Donnacha has had several successes in Britain, winning the 2000 Guineas twice with Saxon Warrior (2018 and Magna Grecia (2019). Also enjoying success at Cheveley Park Stakes – Fairyland (2018), Epsom Oaks – Forever Together (2018), Middle Park Stakes – Ten Sovereigns (2018) and the Vertem Futurity Trophy – Magna Grecia (2018).
Joseph O’Brien has more winners than his brother, major wins in Egland was the Fillies’ Mile – (2) – Iridessa (2018), Pretty Gorgeous (2020) and the St Leger Stakes with Galileo Chrome in 2020. He has had 11 major wins in Ireland including the Irish Derby with Latrobe (2018), and the National Stakes – with Thunder Moon earlier this year.
They join Andrew Balding (Park House Stables) and Richard Hannon (Herridge Racing Stables) who have teamed up for the competition.
Racing League Teams Announced So Far;
- Joseph O’Brien/Donnacha O’Brien – Ireland
- Roger Charlton/Alan King/Martyn Meade/Brian Meehan – The South
- George Baker/David Menuisier/ Gary Moore/ Amanda Perrett – The South
- Andrew Balding/Richard Hannon – The South
- Charlie Fellowes/Hugo Palmer/George Scott – Newmarket
- Tim Easterby/Richard Fahey – The North
The Racing League starts in July next year and will run for six weeks. It will feature 12 teams that will contain between two and four trainers. Each team will wear bespoke colours, contain three jockeys, stable staff and will have a squad of thirty horses.
The race meetings will take place on Thursday nights for six weeks with the meets comprising of six races that are worth £50k in prize money. There is also a total of 100 points available per race. Twenty-five points are awarded, down to 1 point for tenth place. The overall winner will be the team that amasses the most points after the 36 races.
Racing League Fixture List
The Racing will take place at Doncaster, Lingfield Park, Newcastle and Royal Windsor. The dates are as follows;
- 29 July – Newcastle
- 5 August – Doncaster
- 12 August – Lingfield
- 19 August – Windsor
- 26 August – Lingfield
- 2 September – Newcastle
The races will all be 12 horse handicap races with horses rated 0-90 and run over distances between five and 12 furlongs. All fixtures will be televised with Sky Sports being confirmed as the broadcaster.
It’s interesting to note that proposed changes to whip usage for the tournament. Initial rules stated that a whip could no longer be used for encouragement; these changes have now been postponed.
