Quiz night

MANY familiar faces from the thoroughbred community will descend on the Lord Bagenal Hotel in Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow, on Tuesday evening for the Mark O’Hanlon Memorial Racing and Breeding Table Quiz.

Starting at 8pm, the quiz consists of 10 rounds of 10 questions put together by Joe Foley of Ballyhane Stud. Kevin O’Ryan will act as question master and a strict ‘no phones’ rule will be enforced. Teams of four can enter for only €20.

Townend injured

PAUL Townend will have to remain on the sidelines with an ankle injury for at least a couple of weeks following his fall from Killultagh Vic in the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown last Sunday.

Although nothing is broken, Townend has to rest his bruised ankle before being reassessed by senior medical officer, Dr Adrian McGoldrick.

Danny Mullins, who is also used regularly by the champion trainer, could be back in the next two weeks after being out of action with a wrist injury since New Year’s Day.

David Mullins rides most of Willie Mullins’ runners this weekend with the champion trainer also using Robbie Power to fill in.

Fee increase for jockeys

PROFESSIONAL jockeys have secured a series of incremental rises in their riding fees over the next two years. Between last month and October 2020, the fee for riding in a flat race will rise from €161.47 to €175. Over jumps, the fee goes from €184.59 to €200.

Andrew Coonan of the Irish Jockeys Association said: “The increase goes some way towards acknowledging the hard work and risks that jockeys take on a daily basis. “

Claiming AGM

THE annual general meeting of the Irish Racehorse Claiming Association was held at Dundalk Stadium on January 26th. The association was set up in 2016 to promote and increase the number of claiming races in the programme with the intention of attracting new owners into the sport.

A statement issued by the IRCA said the association welcomed “the slow increase in the number of claiming races” but said more should be added to the programme and the race conditions rectified in order to maximise field sizes. The majority of the claiming price bands are too high, says the IRCA, pointing to the fact that 80% of claims made for horses valued under €6,000 were unsuccessful.

The introduction of a more user-friendly online claiming system to facilitate overseas purchasers, and the marketing of claiming races in the UK and Europe, was also discussed.