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Vincent Finegan

Latest Blogs from Vincent Finegan and "My Racing Story"

Sun 26th Jul 2020

A Galway State Of Mind

The 2020 Galway races will be the most dysfunctional ever held. If Galway is about anything it is about the social. A distanced behind-closed-doors festival is a contradiction in terms. Everyone's got their Galway state of mind around how the coming seven days will be an exercise in functionality. What no one can know is if it's going to be once-off or a sign of things to come.

9.28PM

Fri 24th Jul 2020

Denis O'Regan

Galway has always been one of my favourite tracks and festivals. It will be different this year of course but I have many happy memories and hope to create a few more.

12.37PM

Sun 19th Jul 2020

Keep Calm & Carry On

There is a 'P' word that's anathema to a lot of racing people and that is perception. Usually it's in relation to the whip although hardly exclusively. But racing doesn't exist in its own air-tight incubator. You've got to be able to afford your hauteur towards those peering in from the outside. And if Irish racing indulges its instinct for exceptionalism at this time of Covid-19 it could prove to be a very expensive exercise.

9.33PM

Thu 16th Jul 2020

Killian Hennessy

It was fantastic to ride my first group race winner in the Group 3 Woodford Reserve Ballysax Stakes at Dundalk last Sunday on Nobel Prize. I started with Aidan O’Brien a year and a half ago, just as a work rider, not expecting anything. I was only delighted for him to put me up. To give me a horse like that was fantastic.

4.26PM

Sun 12th Jul 2020

Golden Generation

And then there was Davy Russell. Barry Geraghty's retirement means another member of a peerless generation of Irish jockeys exits the saddle. This vintage crop of riders born within five years of each other - also including McCoy, Walsh and Carberry - transformed their profession, casting an enormous shadow over those in their wake. There's always a new generation. But time and perspective seems sure to make this one seem only more remarkable.

9.58PM

Thu 9th Jul 2020

Joey Sheridan

Sceptical goes into the July Cup with a very big chance of winning, and it would be unbelievable for trainer Denis Hogan, owners Jim Gough and James McAuley, everyone in the yard and of course Sceptical himself if he could win a prized Group 1 in Newmarket.

12.05PM

Sun 5th Jul 2020

No, After You

There is no contradiction in acclaiming Emmet McNamara's superbly judged Derby winning ride on Serpentine and pointing out how his rival jockeys seemed to have a collective brain-fade. Winning rides invariably get portrayed in glowing terms. But by any standard, and on the biggest day of all, the largely unheralded McNamara was outstanding. What much of his opposition were doing while he was riding them to sleep is hard to know.

9.48PM

Fri 3rd Jul 2020

Eddy Greatrex

Ireland has provided me with a lease of new life as a jockey and I am loving every second of it since starting out with Joseph O’Brien. They’re all just very easy-going and good to work for.

12.33PM

Sun 28th Jun 2020

Coronation Or Competition

Another Irish Derby clean sweep by Aidan O'Brien has got plenty people not feeling too great about Ireland's premier classic. Dominance is frequently explained in cyclical terms. But 14 wins, 11 of them in the last 15 years, including filling the frame seven times, is a particularly durable cycle. None of which obviously is O'Brien's fault or problem. But it presents something of a dilemma about what fans want the Irish Derby to be about - coronation or competition.

9.25PM

Fri 26th Jun 2020

Andy Slattery

The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby will be the biggest race I will have been involved in as a trainer by some distance but I am not running away with myself. I’m treating it like any race. I think you can overthink it and that’s when you make mistakes.

9.48AM

Mon 22nd Jun 2020

'Gas-Gas-Gas'

The logic of running the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby on its original date this Saturday is that it allows for a resumption of some normality sooner rather than later further down the line in what is a singular season due to Covid-19. The consequence for Ireland's richest race is that the 2020 renewal shapes like simultaneously being both an Irish Derby like no other and very much business as usual.

9.01AM

Fri 19th Jun 2020

Gary Carroll

It has been great to be back racing and to be back among the winners. It was such a relief to be given an exact date after being in the dark for so long.

