As the curtain falls on 2019, we asked our writers to share the moment which encapsulated all that is good about sport this year..

David Murphy’s dream of winning four successive European gold road-bowling medals is still alive as he is named on the Irish team to contest next May’s European Championships in Garding, Germany.

Multiple Group One-winning jockey Donnacha O’Brien has announced his retirement from the saddle to embark on a training career.

There are times when Aidan O’Brien would break your heart.

In 2018, Aidan O’Brien won the Colm Quinn BMW Irish EBF Fillies’ Maiden with subsequent dual 1000 Guineas winner Hermosa and it will be no surprise if Petite Mustique, who gave him back to back wins in the race with a facile success yesterday, emulates her illustrious stablemate.

Who would want to be a handicapper with a horse like Willie Mullins’ Micro Manage around?

Sunday Sovereign was the star turn at Tipperary, the youngster enhancing his reputation with another deeply impressive display.

The National Hunt season that has just finished was a very strange one. At times it felt like the season would never get going as we waited and waited for the skies to open. For us in racing, they never really did, but hopefully for the flat season ahead they won’t open now.

On a day which provided across-the-card trebles for Aidan, Joseph and Donnacha O’Brien, progressive Ballydoyle colt Lucius Tiberius came from last to first to record a last-gasp victory in the Irish Stallions Farms EBF Nasrullah Handicap in Leopardstown.

Surrounding, ridden for Michael Halford and the Newell family from nearby Ratoath by Conor Hoban, pounced late to land the featured Toals.com Bookmakers Fillies Race in Fairyhouse.

In the past 18 months, Jessica Harrington celebrated numerous firsts: A first Irish Gold Cup victory, first Cheltenham Gold Cup success, first Irish Grand National, and became the most successful lady trainer in the history of the Cheltenham Festival.

Hazapour sprang a shock in the Group 3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at Leopardstown, overcoming Ballydoyle colts Delano Roosevelt and The Pentagon and booking his ticket to the Investec Derby at Epsom

Aidan O’Brien is hoping Magic Wand can shed her maiden tag in the Arkle Finance Cheshire Oaks at Chester today.

In a fascinating race for the jockey’s title, reigning champ Pat Smullen has hit a rich vein of form and, following a 1,055-1 four-timer at Roscommon yesterday, is all but breathing down the neck of championship leader Colin Keane.

Curragh-based Japanese trainer Takashi Kodama described the outcome as “unbelievable” after saddling 25/1 shot Elusive Time to win the €100,000 Tote Irish Cambridgeshire at the Curragh yesterday.

After winning the listed Coolmore Ivawood Stakes in 2016, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Capri went on to much greater things, winning the Irish Derby, and his trainer completed back-to-back victories in the Tipperary race, doing so with a filly, Ballet Shoes.

After a mid-season lull trainer Willie McCreery has returned to form with a vengeance, and he recorded a 29-1 double on the opening day of the Killarney’s August festival, including taking the listed Vincent O’Brien Ruby Stakes with the game Erysimum.

Declan McDonogh recorded his second treble in two weeks when scoring on Great Wide Open and Zorba The Greek for Charles O’Brien and Paul Nolan’s Usain in Gowran Park last night.

On a day when his The Gurkha proved an impressive winner of the French 2,000 Guineas in Deauville, Aidan O’Brien also took the training honours at Navan where long odds-on favourite Bondi Beach produced an unconvincing display to justify 1/9 favouritism in the Group 3 Coolmore Vintage Crop Stakes.

Royal Ascot is likely to be on the agenda for both Ambiguity and Kellstorm following their victories in Tipperary last night, providing the O’Brien team with a double.

Placed six times in stakes company over the last two season, the Jim Bolger-trained Altesse deservedly earned winning black type when getting the better of Ballybacka Queen by a half-length in the listed Noblesse Stakes, feature on Student Day in Leopardstown yesterday.

Apprentices Donnacha O’Brien and Donagh O’Connor both recorded doubles in Dundalk last night.

Apprentice Denis Linehan registered his eighth career success, and his first of 2016, when bringing More Than Munny with a storming late challenge to collar odds-on favourite Go Kart in the featured Irishinjuredjockeys.com Race in Dundalk last night.

Day two of the Listowel Festival, and Rose Of Tralee can get punters off to a flyer in the opening fillies’ maiden.

Baraweez landed the Irish Stallion Farms EBF “Ahonoora” Handicap for the second successive year as British raiders dominated the feature event on the final day of the Galway Festival yesterday.

Runner-up on his recent debut at the Curragh, Lieutenant General should land the Irish Stallion Farms 2-Y-0 Maiden in Naas tonight.

What have Dermot Weld, Jim Bolger and Aidan O’Brien in common, besides the fact they are three of the best trainers in the world?

Gordon Elliott enjoyed the most successful day of his training career when he saddled a short-priced treble in Bellewstown last night to add to his spectacular four-timer in Perth in the afternoon.

Eddie Lynam completed a double with Mr.Good Guy and Captain Power in Fairyhouse last night.

While enjoying another successful week in Royal Ascot, Aidan O’Brien doubled-up with Jacobean and Loved, both ridden by Seamus Heffernan, in Limerick last night.

Seventh to Gleneagles in the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 last time, Convergence produced a gutsy, front-running display to land the Group 3 Ballycorus Stakes, last night’s feature in Leopardstown.

Off the track for almost a year, since making an impressive debut at the Curragh, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Words captured the Group 3 Munster Oaks, feature of yesterday’s action in Cork.

Kingfisher put himself firmly in the Ascot Gold Cup picture when getting up late in the day to take the Seamus & Rosemary McGrath Memorial Saval Beg Stakes at Leopardstown last night.

Success Days is set to challenge for Classic honours as he once again relished the testing conditions with an emphatic victory in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at Leopardstown yesterday.

Paene Magnus registered his fifth win from seven starts on Dundalk’s polytrack at Lingfield Park on Good Friday.