THE dark mornings and early nights of the turn of the year feel like a million miles from the breezy beach meeting at Harbour View in May, the shorts and tee-shirts of Ballabuidhe in August or the atmosphere of a muggy night at Tir Prince.

No doubt at some muddy track in North Dublin or West Cork at this time of year a well-bred yearling has stopped crab walking and heaving at the cart and switched over to “the nicest pace you’ve ever seen”.

The trainer gets on the phone to the owner: “Get this fellah entered for all the big two-year-old races, he’s making a nice shape.” The stake fees get paid and the 2026 season will start as usual. Hope is what fills racecards – and so the show goes on.

Horses have a habit of throwing up more disappointments than good days. A cursory glance at the harness stable previews from last spring reveals RD Diamond Wash, Fiery Frank, Oakwood Boujee, Mup O’ That and On Fire Aladdin being praised by their trainers yet all five (and many others) had a quiet 2025. No wonder that the owners of Ayroplane, Ayrodrome and Coalford Annabella savour every success, top class ones don’t come round that often.

Mention of Ayroplane, Ayrodrome and Coalford Annabella leads us into a neat summary of the past season: The Paddy Kane yard dominated and were followed for most of the season by the McAleer, St Margaret’s outfit who raced a lesser number of entries. Let’s replay 2025 in chronological order:

Late January saw the last great blow out for Irish harness horsemen as they get booted and suited and watch the top French drivers clarried in black dust for the Prix d’Amerique weekend at Vincennes Paris. €1 million for the big race and several €300,000 contests mean that Messrs. Raffin, Bazire and Nivard can put up with gravel in the ears on a Monday morning. For the record, the 2025 Prix d’Amerique went to the 2024 winner Idao De Tillard and Clément Duvaldestin.

There was an Irish connection on the undercard as Heden Cruz, by Ger Kane’s Naul-based stallion Apprenti Sourcier, won a €60,000 monté (under saddle race). Ger met the connections and said: “It was some buzz to be present at the track.”

Exclusive club

In March, Luke Kelleher from Macroom joined an exclusive club populated by Christophe Soumillon, Wayne Lordan and Dianne Sayer where members have won at trotting and as a thoroughbred jockey. Loyal Praetorian at Bandon point-to-point began a successful year for Luke between the flags.

In April, this paper paid tribute to Robbie Cleary of Ballydehob who had trained 391 winners of $5 million in New Jersey at that point. The 41-year-old continued to thrive up until the time of writing, doing very well with GB and Irish “ex-pat” horses.

Also in April, 85-year-old Belfast man John Nixon regaled us with stories of keeping a certain mare away from the start so that her new owner couldn’t see how poor she was, and the selling of not one but two Musselburgh winners.

By May, the leading UK harness commentator Darren Owen was getting nostalgic, recalling how he could tune into Val Joyce on RTE’s Airs And Races from his childhood home in North Wales.

The weekend of 10th and 11th May saw some action on the track, albeit one of the tracks (Kilbrittain Beach) floods twice daily. Jamie Hurley trains at the picturesque setting therefore it was no surprise that the Reenascreena man had a treble.

John Richardson had an opening day double in the North, but he was to go on to have a quiet season by his lofty standards.

Winning habit

Harry Knows began winning on the May 24th and kept up the habit right until November. On one of the few occasions he was beaten, he got a puncture in the sulky tyre, which sums up the only chance trotters in this country had of beating him. He was undoubtedly Horse Of The Year and Trotter Of The Year. Yet again the IHRA did not organise any awards for Pacer Of The Year, Two Year Old Of The Year etc, a strange omission amongst some sterling work that the organisation gets through.

Martin Loughran from Omeath farmed the big meetings, winning features at the Irish American weekend in June and at the Jack Galway/Gerry Keenan meeting in October.

Martin Loughran comes alive on the big days \ Chloé Nelson

The 83-year-old driver John Boyle from Doneraile beat his grandson Robbie Maguire at Lyre in June, not a storyline you see every day. On the same weekend, the fabled Famous Musselburgh Pace was revived after a four-year absence.

It was as if harness racing had never been away with some chunky bets laid in the ring. Bear in mind that harness racing bookies operate without the ‘safety net’ of betting exchanges.

Coalford Annabelle won her heat for the McAleers while their Northern Pride ran second in the final to the remarkable Evenwood Son Of A Gun from the Alexis Laidler stable.

In August, Cyclone De Couriere won three in row for Dan and Jim McAleer from Randalstown, the type of sporting owners the sport so badly needs.

Summer highlight

The age old Ballabuidhe Festival near Dunmanway has blossomed into a summer highlight with best dressed ladies as far as the eye can see and a real community atmosphere. On the track, Helios De Lara (Sean Kane for Aidan Caffrey) and Newtown Major (Troy McAleer) ensured that the big pots went up the M8 to Dublin.

The Vincent Delaney Memorial went back to Tir Prince, North Wales with Irish runners winning 14 out of 19 races.

The ubiquitous Ayrodrome (two-year-old filles) and Ayroplane (three-year-old colts) won their respective divisions for the Kanes from Summerhill and the Ball family, one of the last vestiges of harness racing in London.