10.46AM

Mon 15th Jun 2020

Locked & Loaded

When he wasn't making exceedingly good cakes Mr Kipling came out with a decent line or two, one of them being that a man can never have too much red wine, too many books or too much ammunition. Any trainer will tell you the quality of bullet is crucial to success, a reality underlined once again when Ger Lyons arrived at the Irish 2,000 Guineas locked and loaded to deliver a classic bulls-eye with Siskin.

9.12AM

Wed 10th Jun 2020

James Byrne

The Irish 2000 Guineas takes place at the Curragh on Friday and we will always remember the race fondly in Ballygallon Stud, after Irishcorrespondent ran a great race to finish third in 2017 behind Churchill.

12.06PM

Mon 8th Jun 2020

The Start

At last racing behind closed doors resumes in Ireland today. Naas gets the honour, and the responsibility, of kicking off a crammed and improvised programme as the task of making up for a barren eleven weeks begins. Much of it will be a sterile exercise in functionality rather than any image we have of normal race meetings. But it's a start and as Joey The Lips maintained in The Commitments once you have the start the rest is inevitable.

9.05AM

Fri 5th Jun 2020

Jessica Harrington

Our English 1000 Guineas hope, Millisle will leave in our lorry for Newmarket at lunchtime Friday. My son-in-law Richie Galway will do the driving. I have people there to look after her once she arrives so I don’t have to send any of my own staff. Being out of action for two weeks in quarantine on their return isn’t worth it.

9.42AM

Mon 1st Jun 2020

The Marmite Test

It is a conceit common to most sports that all they require to grow in profile is greater exposure. More coverage will equal more public appreciation if only the media would play ball. It's a theory that usually comes up against the problem of most people preferring to decide for themselves about what they like and dislike. But it's going to get put to the test with racing's return and having the major live competitive sporting stage to itself for a while.

9.17AM

Fri 29th May 2020

Jerry Hannon

To say I am looking forward to racing getting back under way in Ireland at Naas on June 8 is an understatement but I know I am not alone in that.

12.22PM

Mon 25th May 2020

The Survival Stakes

There is a lot of doom and gloom about the outlook for Ireland’s 26 racetracks on the back of the Covid-19 pandemic. Closures have been forecast as racing faces into an uncertain future behind closed doors with little certainty about the public being allowed return anytime soon. Amidst talk of crisis, though, will a period of behind closed doors racing really be such a bleak financial proposition for the majority of tracks?

8.58AM

Fri 22nd May 2020

Shane Jackson

There were a lot of good things about winning the Grand Annual Steeplechase on Ablaze at Warrnambool a fortnight ago last Tuesday, and high on the list is the reaction back in Ireland.

11.35AM

Mon 18th May 2020

Half A Loaf

So June 8 it is then. Whether that's a good outcome depends on whether or not you're a glass half full or empty sort of person. Apparently some major names are privately seething about racing not being allowed resume behind closed doors today. June 8 is three weeks away. But it's three weeks earlier than June 29. Overall it looks an acceptable compromise that not so long ago looked odds-against. So half a loaf really does look better than no bread.

9.05AM

Wed 13th May 2020

Mick Mulvany

These are very strange times and normal rules don’t apply. The only thing I would like is if the government would come out and tell us when exactly we are starting back. That is the biggest drawback for us now. You just need a little bit more clarity.

2.17PM

Sun 10th May 2020

Limbo

What a treat it is to anticipate live racing. Admittedly it's in France. However in such abnormal times even the prospect of Longchamp rather than Listowel feels like a reassuring nod to normality. It's not totally familiar but familiar enough for now until racing can resume here. With that in mind, it's noteworthy how the French racing authorities are approaching the question of prizemoney.

9.19PM

Fri 8th May 2020

Emma Connolly

We are still actually quite busy at Tu Va Stables, with more than 40 horses in, but it is obviously different not going racing. As Noel Meade’s travelling head lass (and assistant trainer), I would normally be going non-stop.

2.14PM

Sun 3rd May 2020

Failure To Communicate

Should signs about the fight against Covid-19 continue to be encouraging it would be foolish to cancel Irish racing until the end of June. As things stand that would make for a resumption behind closed doors almost 50 days later than France. There is optimism British racing might start later this month too. All this prompts questions such as how is Irish racing facing into such a scenario? How was it allowed happen? And how come no one can say if it's actually true or not?

