Staff from the racing yards of Jim Bolger, Henry de Bromhead, Gordon Elliott, Eoin Griffin, Noel Meade, and Eoin McCarthy’s have been crowned winners of Horse Racing Ireland’s (HRI) Irish Thoroughbred Welfare Council best-turned-out league 2023.
The best-turned-out league recognises and acknowledges the high standards of care and attention racehorses receive from their grooms and work riders who consistently go above and beyond for the horses in their care. The categories are based on the number of runners each yard had during their season. Each yard wins €3,000 to be divided among staff.
Over jumps, Gordon Elliott’s staff are the category A winners for the third year in a row. The team produced 171 best-turned-out horses from 1,292 runners to top the category.
For the second time, staff from Eoin McCarthy’s yard in Athea, County Limerick won 66 best-turned-out competitions from 193 runners to win category B.
Eoin Griffin’s yard in Slieverue, County Kilkenny took the spoils in category C, with an impressive 36 best-turned-out winners from 85 runners to take the €3,000 prizemoney.
In the Flat category, Jim Bolger’s staff based on the Carlow/Kilkenny border won category A for a third time with 85 best-turned-out horses from 349 runners.
Staff from Noel Meade’s yard won category B with 83 best-turned-out winners from 322 runners, while Henry de Bromhead’s County Waterford-based team won category C on the Flat with 24 best-turned-out horses from 89 runners.
Sponsored by HRI, the Irish Thoroughbred Welfare Council best-turned-out league runs over each calendar year and sees racecourses record their best-turned-out winners at each of their fixtures. The best-turned-out winners are aggregated and the yards are categorised by their number of runners.
John Osborne, Equine Welfare & Bloodstock Director at Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), said: “The best-turned-out league demonstrates the high standard of care throughout the industry. It is great to see 174 Flat yards and 176 National Hunt yards win prizes at a racecourse in 2023. The best-turned-out league rewards the winners but highlights the efforts of everyone involved in looking after our horses. Their dedication deserves our thanks.”
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