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Jump Season 26/27: Ante-Post Hurdlers
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 Michael Graham - IT'S ONLY A GAME (6) has been highly tried in bumpers and could take a bit of beating on hurdling debut. He was a comfortable winner of a bumper at this track last year and his subsequent fourth place in a Grade 2 at Leopardstown's Dublin Racing Festival was a notable effort. He was unplaced in the Cheltenham Festival Grade 1 bumper, but his overall form sets a good standard. Bombay Pat's third place in a Ballycrystal point-to-point can be upgraded as the winner has gone on to land a novices' hurdle at Fontwell by a wide margin. Gordon Elliott takes the wraps off Werner who should be given a market check as a winner over a staying trip on the Flat in Germany, while Leonard Vallis isn't out of contention.
