The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
A talented Cratloe jockey, who enjoyed a “fairytale” Cheltenham victory, features in a new television series on RTE One. Mark McDonagh (22), who rode a winner at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, appeared on the fourth episode of “My Uni Life”, and will return on the seventh episode on Friday, March 29. This new series shines a spotlight on a diverse range of students and staff with interesting subject matters. The programme-makers contacted the Sports Department at the University of Limerick where Mark was studying Accountancy and Finance and the sports scholarship student was put forward by Noreen O’Connell. Filming took place at UL, Michael Hourigan’s yard in Patrickswell, and a race in Wexford Racecourse. Mark rode his first winner at the Cheltenham Festival on the Joseph O’Brien-trained Banbridge in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, the last race on the final day of the 2022 meeting. His success meant that all seven races on the day were won by …
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