I m originally from Mauritius. I wanted a pony for my sixth birthday and I started going to riding school over there. I started riding ponies, doing showjumping and all that. Mauritius is a small population and most people follow the racing. There is only one track, but is the crowd there that makes the racing out there. It is usually the same temperature and weather. The likes of Frankie Dettori and Johnny Murtagh all went out there and the racing is good enough. I saw Christophe Soumillon riding out there. I went to watch racing there, but never rode racework.
Irish horse racing really could be doing far more to promote its premier fixtures. One of the chief reasons that Cheltenham gets so much media coverage so far in advance of the Festival is the early entry system that British racing has in place.
It is finally beginning to dawn on horse racing that the proposed Gambling Regulation Bill could have dire consequences for the industry if it gets passed into law in its current form.
Classic-winning jockey Eddie Ahern, whose 10-year ban for passing on inside information and failing to ride a horse on its merits came to an end in May, is exploring all options for the future as he begins riding out for William Haggas.
Connections of Stay Alert have lodged an appeal against the decision of the Curragh stewards not to reverse the placings in Saturday’s Group One Pretty Polly Stakes.