The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board is carrying out a review of horse fatalities at this week’s Galway festival but said there appears to be “no commonality” between the incidents.
A total of five horses were euthanised after running over the first four days of the festival, including two that sustained fatal injuries on the flat on Monday.
The Joe Murphy-trained Sionnach Eile had to be euthanised after breaking down in the dip on the approach to the straight in Monday’s featured Connacht Hotel Handicap.
Earlier on that programme the Paul Flynn-trained Golden Sandbanks lost his life after appearing to slip up on the flat coming out of the dip in a handicap hurdle.
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There were three more deaths on Thursday’s programme including the Aidan O’Brien-trained filly Flight Of Fancy who broke down badly more than two furlongs from home during the Listed Corrib Stakes.
Earlier on Thursday’s card, Joseph O’Brien’s Sempo was pulled up quickly after jumping the last fence in a Beginners’ Chase. The Emmet Mullins-trained Merlin Giant was put down after falling at the sixth in a Grade Three chase.
With the races live on RTÉ it made distressing viewing for some viewers, particularly the rate of horses breaking down on the flat.
The regulator said on Friday all runners at Galway were checked out before they ran. It also said enhanced checks were carried out for the first time in Ireland on runners in the festival’s feature races, Wednesday’s Plate and the following day’s Hurdle, each worth €270,000.
“The IHRB has a relentless focus on the welfare of our equine and human participants,” a spokesman said. “All the horses that ran this week were inspected on arrival by the IHRB veterinary team. That would have included every horse being trotted up.
“The five equine fatalities have been reviewed by our senior veterinary team who are satisfied at this point that there was no commonality between them. The IHRB team review every fatality at every race meeting and a full review has begun in conjunction with Galway racecourse,” he added.
That review includes drone footage of the races, which professionals have pointed out are particularly competitive at the Galway festival. Ground conditions on Monday and Thursday were good on the National Hunt circuit and yielding on the flat. Some watering took place.
“There were enhanced veterinary checks ahead of this meeting. That included engagement with trainers, their vets, and scrutiny of medical records of horses running in the Galway Hurdle and the Galway Plate,” the IHRB spokesman commented.
Such enhanced checks have taken place on Irish-trained horses in the past ahead of international competition such as at Cheltenham and Aintree.
Terrestrial TV coverage of Galway continues over the weekend on TG4 including Saturday’s featured €110,000 Boylesports Handicap Hurdle, where the track specialist Teed Up bids to regain winning form.
The five-time Ballybrit winner could finish only 12th behind Sirius when trying to defend his Connacht Hotel Handicap crown on Monday. He has a first start over flights since scoring on the final day of last year’s festival and is now a stone higher in the ratings. He is also stretching his stamina further than at any time before.
Baltic Bird looked to have Monday’s ‘amateur Derby’ in the bag only for Sirius’ dramatic late burst up the hill. The Durkan runner won over flights at Ballinrobe in May and jockey Oakley Brown again takes off a valuable 5lbs.
Dermot Weld’s Newtown Duke made an encouraging debut at Limerick behind the ill-fated Flight Of Fancy and could go one better in the mile maiden.
Sunday’s festival feature is the Ahonoora Handicap which features last year’s winner Dunum and the remarkable Current Option, who landed a hat-trick in the race between 2020-22.
The jumps element to Sunday’s card includes a conditions chase featuring a number of horses bouncing out of Wednesday’s Plate. Easy Game’s chance ended there with a bad blunder at the fourth fence but this is an easier shot at bringing his career victory tally to a remarkable 20.
In other news, the inaugural Saudi Cup winner Maximum Security was finally disqualified from the world’s richest race on Friday.
In 2020, Maximum Security ‘won’ the $20 million race just over a week before his trainer Jason Servis was charged with doping. Servis was sentenced to four years in prison last year. The prize money for the race has been redistributed and Midnight Bisou promoted to first. Servis has also got a lifetime ban from racing in Saudi Arabia.
It’s an unwanted double for Maximum Security, now a stallion at Coolmore Stud’s US branch, who lost the 2019 Kentucky Derby in the stewards’ room.
