Thursday, March 25, 2004
€1.7 MILLION IRISH NATIONAL HUNT FESTIVAL ALL SET FOR ANOTHER CRAIC!
The focus of Irish National Hunt racing has moved to Punchestown as it gears up for the 2004 Irish National Hunt Festival, which takes place from Tuesday, April 27th to Friday, April 30th and this year boasts a record prize fund of €1.7 Million.
"The Festival race track has never been in better shape" according to Richie Galway, who reported that the weather has been kind to Punchestown during the winter and the use of the inside track has allowed festival ground to be rested for the past twelve months. The racing manager also stated that "the going is currently Soft at the track where 39mm of rain have fallen since March 10th in comparison to 5mm of rainfall during the same period last year." Punchestown will hold an 'Open Course Walk' for trainers, owners and jockeys at 1pm on Friday, April 16th to ensure that all concerned are satisfied with the condition of the track and fences, an exercise that proved an invaluable asset to the Punchestown management last year.
The crème de la crème of French, British and Irish trained horses are due to go into battle again at Punchestown and the hype surrounding the build up to the Irish National Hunt Festival looks as though it will be on a par with that of Cheltenham. 2004 Smurfit Champion Hurdle winner, Hardy Eustace, has been confirmed by his trainer Dessie Hughes as a definite runner at this stage in the Emo Oil Champion Hurdle on Friday, April 30th, a race in which he will have to renew his rivalry with the 2003 Champion Hurdle winner Rooster Booster. Paul Nicholls has also confirmed that he will "enter a whole host of horses for the Festival including Rigmarole and Sporazene to name but a few".
Looking at the Heineken Gold Cup, which takes places on Wednesday, April 28th, it is very exciting that Harbour Pilot, Noel Meade's gallant performer will reappear in this contest after his excellent totesport Gold Cup third. First Gold, the first ever French-trained Irish National Hunt Festival winner, is also set to return to defend his claim on this race, the 180,000 feature of the meeting.
The Ballymore Properties Stayers' Hurdle and the Betdaq.com Champion Steeplechase, worth €125,000 and €150,000 respectively, are also very likely to feature former Cheltenham heroes Baracouda, Flagship Uberalles and Moscow Flyer in their respective line ups. Trainers Philip Hobbs, Venetia Williams, Nicky Henderson, and Francois Doumen are just a taste of some of the foreign trainers that have indicated they will be sending over very strong teams of horses.
Commenting on the prospects of an extremely internationally competitive Festival, Janet Williamson, Punchestown's PR Manager, stated: "We are really excited about the calibre of runners, both foreign and Irish, that are intended runners at this year's Festival. Not only is it great news that star Irish horses such as Hardy Eustace, Moscow Flyer and Harbour Pilot will contest three of our feature races but also that so many English trainers are so upbeat about the strength of the teams they intend to bring over. In 2003 there were 47 foreign runners at the Festival and this year we hope to have 57 or more"
BETFAIR APPOINTS NEW CHAIRMAN
Betfair, the market leading betting exchange, today announced the appointment of Sir Robert Horton as its non-executive Chairman.
Sir Robert, 64, has held a number of senior executive positions in a global career spanning four decades. He is a former Chairman and Chief Executive of BP, Chairman of Railtrack Plc and President of the Chemical Industries Association.
Commenting on his new appointment, Sir Robert said: "Betfair is a world leading British company that delivers value to the betting public and makes a great contribution to the funding and integrity of horseracing. I am delighted to be joining as Chairman at this exciting point in the company's development and when the Government is considering the modernisation of our gambling laws.
"Betfair is uniquely placed to make a great contribution to the work of the new Gambling Commission and I look forward to the introduction of a Gambling Bill that will pave the way for its creation."
For old articles (from 1st March 2000) go to the Newslink
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