O'Connor among Festival charity race riders Hayley O'Connor, Ladbrokes PR manager in Ireland, is among the 12 riders selected to compete in the 2015 St Patrick's Derby charity race at the Cheltenham Festival. Another bookies representative Simon Clare, Coral's PR director, as well as Clifford Baker, head lad to trainer Paul Nicholls, are also named in the dozen to ride in the Flat race over one mile and five furlongs on March 12. The charity event was open to any amateur rider who felt they could raise the required amount of at least £5,000 in sponsorship. Participants provide their own mount, who must have run at least twice under the recognised Rules of Racing. Completing the list of participants are Lucy Charnock, Phillip Clark, James Collins, Jonathan Mills, Olive Murphy, Andrew Nicholson, Emily Scott, Mike Symons and Thomas Williams. The two reserves are Rod Trow and Hannah Walker. The chosen charity for the 2015 renewal is the Injured Jockeys Fund. Lisa Hancock, IJF chief executive and a member of the Cheltenham Racecourse committee, said: "We are delighted with the line-up for the St Patrick's Derby and thrilled that so many people wanted to take part. "This enthusiasm bodes well for the chosen riders' training and fundraising, and we wish them good luck with their preparations. "It will be almost two years to the day that JT McNamara had his tragic accident at the Festival which makes being involved in this charity race particularly poignant. "We are dependent on the ongoing goodwill and financial aid from the industry to fund the vital work that we do, and would like to thank everyone in advance for their support of the riders." Olive Murphy, senior cabin crew with Aer Lingus, held an amateur licence in Ireland from 1993 to 1996 and is a lifelong friend of McNamara.
