The Racing Life of Karen Sharpe
An Interview with Karen Sharpe: Regional Liaison for the IJF Karen Sharpe works for the Injured Jockeys’ Fund in the role of Regional...
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Jo O'Neill
Feb 10, 20224 min read
An Interview with Jockey Richie McLernon
Richard ‘Richie’ McLernon, 35, is from Mallow in County Cork and has many family connections to racing. ‘I was born into a racing family...
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Jo O'Neill
Feb 1, 20228 min read
January 2022 Blog
We started 2022 in the best way when Judicial Law won over hurdles at Exeter. It was our fiftieth winner of the season but, the middle of...
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Jo O'Neill
Jan 27, 20223 min read
An Interview with Head Lad Wayne Jones
Wayne Jones describes his childhood as ‘not particularly horsey’ but that did not stop his adolescent dreams of being a jockey. He grew...
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Jo O'Neill
Jan 21, 20229 min read
An Interview with Eloise Quayle - Clerk of the Course at Newcastle Racecourse
Eloise Quayle enjoyed a pony-mad childhood in Morpeth, Northumberland, surrounded by a few ponies, her mum’s ex-racehorse and a horse...
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Jo O'Neill
Jan 13, 20223 min read
An Interview with Hannah Dean - Head of Travelling to Ben Pauling
Hannah Dean, nee Worgan, grew up in the Welsh-English border village of Undy, Monmouthshire, alongside ponies and the Pony Club, often...
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Jo O'Neill
Jan 4, 202212 min read
December 2021 Blog
December had many very busy moments; some were great and others weren’t so great. The weather or traffic, to name a couple of factors,...
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Jo O'Neill
Dec 28, 20215 min read
An Interview with Top Trainer Lucinda Russell
Lucinda Russell was a pony-mad child, pony-clubbing and riding eventers and showjumpers. She originally grew up in Edinburgh but the...
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Jo O'Neill
Dec 17, 20215 min read
An Interview with Dominic Toole - Stable Manager at Epsom Downs and Sandown
Dominic Toole, in his capacity of stable manager, is an integral part of every Derby Day at Epsom Downs and all the Flat and Jump...
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Jo O'Neill
Dec 9, 20216 min read
The Racing Life of Ollie McPhail
Many racegoers have seen pupils let out of their classrooms for a day at the races, often brightly coloured with the old silks they wear....
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Jo O'Neill
Dec 2, 20217 min read
November 2021 Blog
`November largely consisted of mucking out and then going racing as I was still the temporary head of travelling. The winners always...
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Jo O'Neill
Nov 25, 20212 min read
An Interview with Trainer Philip Hobbs
For three decades Philip Hobbs has been a top trainer. Based near Minehead in Somerset, the yard had been associated with many Festival...
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Jo O'Neill
Nov 18, 20215 min read
An Interview with Racing Groom Gemma McQuillan
Gemma McQuillan loves working with racehorses and wouldn’t be happy doing anything else. She was born in Gloucestershire but grew up in...
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Jo O'Neill
Nov 9, 20215 min read
An Interview with Derek Thompson - Former Stable Manager at Aintree Racecourse
‘Racing people are wonderful,’ says Derek ‘Dec’ Thompson, the former stable manager at Aintree Racecourse. He has been retired for over...
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Jo O'Neill
Oct 31, 20218 min read
October 2021 Diary
On 25th September, seven of us sweated our way over, under and through the Inflatable 5K round Cheltenham racecourse. AJ O’Neill, Nick...
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Jo O'Neill
Oct 25, 202110 min read
An Interview with Top Owner Miss Jayne Brace
There is no lovelier owner then Jayne Brace, who got into racehorse ownership through her family’s involvement in racing over the years....
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Jo O'Neill
Oct 15, 20213 min read
An Interview with Top Owner Mrs Cherry Jones
Cherry Jones grew up amongst horseracing, her parents having had studs at Cokethorpe and later Chaddleworth. Cherry has continued to...
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Jo O'Neill
Oct 5, 20216 min read
An Interview with Top Owners Geoff and Donna Keeys
‘So many of the memories we’ve got and the stories we can tell are due to racing,' says owners Geoff and Donna Keeys. They discovered...
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Jo O'Neill
Sep 29, 20217 min read
September 2021 Diary
September is a peculiar month, sitting at the backend of summer but often too warm to be classed properly as autumnal. The yard was busy...
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Jo O'Neill
Sep 23, 202110 min read
An Interview with George McGrath - Chief Executive of NARS
George McGrath may not have been the most committed jockey, prioritising socialising and partying but was always proactive and forward...
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