Kilkenny champion trainer among the winners at the 2024 Horse Racing Ireland Awards

Willie Mullins was the winner of the National Hunt Award at the annual Horse Racing Ireland Awards in Dublin yesterday evening.
 
Champion trainer at home for the 18th time, he became the first Irish-based trainer to win the British National Hunt title in 70 years at the conclusion of the 2023/2024 season and he wins the National Hunt Award.
 
Willie broke through the 100-winner mark at the Cheltenham Festival when saddling nine winners, including Gold Cup hero Galopin Des Champs and Champion Hurdle winner State Man and ended the British season on a real high with success for I Am Maximus in the Aintree Grand National, Macdermott in the Scottish Grand National and Minella Cocooner in the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown.
 
Galopin Des Champs was announced as the 2024 Horse Of The Year after landing back-to-back success in the Cheltenham Gold Cup for owner Audrey Turley, trainer Willie Mullins and jockey Paul Townend. Ahead of his Cheltenham Festival win, Galopin Des Champs had taken the Grade 1 Savills Chase at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival before winning the Grade 1 Paddy Power Gold Cup for a second time at the Dublin Racing Festival in February.
 
Announcing His Highness the Aga Khan as the recipient of the Horse Racing Ireland Contribution to the Industry Award, HRI Chairman Nicky Hartery said: “With these awards, we celebrate something more profound than achievements and investments. His Highness the Aga Khan is not just a valued partner of the Irish racing community; he is one of us. We feel that he is part of the very fabric of our industry, and we have claimed him as one of our own.
 
“We are forever grateful for all His Highness has done for Irish horse racing. His vision, dedication, and generosity has enriched our sport and strengthened our community in ways that will endure for generations.”
 
Recently crowned champion apprentice, James Ryan was a fitting winner of the Emerging Talent Award. James enjoyed a fine season and his tally of 33 winners included a first Group race success which came on the Danny Murphy-trained Ostraka at Dundalk in late October. James scored notable wins elsewhere as he landed the Apprentice Derby at the Curragh on Irish Derby Weekend and figured among the winners at the Galway Festival. The progressive Keke was another useful sprinter that the Oldtown, County Dublin native was associated with during the year.
 
The National Hunt Achievement Award went to Tom Gibney who was back in the big time when winning the BoyleSports Irish Grand National with Intense Raffles at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday. It was the trainer’s second success in the race after Lion Na Bearnai’s win in 2012. Intense Raffles remained unbeaten in three starts for Gibney last season and remarkably each of the wins came at the County Meath venue.
 
County Fermanagh-based David Christie was the winner of the Point-to-Point Award. David once again proved himself a master at campaigning horses within the open division, as he won no fewer than 19 races in the category throughout the 2023/24 season. Stable star Winged Leader supplied nine of those victories, which were all recorded in a winning run that stretched from Farmacaffley in February to Taylorstown in May, a run that secured Winged Leader the champion point-to-point horse crown, becoming the third different horse that his Fermanagh-based handler has secured that title with in the past five seasons.
 
On the back of another fine year, Aidan O’Brien took the Flat Award. With City Of Troy and Kyprios among his star performers, Aidan was crowned champion trainer in Ireland for the 27th time and was celebrated as the champion trainer in Britain for the seventh time in his most remarkable career. City Of Troy gave him a record extending tenth success in the Epsom Derby and Auguste Rodin became his 400th Group 1 or Grade 1 winner with his victory at Royal Ascot. A juvenile double saw Aidan emerge as the joint-winning most trainer at the Breeders’ Cup with 20 winners.
 
The Flat Achievement Award went the way of Gerry Keane who has certainly found his horse of a lifetime in the shape of Crystal Black. Unbeaten in his last five starts, the Wear A Pink Ribbon Syndicate-owned six-year-old surely gave the Trim trainer his best day in racing when winning the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes at Royal Ascot in June with his son Colin in the saddle. Subsequently, Group 3 success came his way in the Xin Gin Ballyroan Stakes at Leopardstown in August, a win that saw Crystal Black emerge as a leading contender for the Melbourne Cup, only for injury to rule out a trip Down Under. 
 
Fairyhouse Racecourse was chosen as the 2024 Racecourse of the Year based on a public vote, votes from each of the 26 racecourses, and a select Horse Racing Ireland committee with a focus on sustainability. Almost 10,000 racegoers and racing fans voted in the online poll and their contribution equated to 50% of the total votes, with 25% allotted to both racecourses and the committee who judged each racecourse on its sustainability awareness.
 
A public vote alone determined the winner of the Ride of the Year and the award went to JJ Slevin for his effort on Nurburgring in the Guinness Galway Hurdle. Davy Russell and Fran Berry nominated six rides and JJ came out on top in an online poll of over 4,200 votes.
 
Suzanne Eade, Chief Executive of Horse Racing Ireland, said: “It was an honour to celebrate Irish racing and breeding this evening and give due recognition to those who make our industry the incredible success it is. We owe His Highness the Aga Khan so much and I hope that tonight’s recognition goes some way towards acknowledging his immense contribution, wonderful generosity and an unwavering support of our industry.”
 
The 10 winners at the 22nd Horse Racing Ireland Awards are:

Contribution to the Industry: His Highness the Aga Khan
Horse of the Year: Galopin Des Champs
Emerging Talent Award: James Ryan
National Hunt Award: Willie Mullins
National Hunt Achievement: Tom Gibney
Point-to-Point Award: David Christie
Flat Award: Aidan O’Brien
Flat Achievement Award: Gerry Keane
Racecourse of the Year: Fairyhouse
Ride of the Year Award: JJ Slevin