King kicks award rivals into touch
Tom Taaffe’s charge, who registered four Grade One victories last season and delivered Ireland its first Gold Cup victory in ten years, beat such as Hardy Eustace, Moscow Flyer, Azamour, Oratorio and Alexander Goldrun for the title.
The seven-year-old was yesterday reported by Taaffe to be right on track for a crack at a second King George on St. Stephen’s Day and his owner Conor Clarkson said it was an “unbelievable privilege” to be associated with a horse who had been selected for this award ahead of so many other worthy contenders.
Taaffe said that after an unbelievable year with Kicking King in 2005, he was very hopeful of continued success with the gelding.
“He is in good form and on track for the King George in a couple of weeks time,” he commented.
Kicking King was one of six award winners at yesterday’s prize giving in Dublin, with jockey Ruby Walsh collecting his second successive National Hunt award.
The three-time Irish champion jockey, who hopes to return from a shoulder injury for the hectic Christmas programme, won the Irish, Welsh and English Grand Nationals in 2005 and only missed out on a grand slam when beaten a short head in the Scottish National.
Kieren Fallon won the 2005 Flat award following a sensational year in which the Ballydoyle-retained jockey won both the Irish Derby and the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe for the very first time.
Fallon, who won the Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin on Sunday aboard Ouija Board, was not present at the ceremony, but his prize was accepted on his behalf by Aidan O’Brien, who said that Fallon’s first season with the stable was a “sensational” one.
The Outstanding Achievement Award was taken by Nina Carberry who this year became the first woman jockey to beat the professionals at Cheltenham when she guided Paul Nolan’s Dabiroun to victory in the Fred Winter Juvenile Novice Handicap Hurdle last March.
Daughter of the legendary Tommy and sister to champion Paul, Nina’s performances this season have been nothing short of extraordinary and several victories at the Galway Festival in August only served to underline her talent as one of the country’s leading amateurs.
Derek O’Connor won the Point-to-Point Award for his continued success between the flags.
Regarded as one of the great point-to-point riders of all time, he broke his own record this year by recording 63 winners.
The Galway Racecourse Committee was the recipients of the Contribution to the Industry Award for the continued, amazing, success of the Galway Festival.
Having attracted over 200,000 visitors to this year’s festival, the committee also unveiled ambitious plans to build a new grandstand for 2007. The award was accepted jointly by committee chairman, Ray Rooney, and track manager John Moloney.
Speaking at the awards, Sports Minister John O’Donoghue, said that Irish racing was enjoying a period of unprecedented success at present - a fact underlined by the nine Cheltenham winners and eight Aintree winners, recorded by Irish horses in 2005.
“That surpassed our most optimistic expectations, but when you include Kempton, Irish trained horses won the top five UK National Hunt races, while on the Flat, the English 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas, the Eclipse Stakes, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes and the English St. Leger, were all won by Irish horses,” he said.
HRI chairman, Denis Brosnan, said that 2005 was probably the most successful ever for Irish racing.
“Irish trained horses won over e7m in prize money overseas and we also witnessed many great individual achievements, among them the history-making performances by Frances Crowley - the first licensed female to win a classic - and Nina Carberry, the first female to win against the professionals at the Cheltenham Festival.”