Coalford Annabelle (Troy McAleer) Sweet Pa (Jonny Cowden for Neville Martin of Ederney), Another Smile and No Small Talk (both Eoin Joyce) also won at Adam Williams’ fine facility.

Several of the aforementioned also won a few weeks later at the Breeders Crown meeting where Coalford Look At Me, a bargain buy for the Duggans from Galbally also visited the winner’s circle.

Shock result

Sean Kane, a cousin of Patrick, wins the David versuss Goliath award for shock result of the year as he mustered a great rally from The Groomsman, the stable second string, to beat Ayroplane in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine/Horse Sport Ireland-sponsored three-year-old colts race on September 13th.

A stable source confirmed that previously Ayroplane had beaten The Groomsman “four times in races and 30 times in workouts.”

Churchview Meow had John Roche singing in the rain following her win in the BHRC Oaks back in North Wales in late September. Arch strategist Billy Roche (John’s brother, a.k.a.The Red Baron) was in the bike.

Micky The Marcher, who was lucky to survive foalbirth, was a feelgood story winner for Buster Gilligan in late October.

Gamin Marindais and George McCormick had hit the post more often than Troy Parrott before winning a race on the final day of the season to hearty cheers from the small crowd.

Well done Mum – Mary Gilligan with husband Buster and son Jason \ Chloé Nelson

2025 The Irish Field National Drivers Title

Driver Final standings (unofficial)

Patrick Kane jnr, Summerhill 28

Troy McAleer, St Margarets 23

Eoin Murphy, Baltimore 18

Jamie Hurley, Reenascreena 18

Martin Loughran, Cooley 14

Jonny Cowden, Glengormley 14

Michael O’Mahony, Schull 13

Calvin Broughan, Cabra 13

Sean Kane, The Naul 13

Adam Corey, Glengormley 11

John Richardson, Ballyboughal 11

MARK Flanagan and his team at the Irish Harness Racing Association deserve great credit for bringing the sport to the corridors of power in Leinster House and the various government channels.

Sources confirm that there are good relationships with the relevant departments. Funding has been secured for the installation of a hard track for Munster at the existing Lyre grass track. The project is being delayed due to the necessity of archaeological surveys.

Other tangible evidence of the sport being taken seriously is funding from the Department of Agriculcture, Fisheries and The Marine administered by Horse Sport Ireland.

In a late season post on social media, the organisation stated that the Irish Champion Stakes held 18 races for a total of €122,060 of which €64,160 was added money from DAFM with €6,300 of breeders’ prizes.

The 2026 fund is projected to increase to €175,000 which dwarves any other series in the UK or Irish calendar.

The IHRA chose to spread the big money over three racing dates in 2025 and also in 2026. One down side to this distribution of the money is that all three dates are “big days” with no obvious highlight or Derby day as such. The series has encouraged breeding to the IHRA ‘Invest In Ourselves’ stallions whereby fees go back into the prize fund.

With so many different legs of these series in 2025, not to mention prep races, it was a times unclear which was the overall champion of various ages and sex. However, a straw poll of trainers yielded the following seasons champions.

There is currently a strong trade for proven racehorses younger than six to race in the US. The Joyces’ No Small Talk and Always B Puffin from the Billy Roche yard are two of the latest to fall under the ‘scourge of emigration ‘.

On a positive note, the demand and good price are helping horsemen to make a viable business. On a negative note, the days of old middle and top class horses such as Some Girl, Columbus, Saunders Pleasure and Sugar Baby, who toughed it out week after week allowing the public to build an affinity with them, are no more.

Adam Corey with Isba Quick - Adam lost his grandfather during the season \ Chloé Nelson

IN July, the sport lost a fervent supporter in the shape of Seamus Corey who passed at the age of 83. Seamus was always the one of the first to say “I’m in” to new ideas and fund-raising initiatives since his first horse Ainton Surprise in the 1980’s.

As the season drew to a close the news broke that the talismanic Alan Richardson (respectfully known as The Iceman) had passed away in hospital at just 54 years of age.

He won all the major prizes in these islands and is the only IHRA licenced driver to have driven a winner at The Meadowlands, New Jersey, with a horse he bred - Rock of Cashel.

“This young fellah is worth two seconds to a horse.” The late Jim Murdock rated Alan Richardson highly.

“I don’t think we’ll see John Boy in work tomorrow and that’s okay.” proud father John Roche thinks John junior deserves to celebrate the win of For A Few Pearls More.

“Once she got going, you had to keep her moving as she would have lifted her two hind legs at the driver.” John Nixon (85) says Miss Arnie was a handful.

“Her biggest attribute is she is so hard to get past. Several times this mare has beaten animals which are probably better than her.” Sean Kane thinks Hot To Trot has guts.

‘’ He has won off the front end and off cover. When they are superior as he is, I like to get to the front as there’s less to go wrong. He’ll be at all the big dances.“ Patrick Kane jnr on driving a sports car (Ayroplane)

“My man in Grosbois says Idao De Tillard is kicking the rafters in the stable.” John Roche has spies everywhere.

“He is just getting more professional every week.” Patrick Calvin Broughan on leading young trotter Making Memories.

“When you put him in the shed, he wants out – when you put him out, he wants in the shed.” Kirio Scott is playing mindgames with Martin Loughran

Stephen McHugh and family celebrate a win by Woodview Rogue in July \ Chloe Nelson