IT was with much sadness that we learned of the death on Friday, September 4th of former trainer James (Henry) Kelly.
Predeceased by son Jason James, he is survived by his wife Thelma and daughters Sharon, Michelle, Stacy and Hannah.
James first became involved in horse and pony racing in the mid-1980s. He trained many fine horses and ponies along with his daughters, but two in particular stand out - The Chancer (a rescue pony who went on to win 81 races) and Lucky Lady.
Sharon was a champion jockey in the 1980s before progressing to riding under rules as an amateur. Stacy became champion jockey in the early 1990s, winning the Dingle Derby in 1995. James loved Dingle and his family have many great memories of their time there every August around his birthday.
Home-bred runners
Hannah also rode winners pony racing, but quickly progressed to point-to-points, breaking in and riding her father’s mainly home-bred runners. She won a four and five-year-old mares’ maiden at Loughanmore in 2004 on Hidden Storm, a 1999 daughter of Jamesmead, who James bred out of his Seclude mare Hidden Play.
Among the winners purchased by James, Sharon and Hannah was the 2012 Doncaster graduate Slippers Percy.
A chase winner and Grade 2 and 3 placed over fences before being consigned to the sale, the 2002 Sea Raven gelding won an open at Moira in October 2012 for his new connections. He won twice more between the flags for the Kellys and placed fourth in the Christmas hunters’ chase at Down Royal to Tammys Hill.
Fighting spirit
Despite being very ill at the time, and displaying his tough nature and fighting spirit, James last attended a point-to-point in January 2025 when his grandson Sam Hamilton (son of Michelle and her husband Brian) landed a double at Tyrella on Camlin Park and Yewtree Hill.
We wonder if he studied the recording of those wins, as one of his favourite occupations on Sunday evenings was to play all the old pony racing videos and still give out about his daughters’ riding if they had done something wrong, such as letting someone up the inside or going too early!
Among other riders introduced to the sport by James was the 1997 Aintree Grand National-winning jockey Tony Dobbin. The latter first sat up on a pony at the Kelly yard, from where he started pony racing, while James got Dobbin his first job in England.
He was very much part of the Kelly family for years, visited James the week before he died and handed over his National trophy to be put in the grave with James.
Apart from his family, the last person to see James at home was Adrian Browne, Dylan Browne McMonagle’s uncle, and he too attended the funeral having being part of the Kelly’s pony racing history.
Ballynahinch
It was only upon reading the notes of condolences to his family that I learned that James had been a rugby player before turning to racing. He lined out for Ballynahinch in his teenage and early adult years, playing out-half for a number of teams and forming many lifelong friendships along the way. It was where he met Thelma, asking her out after a match one Saturday.
James and Thelma were married for 53 years and loved their holidays in the sun. The family all celebrated James’s 75th birthday with him on August 8th.
Noel Kelly singing in the rain
AS ever, there were great photographs on social media of the meeting at Downpatrick last Friday, when a wet start to the day didn’t stop racegoers attending.
Not for the first time, Noel Kelly did his bit for the local training fraternity by saddling a winner, his wife Shauna’s Invincible Oscar landing division two of the M.B. McGrady & Co Chartered Accountants Handicap Hurdle.
The five-year-old Getaway mare, who was recording her first win on her seventh start, was partnered by Simon Torrens.
Division one of the two-mile, two-furlong race was won by the now Andrew McNamara-trained Might Be The One, another five-year-old mare.
This brown daughter of Poet’s Word began her racing career in the centre of the track with Patrick Turley for whom she ran once and, following a late disqualification, ended up winning a four-year-old mares’ maiden at Borris House.
Another graduate of the Downpatrick yard, Miracles Do Happen, won a mares’ handicap hurdle at Warwick on Tuesday. This five-year-old Bathyrhon bay ran twice for Turley, pulling up in a four-year-old maiden at Loughanmore in April 2025 before finishing third in a four-year-old bumper at Down Royal a short time later. On both occasions, she was ridden by Deckie Lavery.