8.22PM

Fri 1st May 2020

Vanessa Maye

I am lucky to be going to work at Jack Davison’s every morning and riding horses but there is no doubt these are strange times.

12.10PM

Mon 27th Apr 2020

The 'C' Word

During the successful High Court defamation case taken by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board's head of security Chris Gordon against the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association last month, it was said in evidence by the Trainers body's chief executive, Michael Grassick that Gordon once said to him about trainers and jockeys that \"they are all corrupt.\" Gordon has denied making that statement and says he has never held that view.

9.05AM

Fri 24th Apr 2020

Brian Hughes

Becoming champion jockey in Britain after so many years’ graft, after starting off at Kevin Prendergast’s from RACE and 12 years after winning the conditional title, is something I will always treasure, although the way it all finished was unusual due to coronavirus.

11.12AM

Mon 20th Apr 2020

Pushy

In the overall context of Covid-19 it means little but one home truth this emergency has made plain is just how instinctively hostile public attitudes can be to racing in this country. What might have been once regarded as indifference has been revealed to be something much more vehement. This has long-term implications. In the short-term though it means racing needs to play its hand very subtly when it comes to resuming the sport.

12.33AM

Fri 17th Apr 2020

Gearóid O'Loughlin

These are difficult times for trainers but we know racing is only a blip in the ocean compared to what is going on around the world and in the context of health, you can’t complain.

10.04AM

Mon 13th Apr 2020

Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste

It's debatable if Churchill ever actually said never let a crisis go to waste but the old chancer gets credited with it anyway so it's getting a good airing during this global public health emergency. Economically what will probably happen is that companies will take the opportunity to slash and burn. But as racing waits to return with some curtailed version of itself it could be interesting to examine if stewarding is at least one area ripe for more constructive change.

9.18AM

Thu 9th Apr 2020

Peter Fahey

It was no surprise when racing behind closed doors came to an end and the rest of the National Hunt season was cancelled. You were wondering if they might put it on at a later date but with the way things are at the moment I think they had to make the call.

3.47PM

Mon 6th Apr 2020

Donkey's Screech

In 2012 Department of Agriculture inspectors raided Philip Fenton's yard and found unlicensed medicines, including an anabolic steroid. That year they also found unlicensed medicines, including an anabolic steroid, when raiding Pat Hughes's premises. Now, in 2020, we're told the department won't assist the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) with random inspections. Racing's fight against doping has always struggled for credibility. But it looks like the situation is getting worse.

9.19AM

Fri 3rd Apr 2020

Andrew Hogan

Having Cork Racecourse being used as a test centre for coronavirus is really positive and as manager of the track along with Tipperary, it was a very easy decision to make the facility available for such vital work in these most testing times.

11.15AM

Mon 30th Mar 2020

Hey Presto

Racing's reputation has taken a battering since the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic first started to be felt. A lot of the flak has been grossly unfair. But the old political maxim applies about denials meaning you've lost the point already. So now is as good a time as any to proclaim how this is a great game with centuries of tradition behind it and an appeal sure to endure long into the future.

9.26AM

Wed 25th Mar 2020

Ben Harvey

Recording my first winner on the track in a race of the status of the Randox Ulster National at Downpatrick hasn’t really sunk in yet.

4.51PM

Sun 22nd Mar 2020

Tone-Deaf

Irish racing can be an incestuous echo-chamber at the best of times. But its decision to keep going behind closed doors in the face of a national health crisis is appallingly tone-deaf to the wider public mood . The board of Horse Racing Ireland has an official stamp of government approval. But this was their call. Racing is getting its short-term pay-off. What's yet to be calculated is the long-term reputational price of such a crass decision. For everyone's sake let's hope it's not too severe.

10.58AM

Fri 20th Mar 2020

Sarah Kavanagh

To finally ride my first winner is something I have been waiting a long time for. I thought it was never going to happen. I have recently turned 24. Thankfully, I work for Gavin Cromwell now and he was good enough to give me the chance on Demophon at Down Royal on St Patrick’s Day and so were the owners. Everything worked out in our favour. I don’t think I will ever forget that day.

