Tom Pedulla is interviewing prominent owners, trainers and jockeys for America’s Best Racing as they travel the Road to the 147th Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve on May 1 at Churchill Downs.
Month: February 2021
Former Jockey, Racing Administrator Pat Buckley Dies
The racing world has lost one of its most popular and respected characters with the passing at the age of 77 of former Grand National-winning jockey Pat Buckley, who ranks as one of the most influential administrators in the history of racing in the United Arab Emirates.
Born and raised in Ireland, Pat Buckley spent his entire riding career based in the north of England in the Middleham stable of Captain Neville Crump, who was then one of the country's leading National Hunt trainers and to whom Buckley worked firstly as an apprentice (between November 1957 and July '62) and subsequently as stable jockey.
Having ridden his first winner aged 17 on Blue Moth in the prestigious Hearts of Oak Chase at Manchester in 1961, Buckley cemented his place in the top tier of Britain's National Hunt jockeys merely two years later when he enjoyed a stunning spell of success in the spring of 1963. Firstly he picked up an outside ride on the Keith Piggott-trained 66/1 chance Ayala in the greatest race of all, the Grand National at Aintree, and guided the lightly-weighted 9-year-old to a famous victory, beating Carrickbeg and John Lawrence (later Lord Oaksey) by three quarters of a length. A month later he won another of Britain's premier steeplechases, taking the Whitbread Gold Cup at Sandown on the Crump-trained Hoodwinked.
Buckley went on to spend over a decade as one of the leading jockeys in what was a golden age for National Hunt racing in the north of England and Scotland, one of a select band of dominant Irish riders alongside the likes of his compatriots Ron Barry, Tommy Stack, Paddy Broderick, Barry Brogan and, towards the end of that time, Jonjo O'Neill. He rode the winners of many other great races including when he and Crump won 'the Whitbread' again the following year courtesy of Dormant lowering the colours of the great Mill House (in circumstances which are unlikely to be repeated as the winner was receiving three stone from the runner-up, Dormant carrying 9 stone 7lb and Mill House 12 stone 7lb).
Other notable victories came in the Scottish Grand National at Ayr (in 1968 on the Crump-trained Arcturus), the Mildmay Memorial Steeplechase at Sandown (on Dormant in 1964), the Liverpool Hurdle, the Coronation Hurdle and the Eider Chase. Having made a dream Grand National start by winning the great race at the first attempt while still a teenager, Buckley rode in it a further six times, including when fourth on Rutherfords in 1968.
Retiring from race-riding in his early 30s, Buckley set up as a trainer in the North Yorkshire village of Spennithorne, a few miles from Middleham, but soon discovered the difficulties of balancing the books when one only has a small string. He then worked as assistant trainer to John Hill in Barnstaple in Devon and as head lad to Nicky Vigors in Lambourn before accepting an offer in the late 1970s from the Sultan of Oman to help him to establish a major racing operation in Oman.
Once that project was up and running, Buckley was hired by Sheikh Mohammed to assist in the task of establishing Dubai as a world-leading racing centre. A key figure in the creation of the racecourses at Nad al Sheba and then Meydan, Buckley played a major part in the inauguration of the Dubai World Cup in 1996 and the subsequent consolidation of its position as one of the landmark events in the international racing calendar. He continued to work in the administration of racing in the UAE until his retirement, actively involved over the years in nearly every aspect of the sport's governance, with his experience, integrity and unvarying good humour making him not only one of the most respected but also one of the most popular members of the racing community.
A loving and beloved husband of Joyce (who predeceased him), proud father of Kevin (Coolmore's representative in Great Britain) and Helen, and doting grandfather, Pat Buckley will be remembered as one of the high-achievers of the racing world and also as one of its most likeable characters. We offer our deepest condolences to his family and friends.
The news of Buckley's death reached Meydan in the midst of its Thursday evening carnival card, and the jockeys wore black armbands in his honor for the last two races. The winning riders of the last two races paid tribute to Buckley; Richie Mullen said after winning the Meydan Classic Trial: “I would just like to dedicate that win to Pat Buckley-the whole of the UAE has lost a great man. I've been here for 22 years and counting and Pat has been a big part of racing here and a big part of my life. He's been a great friend over the years and he hasn't been well and we received the sad news this evening. The UAE will be a quiet place without him. We can only send our condolences to his family here in the UAE and back home in Newmarket.
“His Highness Sheikh Zayed brought him over and he set up Abu Dhabi Racing and was an integral part of the original World Cup here. As an apprentice I came here and he mentored us over the years and I have had a lot of trip with Pat over the years. He has been a great friend and it's a huge loss. Like I said the world is a smaller place without him.”
William Buick said after winning the Listed Dubai Sprint: “I am very sorry hear of Pat Buckley's passing, and my condolences to all of his family and friends. He was always very friendly and the ultimate professional. A very sad day for horse racing, not just in the UAE but around the world.”
