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Cheltenham Festival 2026

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Cheltenham Festival 2026

Days

Hrs

Min

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Vincent Finegan

Latest Blogs from Vincent Finegan and "My Racing Story"

Thu 3rd Jun 2021

Conor Clarke

It was an unbelievable feeling to ride my first winner at 17 on Lord McZie for Ray Hackett at Navan on Sunday. I was confident of the horse but very unsure as it was only my second ride on the flat. You wouldn’t be expecting to ride your first winner on just your second ride.

9.39AM

Mon 31st May 2021

Light at the end of the tunnel

From next Monday owners will be permitted to return to the racetrack. This is obviously great news for the sport but we’re still some way off seeing any significant numbers of the general public visiting a racecourse as the government continues to steer a conservative route out of lockdown.

1.30PM

Fri 28th May 2021

Lynne McLoughlin

I never really thought of being the first woman to be a stalls handler until Pat Brennan, HRI’s racing services manager, said it to me. He asked me if I knew what size I was in men’s clothing. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t.

10.08AM

Mon 24th May 2021

Pat Smullen remembered at Curragh

Guineas weekend at the Curragh was a triumph on many levels. Despite horrendous weather through the week, with significant parts of the track waterlogged on Friday, both days went ahead as planned and the ground staff deserve much credit for that.

2.47PM

Thu 20th May 2021

Michael Browne

The phone has been melting between journalists and agents calling over the last few days but if Logo Hunter hadn’t won the Sole Power at Naas on Sunday, there’d be nobody wanting to talk to me, so I’m not complaining.

3.26PM

Mon 17th May 2021

A La Carte sanctions

The news last week that reigning French Champion Jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot has been charged with the rape of a female work-rider is shocking.

1.42PM

Fri 14th May 2021

Ryan Sexton

It was a great thrill to ride the second winner of my career on Angel’s Trumpet for Peter Fahey in the first division of the Killarney Outlook Handicap over an extended mile at Killarney on Tuesday, with the prize money going to Cancer Trials Ireland thanks to the generosity of the owner, Anthony Rogers of Airlie Stud.

10.31AM

Mon 10th May 2021

Cash is king

Bob Baffert’s baffled as another one of his horses fails a drug test. His recent Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was found to have a higher than permitted level of betamethasone in its system after the race and could face disqualification if the B-sample also comes back positive.

2.35PM

Fri 7th May 2021

Philip Rothwell

The Punchestown Festival has always been lucky for me. I’ve only had a couple of runners but every year we’re in the first three, there or thereabouts and have run well. Divine Rhapsody won the Land Rover in 2010 which was a great memory.

9.39AM

Mon 3rd May 2021

Punchestown Reflections

What an incredible week the Willie Mullins’ stable had at Punchestown. A staggering 19 of the 40 races were won by Closutton trained horses. This utter dominance is even more pronounced when you consider that the stable had no representatives in 8 races across the week.

1.38PM

Thu 29th Apr 2021

Conor O'Neill

It was an interesting build-up to the Punchestown Festival to say the least, as CEO of Punchestown

2.35PM

Mon 26th Apr 2021

Peerless Punchestown to deliver epic end to season

There is nothing HRI loves more than a flattering survey. Last week they published figures from the latest poll conducted by Red C in early February which indicated among other things that “40% of the population would have some interest in joining a syndicate or racing club.” Those figures might have been very different if the survey was conducted three weeks later during Gordongate but are nonetheless impressive.

1.05PM

Fri 23rd Apr 2021

Henry de Bromhead

To be able to bring what they labelled the Famous Five to my local racecourse in Tramore last Sunday was just brilliant.

11.10AM

Mon 19th Apr 2021

A sad day for the sport

The death of amateur jockey Lorna Brooke is devastating news for everyone associated with racing. The 37-year-old who was critically injured in a fall at Taunton racecourse 10 days ago tragically passed away yesterday.

3.45PM

Fri 16th Apr 2021

Laura Ward

It was an unbelievable feeling to win on my very first ride on a racecourse at the local track in Fairyhouse on Tuesday and to do it on Mary’s Pride.

3.39PM

Mon 12th Apr 2021

Extraordinary Times

The achievement of Rachael Blackmore winning Saturday’s Grand National aboard Minella Times is a game-changer for women in the sport.

2.32PM

Thu 8th Apr 2021

Ricky Doyle

It was unbelievable to win the Irish Grand National on my first ride in the race, an absolute dream. Freewheelin Dylan was 150/1 but I did think he had a better chance than that. He had won over three miles and a furlong on that good ground and a lot of them hadn’t. When you step beyond three miles, it’s a bigger test.

