Tag Archives: horse racing

AT just 12 years of age Clarecastle’s Sophie Mae Kerin is galloping ahead in her dream to be a champion jockey. The youngster was a winner at the high profile Dingle Racing Festival, following in the footsteps of such giants of the sport as Pat Smullen, Richard Hughes, Oisin Murphy, Nina Carberry and many more. First getting in the saddle at eight years of age, Sophie Mae began her equestrian life in showjumping, but it was racing that was always her ambition. In the recent three-day Dingle festival she rode the aptly named Little Lioness to victory in the 12.2hh pony derby for Ballinasloe’s Tony Beegan. Proud dad Kenneth tells us the whole family are thrilled with Sophie Mae’s success. “Dingle is the biggest pony race in Ireland of the year and this was her first proper race with thoroughbreds. “Before this she had run in a beginners race coming in second. She has only been entering races for the …

With just over four weeks to go to the start of Galway’s 2022 Summer Festival, preparations are continuing apace in Ballybrit for what looks set to be a bumper week. Thankfully, things are back to normal now and the week-long meeting – that runs from Monday, July 25th to Sunday, July 31st – can look forward to big crowds and record prize money. This year’s Galway Summer Festival has a total prize fund of €2.164 million – representing an increase of €346,500 on 2021. Each day offers a minimum prize of €100,000 for the feature race, with the minimum value for any race at Ballybrit now standing at €17,000. Galway offers a mixed card for the week with National Hunt and Flat races being held on all seven days. The flagship Tote Galway Plate is one of the highlights of the week. This mid-summer showpiece now carries a purse of €270,000 (up €20,000 from last year) and it looks set …

A punter in County Clare is toasting their Horse Racing know-how after four winning selections landed them a stunning five-figure windfall. The customer placed a series of wagers in their local BoyleSports shop on Wednesday, striking 56 €1 trebles covering eight horses running at Musselburgh and Thirsk. The punter only needed three selections to win to secure a profit, but four of the eight obliged which was enough to land a healthy payout. The four winners were Pearl Reef (12/1) City Wanderer (20/1) at Musselbrugh, and Praying Mantis (18/1), and Snash (15/2) at Thirsk. It took under two hours for all four horses to deliver, bagging the savvy customer €12,998.50 from their total stake of €56. Sarah Kinsella, spokesperson for BoyleSports said: “We must send huge congratulations to our County Clare customer who took us for nearly €13,000 in less than a couple of hours. We wish them the best of luck with their winnings and hope they enjoy splashing …