MOYGLARE Stud was honoured at the Irish Racehorse Owners Awards in the Cashel Palace Hotel last weekend.

The near 500-acre Maynooth farm was inducted into the Coolmore Hall of Fame by the Association of Irish Racehorse Owners, acknowledging Moyglare’s contribution to Irish racing - both on and off the track - over the past 60 years.

Sponsor of the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh since 1973, the stud has also been instrumental in the redevelopment of the Curragh Racecourse, including the watering system, and the refurbishment of the training grounds.

Moyglare also sponsors the grooms’ canteen at flat racing’s HQ, along with its ongoing support for the kids’ park and the new sensory room.

Kyprios has been a star for Moyglare in recent seasons, winning four Group 1 races in 2022 and again in 2024. The seven-year-old stayer won both his starts in 2025 before an injury forced his retirement.

In a video message Moyglare owner, Eva Maria Bucher Haefner said: “I want to take a moment to say how grateful my whole family and I feel to be welcomed into this Hall of Fame. There’s a huge joy in watching our horses run, seeing years of care come alive on the track.

“My father [Walter] was welcomed into Irish racing with open arms and now my children and I are grateful to the Irish racing world for letting us be part of this wonderful family.”

Moyglare Stud manager Malachy Ryan accepted the award on her behalf.

Also paying video tributes were Moyglare’s racing and breeding advisor Fiona Craig, who gave a history of the Haefner family involvement in Irish racing and how the ultimate aim has always been to breed and race classic horses.

Fiona said that Eva Maria is a good loser but an even better winner. “She’s a wonderful person to have at the races because she’s the cheerleader. If they win, good Lord, champagne for everybody!”

Eva Maria is also engaged in Moyglare’s breeding programme and is familiar with the broodmare band. Fiona said that Eva Maria would appreciate receiving the Hall of Fame Award as it showed that people had recognised the things she was doing in the background to support Irish racing.

Video tributes were also paid by Curragh Racecourse CEO Brian Kavanagh, trainers Aidan O’Brien and Dermot Weld, and Goffs CEO Henry Beeby.

The award winners

Ballylinch Stud Special Recognition Award: WILLIE MULLINS

The Irish Field Newcomer Award: O’CONNELL MORGAN SYNDICATE (Bambino Fever)

HRI Ownership NH Racing Dream Award: MONABEG INVESTMENTS LTD (Kopek Des Bordes)

Godolphin Flat Racing Dream Award: CHRIS JONES (Ascending)

Howden Syndicate/Racing Club Award: SLANEYVILLE SYNDICATE (Lecky Watson)

Dundalk Stadium All-Weather Owner Award: SHAMROCK THOROUGHBREDS

ITBA Owner-Breeder Award: NOREEN McMANUS (Inothewayurthinkin)

ITM Overseas Owner Award: STEWART ANDREW (Nick Rockett)

Goffs Sales Selection Award: AMO RACING (Power Blue & Arizona Blaze)

Tattersalls Ireland Sales Selection Award: SHANE STAFFORD (Cercene)

Crossogue Preserves Champion NH Owner Award: J.P. McMANUS

Bermingham Cameras Champion Flat Owner Award: MRS SUE MAGNIER

HRI Welfare Award: ALICE FITZGERALD (Loaded)

Weatherbys Stable Staff Award: BEN ARTHEY (Crawford Bros)

Punchestown Sponsors Award: BALLYMORE GROUP

Connollys Red Mills Services to the Industry Award: BRENDAN SHERIDAN

Mount Falcon Estate Racecourse of the Year Award: NAAS RACECOURSE

Irish Racing Yearbook Racing Personality Award: CON MARNANE

Coolmore Hall of Fame Award: MOYGLARE STUD FARM

BRENDAN Sheridan was a very popular winner of the Connolly’s Red Mills Services to the Industry Award.

The former jump jockey (over 500 winners) has been a racing official with the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (Turf Club) since 1996 and has carried out numerous roles.

In recent years, Brendan has been clerk of the course at a large number of tracks but he is stepping back and will only look after Naas, Punchestown and Laytown from now on.

In a wonderful pre-recorded video, Brendan described how he had no background in racing and, as a child, he plucked up the courage to ask Ted Walsh’s father, the late Ruby, if he could ride the pony in their field in Kill.

So began a lifelong friendship with the Walsh family. Brendan went on to ride plenty of big winners for the Walshs and also for Dermot Weld. Ted Walsh spoke warmly about his close friend, praising his loyalty and honesty in particular.

In his own modest way, Brendan explained how he applied for the racing official job when his riding days were nearing an end. He said former Turf Club boss Cahir O’Sullivan was a great mentor to him.

On the subject of clerking, he talked about how he works with each racecourse team at the start of every season to plan which bit of ground they will use for each meeting.

Describing himself as a small cog in a big wheel, he gave all the credit to the groundstaff, “the unsung heroes who make my job very easy”. He even thanked his stick - beat that, Aidan O’Brien!

Others to pay tribute to Brendan included Brian Kavanagh of the Curragh, Paul Murtagh from the IHRB, photographer Pat Healy and Dermot Cantillon of Naas Racecourse.

Richie Galway of Punchestown recalled how Brendan handled a very tricky situation in 2011 when the Festival was close to being called off due to heavy rain. “With 40mm of rain on the Tuesday night after racing, it was a really, really difficult situation on Wednesday. I don’t think anybody else would have got us through that day, except for Brendan.”

