IT’S not just on the football field that there is a fierce rivalry between Dublin and Cork. Although almost half of the counties in Ireland contained full-bred, registered racing standard-breds or trotteurs francais during the 2016 season, numerically Cork is second only to Dublin in terms of runners stabled.

Saddle racing on the road can be traced back to the late 19th century and ‘sulky’ racing enjoyed a renaissance in the 1960s when Skibbereen showgrounds was the big meeting.