IFA Horse Project meeting

THE Irish Farmers Association Horse Project group will host a public meeting at the Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge, Co Kildare, next Tuesday (May 20th) at 8.30pm. The guest speaker is Conor O’Leary, IFA Munster Chair, and all are welcome.

Meath racing fan mourned

NOEL Meade was among the many sympathisers to post a message of sympathy on RIP.ie following the death of keen racing fan Marie O’Shea (née Allen) from Summerhill, Co Meath. She died peacefully at home last weekend. Her son Eamon rode as an amateur and the family has been involved in racehorse ownership for many years.

A popular figure in the local community, Marie is survived by her husband Mick and their four children and 14 grandchildren.

Twain in Irish Guineas mix

GROUP 1 winners Twain and Lake Victoria could represent trainer Aidan O’Brien in the Irish Guineas next weekend. A spokesperson for Ballydoyle told The Irish Field on Friday: “Twain and Officer are in the mix for the Irish 2000 Guineas, and Lake Victoria and January could run in the 1000, but no decision will be made until they work next week.” More news on likely runners is carried on page 5..

Handicap marks dropped

IN line with normal practice in recent years, the IHRB handicapping team is effecting an interim drop in the level of the flat handicap file this weekend which will average 2lb. According to senior handicapper Garry O’Gorman, sprinters will be dropped more than stayers and blacktype level horses will not be included in the drop. The drop follows a periodic recent review of the mean/median levels of the flat handicapping listing of ratings.