Darragh Kenny and Eddy Blue top all-Irish podium in Canada

Darragh Kenny (IRL) & Eddy Blue win today’s Recon Metal 1.55m on the International Ring — Darragh Kenny and Eddy Blue win the Recon Metal 1.55m on the International Ring. Credit: Spruce Meadows Media/Bart Onyszko.

Darragh Kenny topped an all-Irish podium in the International Ring at Spruce Meadows, Canada, on Thursday night.

The Offaly native and Eddy Blue won the Recon Metal Cup 1.55m against a strong field of 40 other combinations.

The Irish combination posted the fastest clear round in the jump off with a time of 40.07 seconds.

David O’Brien and El Balou Old claimed the runner-up spot with a jump-off clear in 40.15 seconds.

Conor Swail and My Lady Lavista were third – clear in 40.23 seconds.

In a tightly-fought leaderboard, there was less than two-tenths of a second from first to third over the Olaf Petersen Jr. designed course.

“It was a great class,” Kenny stated. “Very fast jump off. I absolutely love jumping in this ring. The footing is incredible. You know, it’s always been a lucky ring for me, actually, I’ve always had good success in it.”

The winning Irish rider continued:

“And, my horse was brilliant. He’s in super form at the moment. He had a really uncharacteristic result in the Grand Prix last week, but, he bounced back and jumps super today, and I expect a good result on Saturday.””

Conor Swail and Clonterm Obolensky win in Canada

Conor Swail (IRL) & Clonterm Obolensky win today’s Francis Family 1.45m-1.50m on the International Ring — Conor Swail and Clonterm Obolensky win the Francis Family 1.45m-1.50m in the International Ring. Credit: Spruce Meadows Media/Bart Onyszko.

World number 15 ranked rider, Conor Swail topped the leaderboard in the Francis Family 1.50m competition to start day two of the ‘National’ at Spruce Meadows.

Riding the nine-year-old stallion Clonterm Obolensky, the winning combination stopped the timers in 42.48 seconds – the fastest time of the class.

Overall it was a very good competition for Irish combinations as they took four of the first six places in the class.

Darragh Kenny and Mendoze VDL took second place.

Jordan Coyle and Jorisca were fourth, while Swail also finished in sixth position, riding One Edition. This combination had won the Township Planning + Design Cup Trophy last Saturday.

Irish 1-2-3 at Spruce Meadows

Conor Swail and One Edition win the Township Planning + Design Cup Trophy, presented by Kristi Beunder. Credit: Spruce Meadows Media/Mike Sturk.

Irish riders remained in winning form overnight at Spruce Meadows in Canada with Conor Swail leading an Irish sweep of the podium.

World Number 15 ranked Swail and One Edition won the 5* class, after posting a clear round in 41.73 seconds in the 14-horse jump-off.

The time was less than one tenth of a second faster than Offaly’s Darragh Kenny and Lightning. Kenny rounded out the podium aboard his mount Diaroubet.

Jordan Coyle and Jorsica were 10th, ensuring four Irish combinations finished in the top-10.

Darragh Kenny had to settle for the runner-up position again in The French Family Cup.

Riding Mendoza VDL, the Irishman was beaten by Grace DeFoe of the United States, who posted a winning clear in 42.40 seconds in the 11-horse jump off.

Lambourn and Wayne Lordan win Betfred Derby at Epsom

Lambourn (13/2) gave Aidan O’Brien an 11th Betfred Derby with success today at Epsom.

It was also a first success in the race for Co Cork-born jockey Wayne Lordan and an eighth in the past 12 years for successful owners, the Coolmore partners.

Lordan and Lambourn, a son of Australia led from the stalls and, in the style of Serpentine in 2020, was not for catching.

He extended his advantage over the field as they came down the home straight.

The 50/1 chance in the betting market, Lazy Griff, was runner-up for trainer Charlie Johnston and jockey Christophe Soumillon three and three-quarter lengths behind the winner.

Dylan Browne McMonagle aboard Tennessee Stud, also owned by the same partners as the winner, finished third for Joseph O’Brien, a further length back.

“Everybody puts in so much”

Aidan O’Brien, for whom it was an 11th success in the Betfred Derby, said:

“I’m only a small part of a very big team. For everybody – everybody puts in so much, I cannot tell you. I can’t tell you the privilege it is for me to be dealing with everybody. Australia [Lambourn’s sire] is a great Derby winner, very genuine, and that’s what this horse is – uncomplicated, genuine and committed. He always has been.

