Stars of Irish racing set to be honoured as HRI awards nominees announced

Star fillies and mares Magical, Apple's Jade and Iridessa have been nominated for Horse of the Year at this year's Horse Racing Ireland awards, with jumping giants Tiger Roll, Al Boum Photo and Kemboy also in the reckoning.

The awards, which will be presented early next month, draw on nominees from across the Irish racing industry, with a total of 35 nominations made, an increase of nine on last year.

Trainers Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott and Henry de Bromhead, as well as jockeys Rachael Blackmore and Paul Townend, have been nominated in the National Hunt Award category.

Aidan O’Brien, Jessica Harrington, Ger Lyons, Joseph O'Brien, Donnacha O'Brien and Colin Keane are in the mix for the Flat equivalent.

Jamie Codd, who became the most successful amateur at the Cheltenham Festival, is one of four nominees for the National Hunt Achievement Award, as well as Gavin Cromwell, having prepared the ill-fated Espoir D’Allen for Champion Hurdle glory.

Jamie Codd, the winning-most amateur at the Cheltenham Festival, has been nominated for the National Hunt Achievement AwardCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

This year's Galway Hurdle victor Tony Martin is also among the nominees, alongside Davy Russell, who became the first Irish-based jockey to win consecutive renewals of the Aintree Grand National.

Ken Condon has been nominated for the Flat Achievement Award for his success with Group 1 Prix du Jacques le Marois winner Romanised.

Promising riding talent Shane Crosse, 2019 Investec Derby-winning jockey Seamie Heffernan, One Cool Poet trainer Matthew Smith and Make A Challenge's handler Denis Hogan have also made the final shortlist, as well as Wayne Lordan for his association with Group 1-winning fillies Hermosa and Iridessa.

Colin Bowe, Sam Curling, Barry O’Neill and Maxine O’Sullivan feature in the Point-to-Point category, while Peter Flood, a talented trainer between the flags, has been nominated for a new category, the Emerging Talent Award.

Wayne Lordan is among the nominees for the Flat Achievement AwardCredit: Mark Cranham

Joint-champion apprentice jockey Andrew Slattery, promising young talent Joey Sheridan and high-flying conditional Darragh O'Keeffe are also in the mix for the same prize.

Eight category winners are decided by a ballot of the Irish racing media members, while the Racecourse of the Year Award will involve consultation from a number of associations involved in the industry.

A public vote will decide the outcome of the 2019 Ride of the Year winner with the contenders, chosen by Pat Smullen and Barry Geraghty, to be announced next week.

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