Charlie Swan is a former top National Hunt jockey in Ireland in the 1990s. He is associated with the great Istabraq, on whom he won three Champion Hurdles. He was twice top jockey at the Cheltenham Festival and was champion National Hunt jockey in Ireland for nine consecutive years. After retiring as a jockey he spent several years a trainer, based in Modreeny near Cloughjordan, County Tipperary.
Paul Carberry is a retired Irish National Hunt jockey.
Hardy Eustace was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse, best known for winning the Champion Hurdle in 2004 and 2005. He was trained in Ireland by Dessie Hughes and owned by Laurence Byrne.
The KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles ½ furlong, and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May.
The Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs, and during its running there are twelve hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May.
The Champion Four Year Old Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years. It is run at Punchestown over a distance of about 2 miles, and during its running there are nine hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Punchestown Festival in late April or early May. The race is currently sponsored by the Ballymore Group
The Drinmore Novice Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs, and during its running there are sixteen fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late November or early December.
The Royal Bond Novice Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 2 miles, and during its running there are ten hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late November or early December.
The Tara Hurdle was a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland until 2013, when it was downgraded to a Grade B handicap. It is run at Navan Racecourse in December, over a distance of 2 miles and 4 furlongs. The race was first run in 1999.
The Donohoe Marquees Novice Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt novice hurdle race in Ireland. It is run at Fairyhouse, over a distance of 2 miles and it is scheduled to take place each year in March or April at the course's Easter Festival. The 2017 running was moved to a fixture in early April to avoid clashing with similar races at the Punchestown Festival. It is currently sponsored by Donohoe Marquees. During the 1990s it was known as the Jameson Gold Cup (Novice) Hurdle and during the 1970s & 1980s was known as the Fingal Hurdle.
Noel Meade is a horse trainer from Castletown, County Meath, Ireland. He established Tu Va Stables in Meath as a place to train his horses.
Brave Inca is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. In a career that lasted from March 2002 until April 2009, he ran thirty-five times and won 15 races, ten of them at Grade I level. including the 2006 Champion Hurdle. From 2005 until he was retired, Brava Inca ran in sixteen successive Grade I races.
Like-A-Butterfly was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare who competed in National Hunt racing. Although she did not begin competing in public until she was seven years old she had a successful racing career, winning twelve of her seventeen races, including five at Grade I level. She was unbeaten in three National Hunt Flat races including the Champion INH Flat Race and her first five over hurdles including the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle, Deloitte Novice Hurdle and Supreme Novices' Hurdle. She won the Irish Champion Hurdle but missed the whole of the next season through injury. In her final season she competed in steeplechases and won three times including the Powers Gold Cup and the Mildmay Novices' Chase. After retiring from racing she produced five foals before dying of horse colic at the age of nineteen.
The Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to mares aged four years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse Racecourse over a distance of about 2 miles and 4½ furlongs, and during its running there are ten hurdle to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late March or early April at Fairyhouse's Easter meeting.
The Bar One Racing Juvenile Hurdle is a Grade 3 National Hunt novice hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged three years old. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 2 miles, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late November or early December.
The Solerina Mares Novice Hurdle is a Grade 3 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to mares aged four years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of 2 miles and 2 furlongs (3,621 metres) and during the race there are ten hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late January or early February.
The Fairyhouse Easter Festival Novice Hurdle, currently run as the Paddy Kehoe Suspended Ceilings Novice Hurdle, is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Ireland which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of 2 miles and 4½ furlongs, and it is scheduled to take place each year in April. The race is usually run at the course's Easter Festival but in 2017 it was moved to a fixture in early April to avoid clashing with similar races at the Punchestown Festival.
Limestone Lad was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who competed mainly in National Hunt racing. Bred, owned and trained by a farming family in rural Ireland he was offered for sale as a three-year-old but was rejected after failing a medical examination. His early racing career was unremarkable but he made steady improvement and eventually retired with a record of thirty-five wins and nineteen places from sixty-five races. He was best known for his durability and his performances in long-distance hurdle races and usually raced from the front.
Honeysuckle is a British-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. Over a career spanning five seasons, she won seventeen of her nineteen races, including two Champion Hurdles, two Mares' Hurdles, three Irish Champion Hurdles and two Punchestown Champion Hurdles. She was trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Rachael Blackmore in all her races under rules. Retired to paddocks at the age of nine, Honeysuckle produced her first foal in March 2024.
Apple's Jade is a French-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt hurdle races. She won 11 times at Grade I level, making her one of the most successful jumping mares of all time.
