Honeysuckle and St Mark’s Basilica are in the running to be crowned horse of the year at the 2021 Horse Racing Ireland Awards, for which nominations for the various categories were revealed this week.
Cheltenham Gold Cup (G1) hero Minella Indo, top two-mile chaser Chacun Pour Soi and Stayers’ Hurdle winner Flooring Porter also feature on the final shortlist, as well as star miler Poetic Flare and dual Classic heroine Snowfall .
Henry de Bromhead, Willie Mullins, Paul Townend, and Darragh O’Keeffe have been nominated for the National Hunt Award category, while Colin Keane, Jessica Harrington, Aidan O’Brien, Johnny Murtagh, and Joseph O’Brien are among the contenders for the flat equivalent.
Eight have been nominated for the National Hunt Achievement Award, including Dermot McLoughlin for his Irish Grand National success with Freewheelin Dylan and Gavin Cromwell for his group 1 double at the Cheltenham Festival. Jack Kennedy is also in the running for his Gold Cup triumph on Minella Indo, as is Shark Hanlon for his remarkable season with £600 bargain buy Skyace.
Peter Fahey, who struck at the Cheltenham and Aintree festivals with Belfast Banter, is also on the shortlist, as is Paul Hennessy for his exploits with Heaven Help Us and the Flynn family for their superb season with Colreevy.
Document-breaking beginner rider Patrick Mullins, who rode 4 group 1 winners final season and plundered the Guinness Galway Hurdle for the third time in 4 years this summer season, can also be among the many nominees.
Ado McGuinness options alongside six contenders for the Flat Achievement Award due to his breakthrough win within the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines (G1) with A Case of You .
Irish St. Leger (G1) and Ebor-winning rider Ben Coen is also nominated, as is Eddie Lynam for his Derrinstown Stud Flying Five Stakes (G1) success with Romantic Proposal .
Noel Meade could lift the prize after registering his first top-level win on the flat with Helvic Dream in the Tattersalls Gold Cup (G1), while Paddy Twomey, who operated at an impressive 30% strike-rate last season, is shortlisted too.
Jim and Jackie Bolger have been nominated for the honor following top-level triumphs with Poetic Flare and Mac Swiney , as is Rory Cleary, who partnered the latter to victory in the Tattersalls Irish Two Thousand Guineas (G1).
The Point-to-Point Award nominations go to leading horsemen Colin Bowe, Barry O’Neill, John Nallen and Pat Doyle, while the nominees for the Emerging Talent Award are all riders: Jordan Gainford, Shane Fitzgerald, Dylan Browne McMonagle, Mikey Sheehy, and Sam Ewing.
A public vote will decide the outcome of the 2021 ride of the year. The contenders, as chosen by Fran Berry and Davy Russell, will be announced shortly.
Rachael Blackmore has already been named the Irish Racing Hero for her unprecedented 2020-21 season. All other categories will be decided by a ballot of the Irish racing media before the awards ceremony Dec. 7.
New HRI chief executive Suzanne Eade said: “The number of nominations is a true reflection of the success enjoyed by Irish owners, trainers, and jockeys in 2021. There were so many great days at home and abroad and these terrific achievements deserve to be honored.”
