worst ride/miscalculation Iâve ever witnessedâŚit doesnât get any better for pat no many how many times you look at it
Why did Paul Makin sell all his horses?
Guts of 9 or 10 million
Welcome back 
Mares bumper is ultra competitive but am happy to put up Arthur Mooreâs Full of mischief at 33s. Ran a race full of promise behind wrath of titans on her debut and with expected improvement may outrun her odds. Those at top of market look much of a muchness.
Good to see you back TS, please dont back any of my tips:)
I read that wrong! Had enough of it and wanted to sell on âthe sizzleâ in his words.
Moyle Park impressive.
please god dont let this eejit post any tips
He said he was getting to old for it all now. He broke his hip falling down the stairs and realised as he lay prone on the floor that is more to life. He wanted to sell his bloodstock to people that would give it 100%. He is also retiring his racing silks.
Iâm always sceptical when a big punter suddenly âdecidesâ to get rid of his horses
would fancy carriganog in next.
that was seriously impressive from apache stronghold, horse to follow for sure.
Nearly Namaâdâs effort petered out after mistake at second last. Interesting when there is a bit more cut in ground. Looks to be on a good mark.
O Leary bringing his schoolyard bully tactics into racing. Turf Club will have caved in by Friday Iâd say.
Rock And A Hard Place
November 25, 2013 by Brian OâConnor
Itâs something of a doomsday scenario for the Turf Club: one of the biggest and most high-profile owners in racing with the hump, and talking of High Court. And itâs all over something comparatively trivial, a finicky interpretation of the rules that has the potential to go nuclear, with the added complication that saving-face is going to be crucial to any peace-talks.
What had been chugging along for a year as a mildly-diverting irritant, with the results of a Turf Club examination of Gigginstown Studâs policy of multiple declarations, and some subsequent non-runners, expected later this week, has been changed completely by Michael OâLearyâs decision to express his readiness to reach for the button.
He is going to appeal the non-runner penalty handed out to Devilâs Bride at Fairyhouse last week â a two day suspension â and says he will take the Turf Club to the High Court if they donât play ball and give in.
The original penalty was handed out because the stewards on the day decided the ground conditions hadnât changed enough to legitimately pull Devilâs Bride out on the basis of a change in the going. This move was taken on the back of persistent disquiet over Gigginstownâs policy of taking horses out, often with a subsequent re-shuffle of jockeys, which has provoked some headlines on the basis that one of Irish jump racingâs superpower owners is effectively operating his own reserve system.
Thatâs why Turf Club chief executive Denis Egan was handed a hot potato when the Cork stewards referred the matter onto to him for investigation after Road To Riches was taken out over two weeks ago. Well, the spud has just got a lot hotter, especially since both sides can argue they have right on their side.
OâLeary certainly can in the specifics of Devilâs Bride because the rule does state a change in ground is sufficient for a horse being taken out. Strictly speaking the question of degree doesnât appear to come into it. There have been high-profile examples of the rule being used and abused but in black-and-white terms there is little or no argument. The rule, as weâve known for some time, is asinine.
But if the specifics are comparatively clear-cut, there is no getting away from how most agenda-free observers would conclude that in terms of the spirit of the law, Gigginstown have been taking the pee.
Of course arguing about the spirit of the law in a court-room is a mostly futile exercise but OâLearyâs statement that âthis is going to continue. Iâm going to declare two or three horses for the big races on Sundays this season knowing that one or the other will not run because the ground will eventually not suit one of themâ leaves no room for doubt. Heâs putting up, and wants the Turf Club to shut up.
And if the Turf Club, and itâs financiers at HRI, are seen to back down in the face of the famously bellicose Ryanair boss, then the damage to its already strained credibility will be significant. But if it doesnât back down, then who knows the potential impact to an industry of a very rich, and very disgruntled, owner with a grudge?
The Yanks have a phrase for where the Turf Club are right now â between a rock and a hard place. No doubt there isnât much gastric equanimity amongst officialdom on the Curragh this morning. And there is going to be huge interest in the results of Eganâs investigation which OâLeary insists isnât an investigation. Good luck with that spud, Denis.
To those of us outside the tent peering in, this is a potentially fascinating story with pretty fundamental undertones for Irish racing about who constitutes the dog and who constitutes the tail. For those inside the tent, no doubt right now there are frantic attempts to row back from potential disaster. As Slim Pickens shouted in Dr Strangelove â Geronimo!
What a wanker
Nah,
I would be firmly on the side of Michael OâLeary here. His horses always run on merit. There are other high profile owners getting away with all sorts of skullduggery.
If I was him, I would always have multiple entries for big races. You often see horses missing big races because of a setback. Thus it makes sense to have a back up.
At any rate he often has multiple runners in big races, and they always run on their merits.
More from O Leary
âYou would swear we are some bunch of spivs running around organising betting coups,â
IRELANDâS champion owner Michael OâLeary has revealed he is willing to take the Turf Club to court if it does not uphold his appeal against the non-runner penalty dished out by Fairyhouse stewards last week.
The Ryanair boss, who runs his horses under the Gigginstown House Stud banner, also vowed to continue his policy of making multiple declarations.
âYou would swear we are some bunch of spivs running around organising betting coups,â said OâLeary. âWe donât punt our horses, I have no interest in that, this is my hobby and I want to make three things very clear: thereâs no Turf Club investigation; weâve broken no rules; and weâre appealing the decision of the Fairyhouse stewards and intend to have it overturned. If we donât get it overturned at the Turf Club weâll go to the High Court.â
Last Wednesday the stewards at Fairyhouse ruled Devils Bride should be suspended for two days - precipitating a missed assignment at Thurles the following day - because the reason given for his withdrawal, that the ground had changed, was unacceptable as there had not been sufficient change in the official going, something OâLeary strongly rejects.
âThe rule says that a change of going allows a horse to come out,â he said. "It is clear from the horseâs form that Devils Bride doesnât go on soft ground. It was given as yielding, yielding to soft in places and we declared him with the intention of running him if the ground didnât get any worse.
Michael OâLeary: âIf we donât get it overturned at the Turf Club weâll go to the High Courtâ
"There was no conspiracy. Heâd have beaten [Gigginstownâs] Ally Cascade on better ground. But the ground changed and Willie [Mullins, Devils Brideâs trainer, who was fined âŹ200] told us that in his opinion it was soft ground, the horse wouldnât go on it and would be better off going to Thurles on Thursday.
Surely if he went to the high court they would just tell him to fuck off, itâs quite clearly a racing issue
[quote=âfenwaypark, post: 865565, member: 276â]Nah,
I would be firmly on the side of Michael OâLeary here. His horses always run on merit. There are other high profile owners getting away with all sorts of skullduggery.
[/quote]
+1
The Limerick cuntâs actions in getting Carlingford Lough into the Plate was nothing short of disgraceful.
But did he break any of racingâs rules? I donât think he did. And he will have a good case for the high court, plus he has bottomless pockets. The turf club need to sort their rules out before they moan about fuckers like OâLeary taking advantage of them.