CORK Racecourse at Mallow on Thursday announced that One Fit padded hurdles will be introduced at their next race meeting which will be held on Sunday October 20th. Horses will race over the One Fit padded hurdles for the very first time as Cork is the initial, and only Irish racecourse, to adopt the padded hurdles. The new hurdle replaces the traditional birch hurdles.

This extensive investment in adopting a full set of padded hurdles in Cork follows other significant developments at the track itself. Back in May the racecourse officially opened the Matchbook Straight Seven track. This is the only seven-furlong straight course on turf in Ireland and the development has been met with widespread acclaim.

General manager Andrew Hogan, commented: “We are delighted to announce the introduction of One Fit padded hurdles here at Cork Racecourse Mallow. The investment marks the next step in our commitment to improving facilities here in Cork, for both equine and racegoer alike. Thanks must be extended to the Val O’Connell, Paddy Graffin and Paul Murtagh from the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board for their support of this initiative.”

The hurdles were trialled at the Curragh training grounds in March, when horses schooled over three flights of padded hurdles up to three times each. Feedback on the day was extremely positive. The design involves the hurdle pad itself fitting into the frame of the hurdle, thereby preventing the top bar being kicked out and leaving the wooden spars of the frame exposed for horses further behind in the field.

All future hurdle races at Cork Racecourse Mallow will be run over the One Fit padded hurdles and these hurdles are currently in use across 10 tracks in Britain.

The €600,000 development of the straight seven-furlong track was made possible by the Horse Racing Ireland Racetrack Improvements Scheme.

This two-year capital investment by Cork Racecourse Mallow also includes upgrades to track drainage, levelling and widening of the existing straight track, a new canter down and a new Briggs watering system.

The racecourse is situated close to the town of Mallow on the main Killarney road. Racing throughout the year, the racecourse is a fine galloping track and is a venue for top-class National Hunt and flat racing.

The racecourse is still relatively new, celebrating 22 years in its new guise this year. Cork is the largest county in Ireland and boasts of being a major centre for breeding flat and National Hunt horses while Cork Racecourse Mallow is the only track in the county. Today it continues a long history of racing in the region since 1777, while racing at Mallow where the current track is located started in 1924.

It is appropriate that Cork should have a Grade 1 track, especially given the local history concerning the race that led to the term steeplechasing becoming popular. This race from the steeple of St John’s Church in Buttevant to the steeple of St Mary’s in Doneraile took place just a few miles away. Edmund Blake won that four-mile cross-country race in 1762 from Cornelius O’Callaghan.

Andrew Hogan has been in place at Cork since 2016 and the track continues to be improved. He and the team look forward to welcoming racegoers in a fortnight’s time when the feature race will be the €50,000 Grade B coopsuperstores.ie Chase. It is one of two chases on the card which also includes four races over the new hurdles, notably the €20,000 Connolly’s Red Mills Irish EBF Mares Auction Maiden Hurdle, and a bumper.