5.05PM

Mon 5th Apr 2021

A raw deal for punters

The launch of RacehorseClub caused quite a stir last week. The UK-based horse syndicators employed the services of some of the biggest names in the sport - Frankie Dettori, Oisin Murphy and Ed Chamberlin — to promote their new venture.

12.02PM

Fri 2nd Apr 2021

Robert Hennelly

I have been involved in horses all my life and it is great to have a mare in Moyhenna, that I own and bred myself with a chance of winning the Boylesports Irish Grand National.

1.19PM

Mon 29th Mar 2021

Slow Progress

Following on from the success of Irish trained and bred horses at the Cheltenham Festival HRI are looking to compound this advantage by introducing a scheme to encourage existing owners to purchase more Irish stock.

11.22AM

Sat 27th Mar 2021

John Nallen

It has been a strange couple of weeks. Obviously, Minella Indo winning the Gold Cup was brilliant and meant a lot to us, given that we had him four years and brought him through. It was just mighty.

11.18AM

Sun 21st Mar 2021

A Breath Of Fresh Air

A week ago Irish horse racing was in a dark place. Rocked to its core by scandal it looked as if Cheltenham would only compound this misery with a hollow Festival devoid of atmosphere and crowds.

12.12PM

Fri 19th Mar 2021

Jordan Gainford

The feeling I had after winning the Paddy Power Plate at Cheltenham on The Shunter yesterday (Thursday) was something I never experienced before, I can tell you that. It’s a different feeling. It’s unbelievable. The Shunter is a class horse and fair play to the trainer Emmet Mullins and the owners, to ask a seven-pound claimer to ride a horse with such a calibre, to ride in a race like this, I cannot thank them enough.

11.14AM

Mon 15th Mar 2021

A Festival Like No Other

From an outsider’s viewpoint horse racing must often have the appearance of being more like a religious cult than a sport. The annual devotion to the Cheltenham Festival does little to dissuade that view.

2.40PM

Fri 12th Mar 2021

Robbie Power

It is no great revelation to say that this season has not gone as planned but that is the case for everyone.

12.03PM

Mon 8th Mar 2021

Chelliottenham

Not since the kidnapping of Shergar in 1983 have we seen Irish horse racing thrust on to the world stage like it has this Past week. The power of one single still image has been truly extraordinary. As has the tsunami of outrage that accompanied its publication.

3.36PM

Fri 5th Mar 2021

William Cronin

You don’t get too many 11-year-olds wearing a hood and you don’t get too many winning beginners’ chases but Southerner has never been your ordinary horse. It says a lot for him that he wants to race so keenly at his age. He’s always taking a bite. He was quite free in his bumpers especially and we stuck the hood on when we went over hurdles and it definitely relaxed him a little bit but he does like to get on with things still. He’s a Westerner and they can be like that.

11.23AM

Mon 1st Mar 2021

Oh Gordon what have you done?

Horse racing has been put through the ringer over the last twelve months. Cheltenham last year stirred up deep-routed prejudices about racing being an elitist sport that couldn’t care less about anything outside its own bubble.

3.52PM

Fri 26th Feb 2021

Hugh Morgan

The phone hasn’t stopped hopping since Young Dev won the Racing Again March 6th Handicap Chase at Navan on Sunday. I couldn’t believe it to be honest. It worked out well. If he hadn’t won, I’d have been screwed!

9.29AM

Mon 22nd Feb 2021

Are there more Viking Hoards waiting to be found?

In the aftermath of Charles Byrnes’ unsuccessful appeal against the suspension of his training licence the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) held a press conference on Zoom last week.

1.36PM

Fri 19th Feb 2021

Louise Lyons

Epson Du Chenet was my first winner as a trainer at Naas last December, not long after I had taken out the licence, and it was fantastic that he stuck his neck out to win again at Thurles on Monday.

1.04PM

Mon 15th Feb 2021

Actions speak louder than words

Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) issued a landmark statement on Friday when they announced plans for a zero-tolerance drug testing regime, the installation of CCTV in all racecourse stable yards and increased transparency in the reporting of the testing carried out by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB).

1.27PM

Fri 12th Feb 2021

Jonathan Sweeney

It was a brilliant day on Monday when Roseys Hollow won the Grade Three Race Displays Solerina Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse.

11.23AM

Mon 8th Feb 2021

A great weekend’s entertainment

The Dublin Racing Festival, or should I say the Closutton Racing Festival, was a great weekend’s entertainment. Top class fare with some exceptional performances and the lack of a crowd didn’t detract from the enjoyment of watching on TV.

