Racing stars under starter’s orders for Donkey Derby in Youghal

With the Cheltenham festival stabled and fed for another year, many of Ireland’s top jump jockeys will head to Youghal, Co Cork, on Friday for the next great challenge.

The town’s fifth annual Donkey Derby is proving irresistible to the knights of the saddle with more than 20 flat and National Hunt jockeys — double that of previous years — already ‘declaring’.

“We have extra races, including more novelty events, this year,” says Siobhán Sheehan of Youghal Chamber of Tourism and Commerce.