Accepting his award, Brendan made special mention of his wife Anne Marie and their three children who he said had always supported him, both as a jockey and racing official.

Earlier in the evening, Punchestown Racecourse presented a Sponsors Award to Sean Mulryan’s Ballymore Group, represented by Paddy Aspell.

Special Recognition

There was a Special Recognition Award for trainer Willie Mullins, to acknowledge his many achievements, notably retaining his champion trainer titles in both Ireland and Britain, and saddling four of the first five home in the Grand National. Mullins-trained horses earned four other awards on the night.

Lar Byrne led the Slaneyville Syndicate to the stage to accept the Syndicate/Racing Club Award for Lecky Watson. The Willie Mullins-trained gelding was a 20/1 shot when he won the Grade 1 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

Bambino Fever completed the Cheltenham-Punchestown Champion Bumper double and her owners, the O’Connell Morgan Syndicate, picked up the Newcomer Award. The syndicate comprises Willie and Aoife Morgan and Declan and Corrina O’Connell.

Kopek Des Bordes was an appropriate winner of the National Hunt Racing Dream Award. The Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner is owned by Charlie McCarthy and his four sons - C.J., James, David and Andrew. They know how to celebrate.

Stewart Andrew, owner of Grand National winner Nick Rockett, was unable to attend and his Overseas Owner Award was accepted by the trainer.

There were separate awards for both Noreen and J.P. McManus.

Noreen was there in person to receive the Owner-Breeder Award. She bred Gold Cup winner Inothewayurthinkin, a full-brother to another Cheltenham Festival winner in Limerick Lace, and Noreen also bred Goodie Two Shoes, due to line up in the Melbourne Cup next Tuesday.

J.P. McManus was Champion NH Owner for the 22nd time and it was noted that his 81 winners last season were provided by 25 individual trainers.

BREEDER and sales consignor Alice Fitzgerald won the Horse Racing Ireland Welfare Award and her story is one that should be shouted from the rooftops.

Based in Co Tipperary, where she and partner Michael Doyle trade as Summit Bloodstock, Alice went to enormous lengths to repatriate a horse she bred after he was retired from racing in Hong Kong.

To this day, Alice puts a sticker on the passports of horses she sells, giving her contact details in case that horse ever needs a home.

The story of how she tracked down Loaded in Hong Kong is too long to tell here but the Association of Irish Racehorse Owners produced a fantastic video about it, which simply must be shown to a wider audience. The Minister for Agriculture was not the only one visibly impressed by the tale of Alice’s devotion to her horses.

Another feel-good story surrounded the Weatherbys Stable Staff Award, which was presented to Ben Arthey from the Stuart Crawford yard in Larne, Co Antrim.

Ben has been with the yard for over 20 years and is chiefly responsible for taking the Crawford horses on their regular raids at Scottish and north of England tracks.

An accomplished trainer in his own right, Ben has a great reputation for how he turns out his horses, his reliability and his communication skills.

Champion owner

J.P. Magnier was present to accept the Champion Flat Owner award on behalf of his mother, Sue - a 24th title for the Coolmore team.

Local trainer Joe Murphy and the team associated with Group 1 Coronation Stakes winner Cercene took to the stage to receive the Tattersalls Ireland Sales Selection Award. The Royal Ascot winner cost just €50,000 and now races in the colours of Australian Shane Stafford.

Amo Racing was recognised for its Irish success with Group 1 winners Power Blue and Arizona Blaze with the Goffs Sales Selection Award.

Chris Jones is more associated with jump racing, but he picked up the Flat Racing Dream Award for Royal Ascot winner Ascending, trained by Henry de Bromhead.

The All-Weather Owner Award was won by Shamrock Thoroughbreds, the brainchild of trainer Stephen Thorne.

Naas Racecourse won the Racecourse of the Year Award for the fourth time, and track chairman Dermot Cantillon said his team would be striving for five in a row next year.

CON Marnane received a standing ovation when he was invited on stage to accept the Irish Racing Yearbook Racing Personality Award.

Owner, breeder and pinhooker, Con was also recognised for his mentoring skills.

MC Richard Pugh did his research and found that Con had ridden a bumper winner in the mid-1980s before turning his hand to trading. Over the past 40 years, he has overseen the production of a long line of top-class flat horses from Bansha House Stables in Co Tipperary.

His daughter Amy is a major part of the business and another daughter, Olivia, is also very involved. If possible, the family has been bound even closer together since they lost wife and mother Theresa to cancer in late 2023.

Accepting his award, Con admitted that seeing Olivia ride the winner of the Pat Smullen Charity Race in Theresa’s colours last August meant more to him than any Royal Ascot winner or sales ring touch.

A video recorded at Bansha House showed very clearly the pride Con takes in Bansha House, an operation he has built up piece by piece.

“My dad gave me 30 acres here when I started off. We just kept building and building, and we kept producing very good horses.

“Then we bought a bit more land and put up more gallops and stables. We just did it the hard way and it was brilliant.”

Amy described her father as hard-working, approachable, and willing to share his industry knowledge with anyone who wants it.

Con said that having good people around him was key. He gave credit to all those who work at Bansha House and the people who train the Marnane horses in Ireland, England and France. “If you don’t have top-class people, you are wasting your time.”

Jessica Harrington trains for the Marnanes and she paid tribute by video to Con and his family, as did Nancy Sexton, Mike O’Brien, Kevin Blake, Justin Timmons, Stephen Byrne, Ryan Conran, Eoin McDonagh and Con’s mother, Mary.