to good use. Bought for E300,000 as a yearling just one week prior to her half-brother landing the Futurity Stakes, the selection showed promise in a smart course-and-distance maiden in September and while subsequently well-held by the winner at Leopardstown, it was nonetheless another solid effort. Ladies Gossip was well supported when racing green on debut here last month, so should build on that. Shivling, from the first crop of her late Preakness-winning sire, is out of a dual Group 1-winning racemare who has already produced a top-level winner. Stablemate Gradoux is a half-sister to a Group 1-winner, although both debutantes should benefit from today.
