admin

Joe & Marie Donnelly

by

Bookmaker turned art collector and property investor Joe Donnelly has rekindled his interest in National Hunt racing in recent years and alongside his wife, Marie, has been thrust into the limelight primarily because of the exploits of Al Boum Photo. Bred and originally owned by French trainer Emmanuel Clayeux, Al Boum Photo was bought by the Donnellys and transferred to Co. Carlow trainer Willie Mullins in December, 2016.

Al Boum Photo made his debut at the Cheltenham Festival in 2018, as a six-year-old, but was held in third place when falling at the final fence in the RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase won by Presenting Percy. Nevertheless, he returned to the Festival in 2019 to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and defended his title in 2020, before finishing a highly creditable third on his attempt to become the first horse since Best Mate to complete a hat-trick in the ‘Blue Riband’ event.

Of course, Al Boum Photo isn’t the only horse to carry the increasingly recognisable yellow and black colours of his owners with distinction at the Cheltenham Festival. The luckless Melon finished second in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, the Champion Hurdle twice and the Marsh Novices’ Chase at four consecutive Cheltenham Festivals between 2017 and 2020, before pulling up in the Ryanair Chase in 2021. Shishkin, another expensive French import, won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2020 and followed up in the Arkle Challemge Trophy in 2021.

 

Susannah Ricci

by

Susannah Ricci, the wife of American millionaire Rich Ricci, has had horses registered in her name since 2007 and, alongside Co. Carlow trainer Willie Mullins, has proved the scourge of bookmakers at the Cheltenham Festival ever since. Mrs. Ricci opened her account at the Festival in 2009, courtesy of Mikael D’Haguenet in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, but her pink and green colours have since been carried into the winners’ enclosure a further 18 times.

Her winning tally has included several multiple winners, such as Champagne Fever, who won the Weatherbys Champion Bumper in 2012 and the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2013, Vautor, who won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2014, the JLT Novices’ Chase in 2015 and the Ryanair Chase in 2016, and Douvan, who won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2015 and the Arkle Challenge Trophy in 2016. Perhaps her most famous Festival winners, though, have been Faugheen, who won the Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle in 2014 and the Champion Hurdle in 2015 and

Annie Power, who fell at the final flight in the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle, with the race at her mercy, in 2015, but returned to win the Champion Hurdle in 2016.

More recently, Monkfish won the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle in 2020 and the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase in 2021. He suffered his first defeat over fences when beaten 8 lengths by stable companion Colreevy in the Champion Novice Chase at Punchestown on his final start of the 2020/21 season, but remains a top-priced 6/1 joint-favourite for the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Cheltenham Gold Cup 2021

by

Ahead of the 2021 Cheltenham Gold Cup, the main topic of conversation was whether or not defending champion Al Boum Photo, trained by Willie Mullins, could emulate Golden Miller, Cottage Rake, Arkle and Best Mate by winning the ‘Blue Riband’ event three years running. Still only a 9-year-old, Al Boum Photo was sent off 9/4 favourite to do so but, having been outpaced on the run to the second-last fence, could only stay on to finish a creditable third, beaten 5½ lengths.

Victory went to Minella Indo, trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Jack Kennedy, who stayed on gamely in the closing stages to beat stable companion A Plus Tard, ridden by Rachael Blackmore, by 1¼ lengths. Sent off at 9/1, Minella Indo was the lesser-fancied of the pair, but few would begrudge him his victory after he had looked all over the winner of the RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase at the 2020 Cheltenham Festival before failing to withstand an extraordinary finishing effort by Champ, who made up eight lengths or more from the final fence. History was made, not by Al Boum Photo, but by Henry de Bromhead, who became the first in his profession to saddle the winners of the Champion Hurdle, Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup at the same Cheltenham Festival.