#Barry Connell

A Willie Mullins-trained horse is attracting Cheltenham Festival support ahead of his second run over hurdles at Punchestown this weekend. Impaire Et Passe bolted up by 18 lengths when winning at Naas on his debut for the Mullins team last month and runs in the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle on Sunday, a race the Carlow trainer has previously won with…

The free-to-play Paddy's Pick 5 returns once again on Saturday. Can you solve the five featured races from Newbury and Sandown? Get your entries in! Another three winners cracked all five legs in Paddy's Pick 5 on Thursday, bringing us up to a total of 156 total winners across each of our free-to-play games since Boxing Day. Not bad! On the final…

Dan Sheridan/INPHOCould State Man give Constitution Hill a race at Cheltenham? # The Challenger Champion Hurdle still a live event with State Man set to give Constitution Hill a crack Johnny Ward reports from another Willie Mullins-dominated final day at Leopardstown. WE HAVE SEEN this week that Willie Mullins saddling the first three home in a…

State Man continued his march towards a likely clash with Constitution Hill at the Cheltenham Festival in March with a comprehensive victory in the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown. Nicky Henderson's Constitution Hill is long odds-on to lift the Champion Hurdle crown in March following his latest demolition job in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on…

Shewearsitwell provided Willie Mullins with a sixth victory in the last seven runnings of the BeattheBank.ie Irish EBF Mares Hurdle at Leopardstown. Two subsequent Cheltenham Festival heroines in Let's Dance and Concertista are among the champion trainer's recent winners of the Grade Three contest and Shewearsitwell was actually sent off favourite…

Barry Connell's yellow colours are not new, they will be very familiar to most of you. What is new is the trainer the leading owner is using of late. Himself. It takes a lot of time, energy, motivation and money to go out on your own these days, but it will have been worth every cent and bead of sweat as he watched Marine Nationale surge late to…

If it is to be the beginning of the end for Honeysuckle, Sunday was a day to remember for hugely promising rider Michael O'Sullivan, who showed calmness beyond his years to get Marine Nationale home in front and claim a first Grade One win in the Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle - typically one of the most informative novice events in…

Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott have won the last eight runnings of the Royal Bond between them. Incidentally, the last trainer other than them to get in on the act was Philip Fenton in 2013 with The Tullow Tank, owned by none other than Barry Connell. Nine years later and Connell is trying to win the race as a trainer with the unbeaten and…

Mighty Potter ridden by Jack Kennedy jumping the last to win at Down Royal This is a Drinmore drenched in quality. Only Gaillard Du Mesnil is a maiden over fences but that doesn't do him justice as the choice of Paul Townend was third to L'Homme Presse in the Brown Advisory and filled the same position in the Irish Grand National at this venue last…

Subsequent Gold Cup hero Don Cossack (2013), Delta Work (2018) and Envoi Allen (2020) are among the Cullentra handler's previous winners of the Grade One contest and this year he saddles two Grade One-winning hurdlers who are one from one over fences. Three Stripe Life, whose top-level success was achieved at Aintree in the spring, made a smart…

Fascinating insight from Barry Connell on Marine Nationale ahead of the Fairyhouse Winter Festival Owner-trainer Barry Connell is optimistic Marine Nationale can see off the powerful team of Willie Mullins in the Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Sunday. The champion trainer has saddled a record nine previous winners of the…

Honeysuckle: heads a quality field as she bids for a fourth consecutive Hatton's Grace Hurdle Honeysuckle will face seven opponents when she bids to eclipse Limestone Lad, Apple's Jade and Solerina to become the first four-time winner of the Bar One Racing Hatton's Grace Hurdle (2.30) at Fairyhouse on Sunday. Henry de Bromhead's star mare will make…

Galvin, Conflated and Fil Dor are among the big names set to be in action for Gordon Elliott over the festive period as the Cullentra handler shuffles his pack for Leopardstown's Christmas Festival. Elliott has enjoyed huge success at the four-day meeting in recent years, with Galvin's thrilling Savills Chase victory over A Plus Tard a clear…

Galvin repeated last season's success in the Irish Daily Star - Best For Racing Coverage Chase with ease at Punchestown. Having conceded 8lb to take the Grade Three prize last season, Gordon Elliott's crack staying chaser made light work of his four rivals under a 12lb and more disadvantage this time. Having stalked the decent pace set by…