EXCELLENT news of an honour bestowed on one of racing’s longterm supporters – Rita Shah.

Rita is best known for her company, Shabra Plastics, which has revolutionised the Irish recycling landscape through the reprocessing of plastic waste film and post-consumer bottles.

She also employs more than 170 people at the Moyvalley Hotel and Golf Resort, manages an Urban Wellness skincare brand and runs her horses through Shabra Stables, based in Castleblaney, Co Monaghan. She made a formidable team with the much missed late Oliver Brady and now her horses are in the care of Anthony McCann.

Athlone Institute of Technology has conferred Rita with the institute’s highest honour – a Distinguished Fellowship for her significant contributions to Irish society.

Under the auspices of Shabra Charity, Rita has built schools in Kenya, provided shelter, security and educational scaffolding to hundreds of children, funded research into deadly diseases and helped upgrade the facilities at the Mater Hospital in Dublin.

With the backing of the Shabra Charity, the Mater Hospital opened its flagship Genetic Sequencing Department in 2017.

President of Athlone Institute of Technology, Professor Ciarán O Catháin said: “Through her selfless actions, Rita has immeasurably improved the lives of people on two continents through the creation of educational opportunities, careers and bright futures with nothing more than her ingenuity, dedication and determination.”