THOUSANDS of euros are expected to pour into the Irish Injured Jockeys Fund when the final tally comes in from the International Ladies Polo Tournament held last weekend at the AIPC in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.
Polo may fast be rising as a cross-over sport for some of racing’s top jockeys and trainers – the Celebrity Match sponsored by Godolphin turned out to be a hotly contested tournament of two chukkas.
Top Irish polo players Siobhan Herbst and April Kent led mixed teams including Andy McNamara, Sean Flanagan, Helen Mullins, Barry Geraghty, Kate Harrington, Shane Shortall, Charlie Swan and Patrick Mullins, who would later be named Man of the Match by co-commentator Tracy Piggott while she shared duties with Irish polo’s rising sports commentator Mark Ronan and veteran Micky Herbst.
The injured Paul Carberry stepped into the role of chef d’equipe from the sidelines, and rising young polo player Evan Power lined out on the mixed teams.
The Irish Injured Jockeys Fund is the public face of racing charities, raising awareness for the need to provide assistance to jockeys and their families through their racing careers and beyond.
“We were delighted to have been chosen by the Irish ladies polo for their charity partner again this year,” said charity CEO Michael Higgins. “It was really great for us to have so many people at the fundraiser with some of the top jockeys and trainers that we are used to seeing at the races. They were really up to it and did well.”
The fundraiser was co-ordinated by Polo Wicklow and hosted by the AIPC and brought some of the top names in racing including Willie Mullins, who threw in the first ball to competing jockeys and trainers to start each of the two chukkas with the final score going to the Trainers on 3 goals to 2.
Editor of The Irish Field Leo Powell commented: “It is there for the rainy day if something happens to our riders and it is certainly a very good cause. Polo is one of the growing sports that for many years was seen as quite elitist, quite a private sport. In the last number of years we have noticed the growth in participation, in interest as well with the paper itself and we are very happy to support and promote.”
The ladies’ polo was the entertainment spectacle of the day when teams sponsored respectively by the Design Centre and Herbst Software wound up in a fifth chukka to break the three-all tied score. The best out of five shots on goal earned a win from Elaine Monahan, Emily Beere, Jennifer Healy and captain Derville Meade for Design Centre on six goals to three by Herbst Software’s Aishling Lewis, Jennifer Roe, Mandy Challoner and team captain Eileen Flint.
The 19th annual ladies tournament also brought rivals Ireland and USA together again for a hotly contested match, the USA’s Naomi Zwier, Kylie Sheehan, captain Cindy Halle and Julie Kavanagh for Livi Alderman determined to win this year but tying the score just once in the second of four chukkas at one-all. Ireland’s Jemima Heffron, Caroline Keeling, April Kent and captain Siobhan Herbst earned four goals to win the match while the USA ended on two goals.
Among Irish polo’s rising stars who participated in matches were Jennifer Healy, Jennifer Roe, Aishling Lewis and Jemima Heffron while six more were the equine stars, transferred successfully in the Racehorse to Polo Pony programme. Among the former racehorses were Sixtysix, trained by Willie McCreery for a career of six races, while one-time runner Shamoo transferred from John Hanlon’s yard, and Family Crest came to polo after seven races with JP O’Brien.
Annalita retrained for polo as a formerly unraced broodmare, while Stratagem came from Joanna Morgan after seven races and Little Teddy Mac raced twice.