Downpatrick final fixture
THE Downpatrick season concludes on Friday, October 9th but, before then, on Monday in actual fact, Down Royal are staging their final flat fixture of 2026, their Molson Coors Race Day.
Last year, Natalia Lupini sent out Bishopton to win the Molson Coors Beverage Company Handicap over seven furlongs, with Andy Oliver following up by saddling Faro Island to win on the card.
On the ownership front since last Thursday week, Amanda Torrens’s colours were carried to victory on the Ross O’Sullivan-trained, Cherryvalley Farm-bred newcomer Nouveau Grey, a colt by New Bay, in the seven-furlong Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden for two-year-olds at Naas.
Irish wins in Britain
ON the flat jockey scene, Oisin Orr recorded a double at Ayr on Saturday, which he followed up with a win at Hamilton the following afternoon. Darragh Keenan rode a winner at Chester on Saturday and another at Redcar on Wednesday.
Much earlier in the day, Martin Harley had been on the mark at Eagle Farm in Australia. Over jumps across the water, Caoilin Quinn partnered his second winner of the season when landing a handicap chase at Fontwell, while Brian Hughes landed the featured three-mile Paul Ferguson’s Jumpers To Follow Handicap Chase at Perth on The Real Whacker. This was a sixth career success, his fifth over fences, for the 10-year-old Patrick Neville-trained Mahler gelding and his second under Hughes.
McKenna scores own goal!
BY the time most people read the printed edition of The Irish Field, the result will be known of the 2026 Toyota AFL Grand Final between the Brisbane Lions, who are bidding for a hat-trick, and the Freemantle Dockers.
Hopefully, Tyrone native Conor McKenna will have been presented with a second Grand Final-winning medal to go with the Phil Manassa medal he received at the Brownlow Medal Count on Monday night for the 2026 Coles Goal of the Year.
That award included an AUS$50,000 prize, which might have caused friction in the half-back’s household. “If my wife [Amy] asks, it’s probably for the house but if I get my way, I’ll buy a horse probably. We’ll see how we go,” stated McKenna. The Grand Final at the MCG was/is due to commence at 5.30am our time.
Envoi Allen honoured at Down Royal
DOWN Royal Racecourse and title sponsor BetVictor have announced that the feature race of the upcoming Festival of Racing, will be renamed in honour of Envoi Allen, who passed away earlier this year.
The Grade 1 highlight of the BetVictor Festival of Racing on Saturday, October 31st, will be renamed the BetVictor Remembering Envoi Allen Champion Chase, which will pay homage to the 10-time Grade 1 winner who had an extraordinary affinity with the Lisburn track.
Envoi Allen competed at the venue seven times and captured three victories in the Champion Chase (2022, 2024 and 2025). His triumphant performance on Saturday, November 1st 2025 - marked his final, historic Grade 1 win.
Following his tragic passing at Cheltenham earlier this year, the renaming is a lasting legacy to one of jump racing’s most cherished stars.
Emma Meehan, Chief Executive at Down Royal Racecourse, commented: “Envoi Allen held a truly unique place in the hearts of everyone at Down Royal. From his early days through to his historic third Champion Chase victory last November, he delivered some of the most memorable moments ever witnessed at our track. Renaming our Grade 1 flagship race in his memory ensures his legacy remains permanently woven into the fabric of our BetVictor Festival of Racing.”
Sam Boswell, Head of Sponsorship and Media for BetVictor, added: “BetVictor is proud to continue as primary sponsor of the Northern Ireland Festival of Racing for 2026. Envoi Allen was a true titan of National Hunt racing, and his extraordinary performances in this very race brought immense joy to racing fans.
“Partnering with Down Royal to name this race ‘The BetVictor Remembering Envoi Allen Champion Chase’ is a fitting tribute to a horse who gave so much to the sport.” Tickets are currently available for purchase at www.downroyal.com.