“His runs this year have been very good this year – he was second to Delacroix, and then was very impressive in Chester. Chester again – you have to be on your game and you have to stay, and that’s the way he was. Ryan loved him in Chester and he obviously can’t ride them all. He’s probably an Irish Derby horse, and he will get further as well.”

“It’s a special place to win”

Wayne Lordan was asked by ITV Racing what it was like to win the Derby, with the Cork jockey admitting:

“When you’re growing up… I’ve been watching you (Johnny Murtagh), Pat Smullen, Mick Kinane, and it’s the race you always want to… Then when you get a ride in it, you’re absolutely delighted. I work for Aidan O’Brien, Ballydoyle, Coolmore, and when they give you the opportunity to ride a horse like this, in a race like this, and for him to do it… it’s a special race to win.”

Daniel Coyle Double at Spruce Meadows

Daniel Coyle and Incredible were top of the podium at Spruce Meadows. Credit: Spruce Meadows Media/Bart Onyszko.

Derry’s Daniel Coyle claimed two wins in the early hours of Saturday morning at Spruce Meadows in Canada.

The Irish rider first took The Partners 1.50m competition on the All Canada Ring. Later in the day, Coyle followed up with success in The Mustangs 1.55m.

Irish podium in The Partners 1.50

The Partners 1.50 class saw an Irish podium clean sweep with Daniel Coyle leading home Darragh Kenny and David O’Brien.

In the seven horse jump-off, Legacy set a quick 40.28 seconds target for the other combinations.

Offaly’s Darragh Kenny and Eddie Blue were closest in 41.10 seconds, with David O’Brien and El Balou Old also giving it a good effort with 41.38 seconds, but both ultimately ended slightly short of their fellow countryman.

Coyle doubles up in The Mustangs

In The Mustangs 1.55m, riding the grey gelding Incredible in the sixteen entry class, Daniel Coyle and his partner delivered the fastest clear in the jump-off, breaking the beams in 38.66 seconds.

Coyle was full of praise for the venue, stating:

“I can’t say enough good things about Spruce Meadows. I’ve learned so much here. My horses have learned so much here, it’s an amazing job what they’re doing. They never stop making the place better. They put the new ring (footing) in last year. I think it’s even better this year. So I’m looking forward to the weekend and we’ve had a great start.”

Canada’s Kara Chad (Igor GPH) took the runner-up spot, ahead of Briton Matthew Sampson (Ebolensky) in third.

Jordan Coyle and For Gold were fourth, with Conor Swail and Casturano in tenth place.

Minnie Hauk is 11th Betfred Oaks winner for Aidan O’Brien

Minnie Hauk and Pat Keating — Pat Keating leads Betfred Oaks winner, Minnie Hauk, out of the winner's enclosure at Epsom. Credit: Breandán Ó hUallacháin.

Minnie Hauk (9/2) won the 2025 Betfred Oaks at Epsom this afternoon giving Aidan O’Brien an 11th victory in the fillies’ classic.

Ridden by Ryan Moore, the daughter of Frankel held off her stable companion, Whirl (15/2) and Wayne Lordan by a neck at the finishing line of the one mile four furlongs contest.

Whirl, a daughter of Wootton Bassett, had made most of the early running, setting the pace for the perceived stable number one choice, Minnie Hauk.

With both fillies battling inside the final furlong, Minnie Hauk found a little more to claim the Group 1 prize.

Whirl finished a further four lengths ahead of the impressive Betfred 1000 Guineas winner at Newmarket last month, Desert Flower, the 11/10 favourite today.

The win is the sixth success for the Coolmore partners since Minding won in 2016.

Jan Brueghel wins Betfred Coronation Cup at Epsom

Jan Brueghel claimed the Group 1 Betfred Coronation Cup at Epsom this afternoon.

Trained at Ballydoyle by Aidan O’Brien, the four-year-old was the first of a Group 1 double for the Co Wexford-born handler and jockey Ryan Moore with Minnie Hauk taking the Betfred Oaks later in the afternoon.

Jan Brueghel, who ran second to Galen over a mile and a quarter in the Group 3 tote.ie Alleged Stakes at The Curragh recently on his first racecourse appearance for 2025, won today over a mile and a half this afternoon.

Owned by the Coolmore partners, Jan Brueghel is a tenth Coronation Cup success for O’Brien, and it means that Galileo has now sired a Group 1 winner each of the last twenty years.

