Arkle was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. A bay gelding by Archive out of Bright Cherry, he was the grandson of the unbeaten flat racehorse and prepotent sire Nearco. Arkle was born at Ballymacoll Stud, County Meath, and bred by Mrs Mary Alison Baker of Malahow House, near Naul, County Dublin. He was named after the mountain Arkle in Sutherland, Scotland that bordered the Duchess of Westminster’s Sutherland estate. Owned by Anne Grosvenor, Duchess of Westminster, he was trained by Tom Dreaper at Greenogue, Kilsallaghan in County Meath, Ireland, and ridden during his steeplechasing career by Pat Taaffe.
Teenoso was an American-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After showing moderate form as a two-year-old he improved in the spring of 1983 to win the Group Three Lingfield Derby Trial and then won the Classic Epsom Derby, giving Lester Piggott a record ninth win in the race. Teenoso was beaten in his two remaining races that year but showed his best form as a four-year-old, winning the Ormonde Stakes, the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and, on his final appearance, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. He proved to be a disappointment at stud.
In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: hurdles and steeplechases. Alongside these there are "bumpers", which are National Hunt flat races. In a hurdles race, the horses jump over obstacles called hurdles; in a steeplechase the horses jump over a variety of obstacles that can include plain fences, water jump or an open ditch. In the UK the biggest National Hunt events of the year are generally considered to be the Grand National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The Moyglare Stud Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late August or early September.
The Irish Grand National is a National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Fairyhouse over a distance of about 3 miles and 5 furlongs, and during its running there are twenty-four fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year on Easter Monday.
Gowran is a town located on the eastern side of County Kilkenny, Ireland. The historic St. Mary's Collegiate Church is located in the centre of Gowran close to Gowran Castle. Gowran Park race course and Golf Course is located one km from the centre of Gowran. Gowran is located on the R448 regional road where it is crossed by the R702 regional road.
Hedgehunter is an Irish race horse, who won the 2005 Grand National steeplechase, ridden by Ruby Walsh and trained by Willie Mullins. He had fallen at the final fence the previous year when well placed. He then finished second in 2006 to Numbersixvalverde. He also finished second in the 2006 Cheltenham Gold Cup to War of Attrition. The horse is owned by Lancashire billionaire Trevor Hemmings who also owned Blackpool Tower.
Isinglass (1890–1911) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from 1892 until 1895 he ran twelve times and won eleven races. He was the best British two-year-old of 1892 and went on to become sixth winner of the English Triple Crown by winning the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, The Derby and the St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster in the following year. He was undefeated in his last two seasons, setting a world record for prize money and gaining recognition from contemporary experts as one of the best horses seen in England up to that time.
The Tetrarch (1911–1935) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was undefeated in a racing career of seven starts and was voted the best British-trained two-year-old of the 20th century according to the National Horseracing Museum. He did not race after 1913 and was retired to stud where he became an influential sire.
Flyingbolt was a famous racehorse. Officially he is the second best steeplechaser of all time, after Arkle. A comparison of their merits is probably best illustrated by the Official Handicapper, who at the end of the 1965-1966 season rated Arkle the superior by only 1 lb (0.5 kg). Timeform, the highly respected racing publication, had a difference of 2 lbs between them. As a hurdler, Flyingbolt was the best Tom Dreaper ever trained. His wins included the Gloucestershire Hurdle at Cheltenham and the Scalp Hurdle at Leopardstown. He also finished third in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. Flyingbolt and Arkle never met on the race track, mainly because they were trained by the same man and he preferred to keep them apart.
Gordon Elliott is a County Meath-based National Hunt racehorse trainer. After riding as an amateur jockey, he took out a trainer's licence in 2006. He was 29 when his first Grand National entry, the 33 to 1 outsider Silver Birch, won the 2007 race. In 2018 and 2019 he won the Grand National with Tiger Roll, ridden by Davy Russell and owned by Gigginstown House Stud, the first horse since Red Rum to win the race twice. In 2018 he also won the Irish Grand National, with General Principle. On two occasions, in 2017 and 2018, he was the top trainer at the Cheltenham Festival.
The Denny Cordell Lavarack Fillies Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Gowran Park over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong and 100 yards, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late September.
King's Theatre was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was trained in the United Kingdom and the United States during a racing career which lasted from July 1993 to June 1996, winning five of his seventeen races. He is best known for winning the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 1994, a year in which he was named European Champion Three-year old colt. King's Theatre later became a sire of both flat racers and jumpers.
Millenary is a retired British Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. He won the St. Leger Stakes in 2000, and, unusually for a Classic winner, stayed in training until the age of eight, winning many important races over middle and long distances.
Airborne was an Irish-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. After showing little worthwhile form as a two-year-old, Airborne improved to become one of the leading three-year-olds in Britain in 1946. He won five successive races including two Classics: the Derby at Epsom and the St Leger at Doncaster. He was the most recent of four greys to have won the Epsom Classic. Airborne went on to have a stud career of limited success.
Sizing Europe is an Irish National Hunt horse, best known for winning the 2011 Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham. He won the Irish Champion Hurdle in 2008 before switching to chasing, where he has won six Grade 1s over fences.
Turtle Island was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was one of the leading British two-year-olds of 1993 when he won four of his seven races including the Norfolk Stakes, Phoenix Stakes and Gimcrack Stakes. In the following year he won the Greenham Stakes before winning the Irish 2,000 Guineas by fifteen lengths. He was beaten in his three remaining races and was retired to stud, where he had some success as a sire of winners.
Un de Sceaux is a French-bred AQPS racehorse who completed in National Hunt racing. After winning both his races in France he was transferred to Ireland where he won two novice hurdles. In the 2013/14 National Hunt season he was undefeated in five races including the Red Mills Trial Hurdle in Ireland and both the Prix Hypothese and the Prix Leon Rambaud in France. When switched to steeplechases he recovered from a fall on his debut to win the Arkle Novice Chase, Arkle Challenge Trophy and Ryanair Novice Chase in the 2014–15 season. In 2015–16 he won the Clarence House Chase but was beaten by Sprinter Sacre when favourite for the Queen Mother Champion Chase in what was his first defeat when completing a steeplechase. He began the 2016–17 with a win in the Tingle Creek Chase and followed up with his second victory in the Clarence House Chase before taking the Ryanair Chase in March. In 2018 Un de Sceaux became the first horse in history to win three Clarence House chases but was disappointed in Cheltenham by Balko des Flos when attempting to regain his Ryanair crown. He finished the season on a high by winning the devenish chase at Fairyhouse before surprising his stablemate Douvan at Punchestown under Patrick Mullins. At this stage of his career Un de Sceaux has won 9 Grade ones and has earned over 1,300,000 in prize money.
The Victor McCalmont Memorial Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Gowran Park over a distance of 1 mile, 1 furlong and 100 yards, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late April or early May.
Margarula is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. In her first eleven races she showed herself to be a tough and consistent stayer, winning three handicap races, but appeared to be some way below top class. On her twelfth start however, she produced a major upset when she defeated a field of highly regarded fillies to win the Irish Oaks at odds of 33/1. Margarula finished sixth in her two subsequent races and was retired at the end of the season. She had some success as a broodmare, producing the Sydney Cup winner Grand Marshal.
