A Dream To Share sold

J.P. McMANUS has bought last Saturday’s Grade 2 Leopardstown bumper winner A Dream To Share. The five-year-old son of sprinter Muharaar is unbeaten in three starts for trainer John Kiely. He was bred by broadcaster Brian Gleeson, owned by his wife Claire and ridden by their son, John. Now among the favourites for the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham, A Dream To Share will remain with Kiely.

McNally and Dunne appeal

TRAINERS Ronan McNally and David Dunne have lodged appeals in relation to the penalties imposed by them last week by the Referrals Committee. Having been found guilty of numerous rule breaches, mainly in connection with failing to run horses on their merits, McNally was disqualified from racing for 12 years, ordered to pay €50,000 in costs and to return over €13,000 in prize money. Dunne was fined €5,000, ordered to forfeit €25,000 in prize money, and disqualified for two years, with 18 months of that sentence suspended. He has appealed the severity of the punishment. No date has yet been set for the appeal.

Champion Hurdle third

Zanahiyr disqualified

GORDON Elliott has been fined £1,000 and Zanahiyr disqualified from his third-place finish in last year’s Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. The gelding tested positive post-race for the banned substance hydroxylidocaine - a metabolite of lidocaine that is often used in racing stables as a local anaesthetic. Elliott could not trace the source of the substance and his legal team suggested the horse was most likely to have come into contact with the substance at the racecourse stables. The verdict of the BHA’s independent disciplinary panel sees Saint Roi, who had originally finished fourth in the renewal, promoted to third and his owner J.P. McManus receive the £47,745 in prize-money.

Tattersalls Online sale

TATTERSALLS has assembled 52 lots for its Online February Sale and the mixed catalogue includes breeding rights, yearlings, two-year-olds, three-year-olds, horses in training and mares. Bidding starts at noon on Wednesday and closes from noon on Thursday. Featured lots include breeding rights to Profitable and Ribchester, recent French hurdles winner Petite Amadee, and recent British all-weather winners Rendition and Nuthatch.

Web: tattersallsonline.com

Breeding rights sold online

BREEDING rights to Castlefield Stud stallions Alkumait and Mirage Dancer sold for €16,000 and €14,000 respectively yesterday through Goffs Online. Broompark Stud bought the Alkumait right and Venice Consulting bought the Mirage Dancer right.

Death of retired top hurdler

BARACOUDA, a dual winner of the Stayers’ Hurdle 20 years ago, has died in retirement at J.P. McManus’ Martinstown Stud in Co Limerick, aged 28. Trained by Francois Doumen, Baracouda won 16 races including four editions of the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot. Sent off favourite for the 2002 Stayers’ Hurdle, Baracouda won by a neck from Bannow Bay under Thierry Doumen. The horse was joint-favourite with Limestone Lad in 2003, defeating Iris’s Gift by three-parts of a length.

Grand National entries

A TOTAL of 85 entries have been made for the £1 million Randox Grand National at Aintree on Saturday, April 15th. Of the 85 entries, 54 are trained in Ireland.

Weights will be revealed on Tuesday, February 21st. The Grand National is the only race of the year where the British Horseracing Authority’s senior jumps handicapper, Martin Greenwood, is allowed to deviate from official ratings when he frames the handicap.