BELLEWSTOWN manager Kevin Coleman might just find a minute to catch the Irish Derby today as he and his team put the final touches to preparations for their four-day meeting on the Hill of Crockafotha Racing. The festival gets underway on Wednesday, July 3rd and later this year the course will undertake a major stable-yard development project.

Horse Racing Ireland recently approved significant grant aid towards capital development plans at Bellewstown, and this is for the building of 110 permanent stables. The HRI Racecourse Capital Development scheme will provide €221,000 towards the €554,000 cost of works. This will significantly reduce operating costs for the racecourse as the rental of temporary stabling will no longer be required. The new build will ensure an adequate number of stables and will also greatly improve the quality of equine accommodation.

Kevin Coleman said: “The management, chairman and committee of Bellewstown are delighted with the news and wish to thank Horse Racing Ireland for their help, support and guidance through a very detailed application process. Bellewstown is a small rural track and this development is very positive for us going forward. The new stable blocks will ensure the best of facilities for horses, stable staff and officials.”

Delight

HRI chief executive Brian Kavanagh commented: “The board of Horse Racing Ireland is delighted to approve capital development grand aid to Bellewstown and this announcement is timely as it comes just ahead of the racecourse’s four-day July summer festival.

“To date over €21.7 million has been provided in grant aid to 22 racecourses around the country, supporting over 100 different projects aimed at improving customer and industry facilities. Critically, each approved project provides construction work and secures local employment, further emphasising the vital role of racecourses and the wider racing and breeding industries as contributors to the local economy.”

Meanwhile, the team at Killarney is celebrating ahead of their five-day July Festival of Racing which kicks off on Monday, July 15th. This follows a racing double that links the track with one of the premier classic events in world racing.

This year’s Derby winner and today’s Irish Derby favourite Anthony Van Dyck won the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden in Killarney last July when he was piloted to an eight-length victory by Donnacha O’Brien. That followed the success of the 2017 Derby winner Wings of Eagles who recorded his sole juvenile win in Killarney under jockey Padraig Beggy.

“Killarney has unearthed some notable performers in the very recent past, along with some household names such as the two Derby winners, and we expect many more budding superstars will perform at the track this year and in the future,” said racecourse manager Philip O’Brien.

“The fact that trainers of the calibre of Aidan O’Brien are happy to bring their best horses here is testament to just how good the course is and how respected it is,” he added.

Philip is no stranger to the world of racing as, prior to taking up the post in Killarney, he enjoyed a successful career as an amateur and professional jockey. He received his jockey’s licence at the age of 16 and rode well over 100 winners in a career that saw him compete in the 2002 Aintree Grand National and at Cheltenham on a number of occasions.

An Equine Science graduate from the University of Limerick, Philip insists there isn’t a racecourse in the world that can match the natural beauty of Killarney and he and the team at the Ross Road facility have been working tirelessly to ensure the course is in pristine condition for the upcoming racing festivals.