Cheltenham

Gordon Elliott, Barry Geraghty and Charles Byrnes were among those to lead the tributes to Davy Russell, one of the finest National Hunt riders to ever pull on a pair of silks, who retired at the age of 43 after partnering Liberty Dance to victory in the Thurles feature on Sunday.  Russell will forever be remembered for partnering Elliott's Tiger Roll to successive Grand National triumphs in 2018 and 2019. Like those momentous days at Aintree, Russell signed off from the saddle with his customary wave aboard the Elliott-trained Liberty...

A total of 81 cyclists took part in a 24-hour challenge--embarking on 30km loops that kicked off at Cheltenham racecourse July 16--to benefit Racing Welfare, which supports the racing community. Originally tabbed with a £60,000, the total amount raised by the event is set to top £100,000. In addition to the efforts of the cyclists, funding is also boosted by event sponsors Unibet, Racehorse Lotto, The Jockey Club and Tattersalls. Well beyond the £60,000 target, that figure will have a huge impact, and could cover the cost of employing a...

Former jockey Jacob Pritchard-Webb, paralysed during a fall at Auteuil in June of 2020, will embark on 140-mile hand bike ride to benefit a pair of charities that helped him through his rehabilitation. The three-day ride, which begins July 7, will begin at Cheltenham before concluding at Newmarket. The 25-year-old hopes to raise £25,000 each for the Injured Jockeys Fund and the Matt Hampson Foundation. As part of his training for the event, Pritchard Webb was joined on a cycle around the Cotswolds Sunday afternoon by Harry Potter star James...

Retired reinsman and 20-time champion jockey Sir AP McCoy is one of the names signed on to support paralysed former jockey Jacob Pritchard Webb in a three-day 140-mile charity cycling challenge on July 7-9. Pritchard Webb, who now works in racing media and the bloodstock industry, will hand bike ride between two Jockey Club racecourses--Cheltenham and Newmarket alongside other industry members. The aim is to raise £25,000 apiece for two charities that have supported him since his June 2020 fall in France--the Injured Jockeys Fund and the Matt Hampson Foundation....

Dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Al Boum Photo (Fr) (Buck's Boum {Fr}) has been retired and will embark on a new career in eventing. The Willie Mullins-trained 10-year-old was last seen running in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris at Auteuil, where he made no impact and was eventually pulled up by Paul Townend. He will forever be remembered as the first horse since Best Mate (Ire) (Un Desperado {Fr}) to win back-to-back Gold Cups at Cheltenham in 2019 and 2020. Melon (GB) (Medicean {GB}), also 10 and like Al Boum...

Tattersalls Ireland has appointed Shirley Anderson - Jolag to the role of UK Client Relations. In addition to her new role for Tattersalls Ireland, she will also continue to promote Tattersalls sales at both Cheltenham and Ascot. Joining the Tattersalls Group seven years ago, Anderson - Jolag played a key role in developing and promoting Tattersalls sales at Cheltenham, Ascot and also Park Paddocks, with particular emphasis on the launch of last year's inaugural Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale. In her new Tattersalls Ireland role, Anderson - Jolag  will be working...

Sales returned to Cheltenham Racecourse on Friday for the first time since the pandemic, and the Cheltenham November Sale produced record results. Fifty horses were sold for £4,288,500-a record for any select point-to-point sale--at an average of £85,770 and a clearance rate of 93%. Topping trade was the 4-year-old Arctic Bresil (GB) (Blue Bresil {Fr}) (lot 28), who finished second in a highly regarded maiden point-to-point at Tattersalls Farm. He was bought by Gerry Hogan for £305,000. In total, 14 lots realised £100,000 or more from 12 individual buyers. "This...

Jon Pullin, who has been clerk of the course at several British racecourses including Doncaster, Uttoxeter, Southwell and Wolverhampton, will take up that position at Cheltenham. Pullin held the positions of group racing manager at Arena Leisure, managing director of Royal Windsor Racecourse and assistant racing director at Arena Racing Company before being promoted into his current role as ARC's racing director in 2017. Current Cheltenham clerk of the course Simon Claisse will remain in his position through the new season opening on Oct. 22 and 23, with Pullin to...

Cheltenham will honour the late Lorna Brooke on Friday's seven-race Hunter Chase Racing card. The penultimate race on the card, the Lorna Brooke Open Hunters' Chase goes off at 7.45p.m. Brooke, 37, passed away Apr. 19 as the result of a spinal injury sustained during a fall at Taunton Racecourse Apr. 18. "Lorna was a dear friend and rode for me on many occasions," said Shropshire-based Philip Rowley. "I will always be thankful to her for providing me with my first winner under Rules, which was The General Lee in...

The return of point-to-pointing in Britain and Ireland has facilitated a number of recent winners to be entered for the Tattersalls Cheltenham April Sale which, because of ongoing Covid restrictions at racecourses, will be held in Newmarket on April 23. Twenty-three young jumpers have been catalogued, 17 of which have won a point-to-point or bumper in the last few weeks, including the 5-year-old Takoda (Ire) (Doyen {GB}), who strolled to a 25-length victory on debut at Higham on April 2. Also catalogued is a Shirocco (Ger) half-sister to the Grade...

Three-time Grand National-winning trainer Gordon Elliott is fully cooperating with the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB)'s inquiry into a disputed photo allegedly displaying Elliott sitting on a dead horse, the BBC reported on Sunday. The image, which some believe to be digitally altered, appears to show Elliott making a peace gesture while sitting on a dead horse lying on its side and captioned "new work rider". "I'm aware of a photo circulating on social media," the trainer tweeted late on Saturday night. "The IHRB have been in contact with me...