Mr Percy takes Sky Bet Race To The Ebor Handicap

Wednesday evening’s eight race card at The Curragh saw doubles for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore, while Mr Percy and Gazelle D’Or won the two €50,000 handicaps sponsored by Sky Bet.

Sky Bet Race To The Ebor Handicap (Premier Handicap)

Mr Percy (2/1) earned a place in the Sky Bet Ebor at York in August by winning the SkyBet Race To The Ebor Handicap over a mile and six furlongs.

Carrying bottom weight of 8 stone 7 pounds this evening, the Joseph O’Brien-trained son of Sir Percy had just a neck to spare at the line, under five-pound claimer, Wayne Hassett.

Jabbar (25/1), from the Ger O’Leary stable took the runner-up position, while the eight-year-old Helvic Dream (25/1) took third for Noel Meade and Dylan Browne McMonagle.

Sky Bet Handicap

The €50,000 Sky Bet Handicap (Premier Handicap) went to the Michael Grassick-handled Equiano filly Gazelle D’Or (14/1).

Ridden by Cork jockey Wayne Lordan, the Aidan Gleeson and Joseph Keeling-owned three-year-old had won three times previously from five to six furlongs.

Today, she held off Brigid’s Cloak (11/2) by a length, with Jorge Alvares (7/2 favourite) a neck further back in third for Ger Lyons and stable jockey Colin Keane.

Wootton Bassett Double

Two juvenile colts by Coolmore Stud’s sire of the moment, Wootton Bassett, won the first two maidens on the card.

Amadeus Mozart (10/11 favourite) took the opening SkyBet For The Fans Irish EBF Maiden for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore by half a length.

With three runners in the field from Ballydoyle, a Coolmore partners-owned horse filled the runner-up spot as well with the fast finishing grey Dorset (5/1) in the hand of Wayne Lordan.

The double was quickly completed in the next, the Businessplus.ie Irish EBF Maiden when Flushing Meadows (5/2) took the win.

The 80/1 outside The Piper’s Call, ridden by S T McCullagh, took the second post, one and a half-lengths behind the winner. North Coast (11/) and Dylan Browne McMonagle took third for Joseph O’Brien, while another Ballydoyle horse, Puerto Rico (10/1) claimed fourth.

Maiden winners for Harrington and O’Donoghue

The third maiden of the evening, The Spar Shop At The Curragh Maiden went to the Shane Foley-ridden Cold Hearted (5/1).

Placed in four of her seven previous starts, the Blue Point three-year-old filly got the better of a battle with race favourite Stella Alpina (10/11), by half a length, with the same distance back to Marlborough Place (7/2) in third.

The Gannon Interiors Fillies Maiden was won by It’s A Heartbeat (7/1) and Ronan Whelan, who has recently returned to action from injury.

Fourth on her racecourse debut at Naas in April, the daughter of Too Darn Hot was a two and a half-length winner for handler John O’Donoghue.

The second, Jannah Star (13/8 favourite), was another placing on the evening for the Dylan Browne McMonagle and Joseph O’Brien combination, while the well-fancied Tanoya (5/2) from the Paddy Twomey yard claimed third spot, a further two and half lengths behind.

The Sky Bet Extra Places Every Day went the way of Midnight Horizon (7/1) for handler Denis Hogan and rider Joey Sheridan.

R360: Rugby’s Bold New Frontier or a Distraction Doomed to Fail?

🌍 R360: Rugby’s Bold New Frontier or a Distraction Doomed to Fail?

Talk of a rugby revolution is rarely far from the headlines, but for once, there’s substance behind the speculation. The proposed ‘R360’ franchise league—led by former England centre Mike Tindall—is no mere fantasy. It’s backed by serious investors, fronted by familiar names, and has reportedly begun the franchise bidding process. For the first time in a long time, rugby is flirting with disruption on the scale of LIV Golf or cricket’s IPL. Framed as a response to rugby’s bloated calendar and struggling domestic leagues, R360 promises something radically different: 16 weekends of elite, city-hopping, spectacle-driven rugby featuring eight men’s teams and four women’s sides (initially). Franchises would travel to global hubs like New York, São Paulo, Los Angeles—and yes, even Croke Park is being eyed.

💰 The Money Talks

Reports of £1 million annual salaries for 40 marquee names have understandably caused a stir. The IRFU is watching closely—very closely. No Irish player has signed up yet, but in a sport where the salary ceiling is notoriously low and central contracts are sacred, it’s easy to imagine the allure. If nothing else, it puts pressure on unions to explain why they’re asking top players to grind through a never-ending season for a fraction of the proposed payday.