4.56PM

Thu 4th Feb 2021

Niall Flynn

You would always like to be involved in something as big as Dublin Racing Festival but there was nothing really suitable for Colreevy so we will be watching the quality racing instead.

4.09PM

Mon 1st Feb 2021

Punters given a raw deal by Naas stewards

The handling of the 'false start' at Naas on Sunday was a shambles and displayed a total disregard for punters by the stewards.

4.15PM

Fri 29th Jan 2021

John Flavin

Street Value showed his toughness when coming out just nine days after winning at Clonmel to take the Adare Manor Opportunity Handicap Hurdle under Barry John Foley at Gowran Park on Thursday.

10.42AM

Mon 25th Jan 2021

Viking Hoard case creating a headache for authorities

The IHRB’s investigation into the nobbling of Viking Hoard at Tramore in 2018 has opened a can of worms that is going to be very difficult to shut.

5.22PM

Fri 22nd Jan 2021

Brian Hayes

Frere Tuck was my 21st winner of the season, which has been rolling along nicely for me. It is my best tally to date thankfully, having clocked up 17 in both 2014-15 and 2016-17. The strike rate of 13 per cent is my first time in double figures, so things have definitely been going well touch wood.

12.43PM

Tue 19th Jan 2021

Good week for IHRB

Only two weeks ago the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) was on the backfoot. The organisation whose mission statement reads “ensuring the reputation of Irish horseracing and confidence in the sport is protected by robust and transparent regulatory practices, by a professional and progressive team” had looked less than professional in its defending of inaccurate race distances and inconsistent sanctions against trainers.

7.08PM

Fri 15th Jan 2021

Seáinín Mahon

I know how lucky I am to be Envoi Allen’s groom but I get nervous when it’s coming up to race time. Once the declarations came out for Sunday’s Grade 3 Sky Bet Killiney Novice Chase at Punchestown, I was studying the form and pestering Keith Donoghue, who rides him out, making sure he was okay.

1.29PM

Thu 14th Jan 2021

Bookmakers holding all the Aces

The perpetual tussle between punters and bookmakers is as old as time. But, while the bookmakers have always held the edge, that advantage is getting far more pronounced as technology and corporations replace the human face of the sole-trader bookie.

4.16PM

Thu 7th Jan 2021

Weather doing racing a favour

The recent cold snap is a blessing in disguise for the horse racing industry. With the spread of Covid out of control post-Christmas the last thing horse racing needed was mass outbreaks within its ranks and this week’s cancelled meetings have come at an opportune time.

2.28PM

Wed 6th Jan 2021

Rory Cleary

There probably haven’t been too many jockeys who rode in their first ever National Hunt races as professionals at the age of 33 but I won’t be making a full-time conversion from the Flat game.

4.16PM

Thu 31st Dec 2020

Denis O'Regan

What has been a good season so far continued nicely during the past week, and to have a big winner at Leopardstown and a Grade 2 at Limerick on what look to be nice horses was brilliant.

1.01PM

Sat 26th Dec 2020

Rachael discusses her rides at Leopardstown on Sunday

Rachael has six rides to look forward to at Leopardstown on Sunday. Below she’s shares her thoughts on the prospects for each mount.

9.07PM

Thu 24th Dec 2020

Matthew Smith

I know it has been a tough time for people with Covid-19 and it is worrying now again but I have to say we have been flat out since racing resumed in June. You couldn’t ask to be in a better place in these times than out on the gallops.

8.58PM

Sat 19th Dec 2020

Allbarone enjoys the softer ground

BetVictor Brand Ambassador Rachael Blackmore rode the impressive Bob Olinger to victory at Navan on Friday. Henry De Bromhead’s charge is fancied to have a big season as he competes at the very top of the novice hurdle division.

9.08PM

Thu 17th Dec 2020

Patrick O'Callaghan

As general manager of Limerick Racecourse, I am looking forward to our Christmas Festival immensely, and what a way for it to kick off with the Matchbook Betting Exchange Faugheen Novice Chase which is in its third year now as a Grade 1.

4.22PM

Fri 11th Dec 2020

Thrilled Captain Guinness got off the mark over fences

After another busy week it seems strange to have a rare Sunday with no jumps action, that said it will be a nice chance to catch my breath ahead of what should hopefully be a very busy Christmas time with plenty of big name horses that I am lucky enough to be able to look forward to riding.

9.37PM

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