THE nine-year-old Frankel gelding Spirit Dancer, who retired from racing in early 2025 with earnings of £2,202,869 to his credit, made his dressage debut last Sunday at Greenacres Equestrian Centre, where Letterkenny hosted the first leg of the AIRC North West autumn league.

Racing for a syndicate of his joint breeder Sir Alex Ferguson, Fred Done and Ged Mason and trained throughout his career by Richard Fahey, Spirit Dancer won nine of his 30 races and was placed eight times. From June 2022, the bay was partnered exclusively on the track by Co Donegal native Oisin Orr, under whom the gelding landed two runnings (2023 and 2024) of the very lucrative Bahrain International Trophy.