🏉 Could It Work?

R360’s biggest challenge isn’t logistics or funding—it’s culture. The rugby public isn’t like golf or cricket. We buy into stories, rivalries, provinces, flags. There’s tribalism, heritage, and bitter history baked into every Leinster v Munster clash, every Toulouse epic in the Champions Cup. That doesn’t disappear just because a made-up team of world stars plays a glitzy fixture at a neutral venue. Would Irish fans fill Croke Park for a weekend of fixtures between unknown franchises featuring cherry-picked global talent and a few homegrown heroes? Possibly once. But can it build a connection, a legacy, a real fanbase? That’s a harder sell.

🇮🇪 What It Means for Irish Rugby

If the R360 does take off, it could pull apart the delicate balance that underpins Irish rugby. Players will be tempted. Some will leave. That’s the reality. The question then becomes: should the IRFU resist or embrace it? Could top Irish players participate in R360 and still line out in green, given that the league will supposedly respect World Rugby’s release windows? Would that free up central contract funds for broader development? Or would it gut the URC and Champions Cup, leaving the provinces to wither without their marquee men? These are uncomfortable questions, but ones that can no longer be ignored. The club game is already under pressure—from South African expansion, from dwindling attendances, from a public unsure when one season ends and another begins. As flawed as it may be, the current model gives Irish rugby identity and stability. A breakaway league risks turning that into chaos.

🌪️ Winds of Change

We are still in the brochure stage, yes. But the names involved—Tindall, Stuart Hooper, people with IPL and LIV credentials—are not messing around. With NFL and Formula 1 money sniffing around the project, the R360 might just be rugby’s most serious attempt at global disruption to date. It may fizzle. Or it may force everyone—unions, clubs, broadcasters—to rethink the model. Either way, Irish rugby cannot afford to be caught flat-footed. The URC is holding up, just about, but the cracks are showing. What happens next could define the next generation of the sport.

Would you support a new global franchise league in rugby? Let us know in the comments below.

Ireland Summer Tour Squad 2025 – Provincial Breakdown

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🇮🇪 Ireland Summer Tour Squad 2025 – Provincial Breakdown

Andy Farrell has named a youthful and dynamic 32-man squad for Ireland’s Summer Tour to Georgia and Portugal, with a strong Leinster and Munster influence and a number of uncapped talents set to get their first taste of international rugby. Here’s a full breakdown by province:

🟥 Munster (12 players)

Forwards: Tom Ahern (Shannon)*, Gavin Coombes (Young Munster) (2), Alex Kendellen (UCC)*, Michael Milne (UCD)* Backs: Craig Casey (Shannon) (18, Captain), Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution) (24), Calvin Nash (Young Munster) (10)

🔵 Leinster (14 players)

Forwards: Ryan Baird (Dublin University) (27), Jack Boyle (UCD) (2), Thomas Clarkson (Dublin University) (6), Max Deegan (Lansdowne) (2), Gus McCarthy (UCD) (4), Paddy McCarthy (Dublin University)*, Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley)*, Michael Milne (UCD)* Backs: Ciaran Frawley (UCD) (8), Jimmy O’Brien (Naas) (8), Tommy O’Brien (UCD)*, Jamie Osborne (Naas) (7), Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne) (8)

🟢 Connacht (6 players)

Forwards: Finlay Bealham (Corinthians) (51), Darragh Murray (Buccaneers)*, Cian Prendergast (UCD) (4) Backs: Shayne Bolton*, Hugh Gavin (Galwegians)*, Ben Murphy (Clontarf)*

⚫ Ulster (8 players + 3 panellists)

Forwards: Cormac Izuchukwu (Ballynahinch) (1), Tom O’Toole (Ballynahinch) (16), Tom Stewart (Ballynahinch) (2), Nick Timoney (Banbridge) (3) Backs: Nathan Doak (Banbridge)*, Stuart McCloskey (Bangor) (19), Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan) (38) Training Panellists: James McNabney (City of Armagh)*, Jude Postlethwaite (City of Armagh)*, Zac Ward (Ballynahinch)*

🗓️ Tour Fixtures

Saturday, 5th July: Georgia v Ireland, Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi (9pm local / 6pm Irish time)
Saturday, 12th July: Portugal v Ireland, Estádio Nacional do Jamor, Lisbon (7pm local / Irish time)

Tickets are available from the respective rugby unions of Georgia and Portugal.

*Uncapped players are marked with an asterisk. Squad subject to change.