#Keith Donoghue

Letsbeclearaboutit and Keith Donoghue winning the maiden hurdle Monday: Punchestown Gavin Cromwell enjoyed a productive afternoon as he landed a double on the card, headlined by Letsbeclearaboutit winning the 3m½f maiden hurdle. The eight-year-old justified favouritism under Keith Donoghue, pulling 22 lengths clear of Rowdy Romeo in second, and…

Altior powered to a brilliant win in the Queen Mother Champion Chase on a dramatic day at the Cheltenham Festival. The evens favourite, ridden by Nico de Boinville, shrugged off a late fitness scare to provide another big victory for trainer Nicky Henderson, who landed the Champion Hurdle with Buveur D'Air 24 hours earlier. Douvan fell at the…

Once 5-2 favourite for last year's Derby, High Definition now finds himself among the top six in the betting for this season's Supreme Novices' Hurdle after staying on resolutely to make a winning hurdles debut for Joseph O'Brien. Nearly seven months to the day that he was narrowly denied a Group 1 victory on the Flat by Alenquer in the Tattersalls…

Aside from everything that goes with the Cheltenham Festival in March, there is no better time of the year for racing disciples than Christmas with the finest of equine action everywhere you look. he cream of the Irish crop is certainly at Leopardstown over the next four days, although the opening show is a bit of a slow-burner at the Foxrock…

Largy Debut: shocked the highly regarded Kilcruit at Cork Sunday: Cork Last season's top bumper performer Kilcruit suffered a shock defeat at odds of 1-14 on his first try over hurdles in the first division of the maiden hurdle, proving no match for the Henry de Bromhead-trained Largy Debut. In doing so he earned the unwanted tag of being the…

A FREAK 999-1 winner landed punters a £14000 payday after coming from absolutely nowhere to win easily. Bookies had totally written off the chance of Invictus Machin nearing the end of the 2m1f maiden hurdle at Down Royal on Saturday. Seemingly languishing in mid-pack, the Gavin Cromwell-trained four-year-old looked well and truly beaten. The…

Shishkin and Energumene are on course for a mouth-watering rematch at Cheltenham on Wednesday with the pair among eight runners declared for the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase. The top-class duo served up one of the races of the season in January's Clarence House Chase at Ascot when the Nicky Henderson -trained Shishkin narrowly got the better…

Cougar roars to victory in the first race on Champion Chase Day (JTW Equine Images) By Tom Williams The day started with a well-earned success for the Padraig Roche-trained Cougar, who took the Value Cabs 3yo Hurdle under jockey Mark Walsh in rain softened Antrim soil. Formerly trained by Aidan O'Brien, the J.P McManus owned entire was in a good…

Just five runners went to post for the two-and-a-quarter-mile contest but it did not lack intrigue, with Darver Star - runner-up to Honeysuckle in the 2020 Irish Champion Hurdle and third in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham the following month - opposed by three-time Grade One winner Abacadabras. The Gordon Elliott-trained Abacadabras was the 4-6…

Abacadabras (left): having just his fourth start on Tuesday since April 2021 This really ought to be a straightforward assignment for Abacadabras. Only it isn't. The 2020 Supreme runner-up, who got within a head of Shishkin, won the 2021 Aintree Hurdle and retains a rating of 152. Darver Star is two years older than him, rated 3lb inferior to him…

3 - Truckers Lodge 1 Any Biscuits (IRE) Mr Derek O'Connor 2 Bidentime (IRE) Mr Rob James (7) 3 Embassy Gardens Mr Patrick Mullins 4 Kiki Badger (IRE) Mr K Callaghan (7) 5 Lighthouse Hill Ms K L Derwin (7) 6 Percy Pi Mr Finian Maguire 7 Rohirrim Lad (IRE) Mr D G Lavery (3) 8 Santonito (FR) Mr B O'Neill 9 Susans Sensation (IRE) Mr J Dunne (7) 10 The…