- More
Long and winding road to the top table on a Classic weekend
Richard Forristal meets the hard-working Kildare trainer
Just before Christmas, Mick Halford lost one of the stabilising forces in his life when his father died. A popular figure on the Curragh, Halford snr – also Mick – was a farrier by trade, as are others in the clan.
The man who will today saddle Ballygallon Stud’s Irishcorrespondent in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and tomorrow the Aga Khan’s Rehana – both home-breds – in the fillies’ equivalent, briefly tried his hand at the family business.
“I used to tell my father that I had a harder neck than I had a back,” Halford recalls fondly. “I wasn’t built for the job.”
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on inFeatures
Last updated
Copy- Top racing and betting books of 2025: must-reads of the year, from the perfect Christmas gift to tales of old-school punting
- The comeback kid and Cheltenham's first lady - how Bob Olinger and Rachael Blackmore proved the perfect couple
- Eat, sleep, report, repeat: back on duty and back on the naughty step at the Tattersalls December Sale
- Coole Cody: the old prize-fighter who put on a show for everybody and made Cheltenham his own
- Foxtrots, false starts and fumbles as racing stars channel their inner Strictly - all for a great cause
- Top racing and betting books of 2025: must-reads of the year, from the perfect Christmas gift to tales of old-school punting
- The comeback kid and Cheltenham's first lady - how Bob Olinger and Rachael Blackmore proved the perfect couple
- Eat, sleep, report, repeat: back on duty and back on the naughty step at the Tattersalls December Sale
- Coole Cody: the old prize-fighter who put on a show for everybody and made Cheltenham his own
- Foxtrots, false starts and fumbles as racing stars channel their inner Strictly - all for a great cause