1.39PM

Sun 15th Mar 2020

Grotesque

The bottom line is last week's Cheltenham festival should have been run behind closed doors. Cramming in quarter of a million spectators over four days turned the side of a Gloucestershire hill into a glorified Petri-dish. Avoiding such a grotesque scenario required a decision to be made the week before by either the BHA or Jockey Club Racecourses. Instead the most basic bureaucratic instinct of all prevailed - cover your own arse.

4.45PM

Fri 13th Mar 2020

Rob James

That I am now a jockey that has won at the Cheltenham Festival is something that honestly hasn’t sunk in yet and I’m not sure it will. But I can say it is an unbelievable feeling, something you always dream of as a rider.

3.12PM

Mon 9th Mar 2020

Playing The Percentages

Tucked away at the end of Horse Racing Ireland's final priority in its new Strategic Plan 2020-24 is an aim to measure, and report annually, the percentage of turnover on Irish racing in the country's betting shops. It barely rated a mention in the context of the plan's headline items such as an objective to progressively increasing state funding to €98 million in four years time. There will be bigger shocks in store at Cheltenham this week than both targets intertwining in the long-term.

8.40AM

Thu 5th Mar 2020

Jessica Harrington

Cheltenham has been good to me and while there are always disappointments, I can’t complain at all, having enjoyed the thrill of victory 11 times and won the Gold Cup with Sizing John, the Champion Hurdle with Jezki and the Champion Chase twice with Moscow Flyer.

4.55PM

Sun 1st Mar 2020

Cheltenham & Coronavirus

The World Health Organisation has urged governments worldwide to wake up to the expanding threat of coronavirus. European governments are restricting the sizes of public events. Churches are suspending people shaking hands for the sign of peace. In the midst of all this racing's little parish is counting down the eight days to Cheltenham. Given the rate of spread of this thing a week looks like being a very long time for a spike not to occur in Britain. If that happens the odds on the National Hunt festival being unaffected will only get longer.

10.35PM

Wed 26th Feb 2020

Enda Bolger

It is remarkable how much races like the Foxhunter Chase have changed over the years at Cheltenham and it’s great that you have the Cross-Country race now.

11.23AM

Mon 24th Feb 2020

It's A Whip

Last week British racing announced its Horse Welfare Board's 130 document titled 'A Life Worth Living.' It has been described as a pivotal moment for the sport as it takes the initiative in proposing a welfare strategy to counter any public concerns about animal cruelty. In terms of language and ambition it's hard to fault. That's the easy part. Implementing it is a different matter.

9.11AM

Joe Foley

I am very excited to be co-sponsoring the €200,000 Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes, a six-furlong race for two-year-olds by an EBF-registered sire whose median price is no more than €75,000. It will be run at Naas on Monday, August 3rd, which is a bank holiday and is the Racecourse of the Year’s richest race.

12.19PM

Mon 17th Feb 2020

The Need For Seed

Lots of pearl-clutching is going on in racing at any prospect of a future Sinn Fein led government. This seems primarily due to a statement issued in 2017 where the party called for an end to state support of the Horse & Greyhound Fund until reform of governance and regulation was implemented within the two sectors. Perhaps inevitably over the last week that's been racing's specific focus rather more than broader questions as to how a quarter of voters in this state voted to put apologists for killers into power.

8.53AM

Fri 14th Feb 2020

Johnny Barry

It was almost as if the stars aligned that I would ride my 150th point-to-point winner on Arctic Skipper at the Tallow Point-To-Point, which is run on Jimmy Mangan’s land next door to my home place.

12.33PM

Mon 10th Feb 2020

'What If'

Here's a hypothetical scenario: forty minutes after the most underwhelming Champion Hurdle of modern times, Honeysuckle wins the Mares Hurdle in a canter. It's hardly an outrageous hypothesis, especially if Benie Des Dieux runs in the Stayers. No doubt the Honeysuckle camp will argue a win's a win. But even they might privately admit the consequence would be a sense of 'What If.'

8.41AM

Thu 6th Feb 2020

Barry Browne

I didn’t ride a winner at Leopardstown over the Dublin Racing Festival but I got two great spins, finishing third in the Grade 1 ERSG Arkle Novice Chase on Gallant John Joe and second in the €100,000 William Fry Handicap Hurdle on The Jam Man.

8.10PM

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