Sir, - Frances Nolan’s recent publication, National Hunt and Point to Point Racing in Ireland (2025. Four Courts Press Ltd) states that the three-year-old colt Aristocracy was trained by Vincent O’Brien when he won the Group 3 Whitehall Stakes at the Phoenix Park (September 1977). This is factually incorrect.

Aristocracy was purchased by me as a yearling in 1975 from Loughbrown Stud for circa 2,000gns at the inaugural Goffs sales at their new venue in Kill, Co Kildare.

From this time, he began his training career under my guidance on the Curragh and in 1976, ridden by Clive McGarrity, showed his talent by winning a Curragh maiden (November 1976) which was divided three ways (Panamint winning one division and Alleged winning the other one).

In 1977, as a three-year-old, he won the June Harristown Handicap at Naas, ridden by Johnny Roe, in the process beating Jim Bolger’s great racing mare Beparojoejo by half a length.

Later that year (September 1977) he was laid out for the Group 3 Whitehall Stakes at the Phoenix Park, ridden by Wally Swinburn, to make every post a winning one up the long Phoenix Park straight.

In the process he beat some very good horses including the Irish Guineas and Yorkshire Oaks winner, Sarah Siddons.

In October 1977, under the same ownership, he left my Curragh training yard to join Vincent O’Brien in Ballydoyle from where he won the next season a Curragh handicap and a listed Ayr race. He was then sent to the late Edward O’Grady.

Unfortunately, in his jumping career he underachieved and was later sold to the Dept of Agriculture at Newmarket Sales as a ‘country stallion’.

Aristocracy sired 203 foals. Ten of his progeny have recorded competition results (seven offspring competed up to CCI3* eventing and three competed up to 1.40m show jumping). - Yours etc.,

RICHARD J. McCORMICK

Equine Veterinarian,

Dunboyne,

Co Meath

Sir, - As happened in 2024, none of the first three in the Irish Derby 2025 won another race.

As in 2024 50% of the field was trained by Aidan O’Brien. As in 2024 Aidan O’Brien won it. The 2024 winner Los Angeles retired as a Coolmore National Hunt stallion and no doubt 2025 winner Lambourn will follow the same well-worn path.

Will [Horse Racing Ireland chief executive] Suzanne Eade or [Curragh Racecourse CEO] Brian Kavanagh tell us why it is acceptable that our premier race was ranked 115th in the world in 2025? It was 163 in 2023!

I asked Jason Morris and Jonathan Mullin at HRI for the rankings over the last decade, but received no reply. Dubai Duty Free’s sponsorship of the Irish Derby comes to an end in 2026. Good luck with finding a replacement.

It was recently confirmed that we are to get an all-weather track at Tipperary costing north of €30 million so we can put on more bad races for what - judging by the foal crop - is going to be fewer available horses.

Quantity over quality seems to have been the policy of HRI for as long as I can remember. Our prize money is awful so the answer is ‘let’s put on more races’. - Yours etc.,

PATRICK COOPER

Kildare