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Looking For A Barn Buddy? This Kentucky Group Can Help Find You The Perfect Mouser
Many readers have long enjoyed our Barn Buddies series, which featured companion animals of all sorts in stud barns, racing shedrows, and hobby farms. (See the full Barn Buddies archive here.) While we have profiled a wide variety of species in the series, it was originally born out of the popularity of barn cats (and cats on the internet). One Lexington, Ky., based non-profit is hoping to make barn cats even more of a fixture on the area's Thoroughbred and sport horse farms.
The best ideas are born when someone can patch together two problems with a single solution, and Working Cat Project founder Peyton Skaggs has managed to do exactly that, relatively quickly. Back in the dreamy, pre-pandemic days of January 2020, Skaggs found herself riding a train through Paris at midnight on New Year's Eve. As her friends began making their resolutions for the year ahead, Skaggs resolved to find a way to help feral cats.
Skaggs had volunteered with a number of Central Kentucky shelters before and knew how many feral cats went unplaced and, ultimately, euthanized. An adult feral cat is a tough sell to a family that wants an indoor companion they can pet and play with. Likewise, she had learned there was an interest by horse farms in using cats as a chemical-free solution to rodents in the feed room, but many had negative experiences.
“That's why I named it the Working Cat Project – people in the racing world look at horses as workers,” she said. “They love them, but they have a job, a role, and that's just how farm people are. I wanted to advertise [the cats] as workers and employees.
“We try to make the process as easy as possible for the adopters so they'll want to come back, adopt more, and tell their friends, because we work with cats that have no other option. We work with cats that we are their last chance.”
The missing link, Skaggs believed, was education and networking, and that's when the Working Cat Project was born. The program attained 501c3 status in May 2020 and works by making the process of having a barn cat as easy as possible for the host farm. Cats are spayed or neutered and fully vaccinated before they arrive to their new work assignment. Skaggs communicates with shelters with feral cats in need of placement and brings the cat, along with a 42-inch kennel, food, and water and litter, and sets the cat up in a safe spot in the barn for four weeks. The mistake many people make with acclimating a new barn cat, she said, is letting them roam too soon.
“That's where a lot of people go wrong,” she said. “You can't just take a wild animal, more or less, and let them loose. Even if you brought a friendly cat home and put them on your back porch, they probably wouldn't 'stick.' The kenneling process is to ensure the cats stick.”
Barn staff obviously have to clean the litter box while the cat is kenneled, but after it's released, they only need to refill food and water. Skaggs comes to collect the equipment after the cat is loose in the barn. More often than not, she said the people in the barn bond with the cats, some of whom become more friendly with time and repeated positive experiences during their kennel time.
“One of the most rewarding parts has been seeing how much people adore the cats,” she said. “They'll say, 'I'm not a cat person,' and then I'll get pictures three weeks in and they've bought them toys and cat houses and say they've been convinced. It's been really sweet.”
Skaggs meets a horse during a placement check-in for the Working Cat Project
Skaggs is delighted by the success of the program, which has come almost entirely from social media referrals, since she has been unable to promote or fundraise in person due to COVID-19. She said she looks forward to continuing the program as a stress relief from her busy schedule – she is in a pre-med program at the University of Kentucky and preparing to begin medical school there soon. She thinks of the Working Cat Project as a memorial to her cat Jack, who died unexpectedly of lymphoma at 14 months old.
The program just celebrated its 200th placement and has satisfied farm managers at Calumet Farm, Denali Stud, Three Chimneys, Fares Farm, and Kessler Show Stables among many others. The majority of placements are in Central Kentucky, but Skaggs has traveled as far as Louisville and Somerset to bring a cat to a new home. The program does not have a set adoption or equipment fee, simply a suggested donation for each placement. If a cat has a medical issue, Skaggs will help trap the animal and get it to a veterinarian for help.
“I'd say I'm basically on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week for questions or concerns,” she said. “I set my mind to something and I just do it, even if it means working through the night.”
The post Looking For A Barn Buddy? This Kentucky Group Can Help Find You The Perfect Mouser appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
The Curragh Honours Alpha Centauri
The Curragh announced that the Niarchos Family will sponsor the Aug. 22 G2 Debutante S. to acknowledge the racing career of Niarchos homebred Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), who was named Cartier champion 3-year-old filly and Irish Horse of the Year in 2018. During her racing career, she won six of 10 starts, including the G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas, G1 Coronation S., G1 Falmouth S. and G1 Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard.
“The Niarchos family are synonymous with racing at the Curragh with their name associated with numerous high-quality winners over many years,” Evan Arkwright, Racing and Sponsorship Manager, The Curragh commented. “We are delighted that they have agreed to honour Alpha Centauri by adding her name to a race that consistently attracts the very best juvenile fillies.”
In 2019, the Jessica Harrington-trained Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea The Moon {Ger}), a half-sister to Alpha Centauri, also owned and bred by the Niarchos family, won under Shane Foley before going on to a Group 1 success in the 2020 G1 Coronation S. She was the highest-rated 3yo filly in the Longines World Rankings over one mile in 2020.
Maria Niarchos-Gouazé said, “Racing in Ireland has been very good to my family and we are pleased to be able to support the Curragh through the sponsorship of such a prestigious race that has been won by many brilliant fillies, including Alpine Star.”
Alpha Centauri, who retired from racing in 2018, produced a colt by Galileo last season.
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