A Well Trodden Stallion Trail

Irish Thoroughbred Marketing reports over 2,000 visitors to have taken part in the third renewal of the Irish Stallion Trail which was held last Friday and Saturday. 28 stallion farms opened their doors to the public and the majority of stud representatives reported increased footfall on previous years. Attendees, many from overseas including groups from France, Germany and Poland also had the option of taking in an action packed weekend of racing that included the G1 BHP Insurance Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown on Sunday which was won by the Henry De Bromhead trained Petit Mouchoir (Fr) (Al Namix {Fr}).

Derrinstown Stud was proud to show off its replenished roster which includes last year's G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas winner Awtaad (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) and general manager Jimmy Lenehan commented, “We had a tremendous flow of people who joined the stallion trail, with increased numbers on the previous two years. To have a recent Classic winner like Awtaad standing here and on show, has been a great draw for everyone and he took it all in his stride.” Catherine Magnier of Grange Stud, part of Coolmore's national hunt division added, “The stallion trail was a huge success. ITM did a great job in promoting the trail and we had a good mix of people, from breeders to racegoers, with a lot of visitors from overseas.”

One of these overseas visitors was British-based breeder David Erwin who had only good things to say about his experience. “Myself and Simon Hope of Aston Mullins Stud had a terrific time on the Irish stallion trail. It seemed like an unqualified success from where we stood, and racing at Leopardstown on Sunday crowned a great few days,” he said. Summing up the weekend ITM's marketing manager Sarah Gavin added, “The Irish stallion trail has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2015. It was fantastic to see such large numbers turn out and we would like to thank all the studs and their staff for taking part and providing visitors with a wonderful insight into an industry we are so proud to promote.”