Kilbeggan season
The last meeting of the year at Kilbeggan will be held next Friday, September 2nd. It has been a successful one for the midlands track. Paddy Dunican, manager of Kilbeggan said; “We are delighted that we are celebrating a superb year.
“It has been an outstanding success for us with a major increase in attendances and, in particular this year, a massive growth in the number of people coming in groups. The quality of horses racing has also improved, which has created more competitive and exciting racing for all of our fans.”
One highlight has been the success of Rachel Blackmore, the only female professional jockey riding in Ireland under National Hunt rules. She has ridden six winners at Kilbeggan, including doubles on Jaime Sommers and Glenwood For Ever.
The Greville Arms Leading Jockey Award will be between Blackmore and Mark Walsh with five wins. The Paddy Dunican Auctioneer & Valuer Leading Trainer Award is a battle between Willie Mullins with seven wins and Gordon Elliott with five.
Sligo replacement
Sligo will stage a replacement meeting on Wednesday, September 7th. The seven-race card starts at 4.40pm and will be an all-flat programme.
Two maidens for two-year-olds, including a claimer, will be run while the €12,500 Sligo Park Handicap will be the most valuable race. Entries close on September 1st.
Bidpoint shelved
Following the acquisition of Brightwells sales at Ascot and Cheltenham, Tattersalls Ireland has suspended its online trading site Bidpoint.
Launched 18 months ago, the company cites a number of factors which it says have contributed to the decision. Richard Pugh said this week; “We were satisfied with Bidpoint at the early stages. It seemed to appeal to the UK point-to-point fraternity from the outset but, as we know, the Irish point-to-point vendor has found this a challenging market, with new rules in the UK restricting much of the trade in this area.
“It is a restriction which is affecting a section of the industry across all platforms, but it probably had the greatest impact on Bidpoint.”
Jockey’s fees
From September 1st, the riding fee for jockeys in flat races will be €161.47, while jockeys in National Hunt races will earn €184.59.
German classics
Entries for the €650,000 Group 1 The Idee 148th Deutsches Derby and the €500,000 Group 1 The 159th Henkel Preis der Diana (German Oaks) close on Tuesday, September 13th.
The German Oaks is run over 11 furlongs, while the Derby is over the classic trip of a mile and a half.
Claiming attention
A meeting of the Irish Racehorse Claiming Association will take place at Keadeen Hotel on Tuesday August 30th at 7.30 pm.
Raymond Keogh will act as interim chairman and the meeting is sponsored by Peter and Ross Doyle Bloodstock . A chairman and committee will be elected on the night and all are welcome to attend.
Cadran moves
The Group 1 Prix du Cadran, traditionally run on the Sunday of Arc weekend, will now be the feature race on Saturday, October 1st.
Record Plus 10 payout
So far in 2016 some €2.8 million in Plus 10 bonuses have been paid out, with almost half a million of this returned to breeders.
Breeders receive bonus payments of up to €2,500 each time their horse wins a Plus 10 race. Breeders can still get involved in Plus 10 but the deadline for the current foal crop is next Wednesday August 31st.
Breeders must complete a registration form and pay €187.50 per foal. Registration forms are available at www.plus10bonus.com or by calling Fiona Goor on 087 675 5232.
Wildenstein
Dispersal online
The 108 pedigrees for the Wildenstein Stables Ltd Dispersal at Goffs are now online. They consist of 18 yearlings which will be offered in the Orby Sale, 41 horses-in-training at the end of the Orby Sale, and 20 foals, 27 broodmares and two fillies out of training which will be offered at the November Sale.
Stable staff rise
In Britain, the National Joint Council for Stable Staff (NJC), representing racing’s 6,671 staff and their employers, has agreed an increase in minimum rates of 5.5% which will come into effect from October 1st.
The rise will be applied across all six current pay scales, benefiting junior employees and long-serving senior members of staff equally.
The NJC has also approved the formation of a Working Party to consult on the issue of additional time off for employees, widely regarded as a potential barrier to the recruitment and retention of stable staff.
Inara stays
Multiple Group 1 and Equus Award winner Inara will retire to stud in South Africa and visit Duke Of Marmalade, rather than being exported to Europe to begin her stud career.
Drakenstein Stud’s Gaynor Rupert said this was not an easy decision: “Inara is very special to us, having been born on the farm at Drakenstein and having raced in our colours for three seasons now.
“She is a beautifully bred filly and, combined with her racing achievements, we felt we needed to give her the best chance at stud possible.
“As such, we thought seriously about sending her to the world’s best stallion, Galileo, based in Ireland.”
Inara won five Group 1 races and capped off this year by being crowned Horse of the Year at the Cape Racing Awards.
Paddy Power
Betfair losses
The betting giant Paddy Power Betfair reported an operating loss of £47.5 million at the end of June.
Paddy Power and Betfair merged in February and saw growth in revenues of 18% to £759 million.
While operating profits increased by 39%, a one-off merger charge of£195 million left it with a substantial loss for the period.
The company also announced that Stewart Kenny, one of Paddy Power’s founding fathers, is to step down from the board.