RETIRED Curragh trainer and local historian Jim Kavanagh tells some great stories about the Curragh’s racing history in a new video interview with Robert Hall.

The 50-minute chat was produced by the Irish National Stud and is on the stud’s YouTube page.

Now in his 80s, Jim has been captivated by the Curragh’s myths and magic since he was a child. In the video, Jim talks about his own life and times on the plains of Kildare before giving viewers a potted history of some of the most great – and tragic – moments in the Curragh’s past. obert also asks Jim about characters such as Boss Croker, Senator J.J. Parkinson, Mick Rogers and Paddy Prendergast, and they discuss some of the greatest horses associated with the area.

Jim takes the opportunity too to issue a call for the creation of a ‘proper’ Curragh racing museum. Jim himself curates a ‘Derby museum’ in Kildare town for Irish Derby week but, as he says: “My dearest wish is that someone will come forward with a permanent home for this museum. It’s only right because of the Curragh’s importance.”