THE ITM Irish Stallion Trail has become an annual fixture for breeders and racing fans alike.

Unfortunately the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic means Irish stallion farms will not be able to open their doors for the Trail this year. In normal times, the Trail offers breeders and interested parties the opportunity to view Irish stallions in a condensed period, with a range of farms across the country opening their doors to visitors for two days in January of each year.

As travel and movement remain limited, the Trail has this year morphed into the ITM Irish Stallion Showcase, a virtual tour providing an all-access pass to some of the finest studs on the planet.

Online video

Through a series of over 20 videos, viewers will be able to assess stallions at many of Ireland’s world-leading farms, where champions of the flat and National Hunt produce the superstars of tomorrow.

The content has already started rolling out on ITM social media, YouTube, and on the ITM website.

For Showcase week, which runs from Monday 11th to Friday 16th, there will be further videos released, alongside informative web panel discussions, social media content, and an advertising campaign.

The web panel discussions kick off on Wednesday, January 13th with the Irish Stallion Show, a review of the Irish stallion roster with Kevin Blake, Cathy Grassick, Jack Cantillon, and James Thomas.

On Saturday, January 16th, an expert panel featuring Sally-Ann Grassick, Cathal Beale, Fran Berry and Tony Lacy will assess the appeal and success of the Irish racing industry in our Why Ireland? discussion.

Irish-bred horses consistently make their presence felt in the world’s most competitive racing events and 2020 was no exception, with ‘IREs’ winning Group 1/Grade 1 races on five continents.

These included the winners of the Derby, Irish Derby, Prix du Jockey Club, Melbourne Cup, Cox Plate, multiple Breeders’ Cup races, 15 Cheltenham Festival races, and many more notable victories.

Much of this success is down to Ireland’s top-class stallions and the farms that they call home. Studs participating in the Showcase include Ballylinch, Castlehyde, Derrinstown, Irish National Stud, Kedrah House, Kildangan, Rathbarry & Glenview, Yeomanstown, and many more.

Some of the world’s foremost stallions of both the flat and National Hunt will be available for virtual viewing, including Doyen, Dark Angel, Kalanisi, Lope De Vega, Sholokhov, Teofilo, Zoffany, and many more.

There will also be an exciting group of new arrivals to be viewed. These include Arizona at Castlehyde Stud, Equiano at the Irish National Stud, Far Above at Starfield Stud, Ghaiyyath at Kildangan Stud, King Of Change at Derrinstown Stud, Old Persian at Glenview Stud, River Boyne at Tara Stud, Shaman at Yeomanstown Stud, and more.

ITM wish to thank all farms for making time in their busy schedules to help promote the industry-leading work they do every day. Happy viewing!

Online platforms

Web: itm.ie/irishstallionshowcase

YouTube: Irish Thoroughbred Marketing channel

Twitter: @IREthoroughbred

Facebook: @IrishThoroughbredMarketing

Instagram: @irishthoroughbred

#irishstallionshowcase

#farmflix