Dylan Browne McMonagle after winning the Group One National Stakes at the Curragh© Photo Healy Racing
This last week has been a week like no other. It began with the tragic death of a young boy chasing his dream to become a top jockey and ended with another young man who had the very same dream landing his first Group One at the Curragh.
Jack de Bromhead and Dylan Browne McMonagle were so similar, two young boys with a burning passion to ride horses from childhood. Pony Racing has provided an outlet for these types of kids for generations, a nursery ground for budding jockeys to hone their skills. A place for them to express themselves and mature before enlisting as apprentice jockeys at the age of sixteen. Hundreds before them have followed this path into horse racing and many have gone on to become household names with glittering careers in the saddle.
Dylan is the latest star to emerge from the Pony Racing circuit and looks destined for the very top in his chosen career. It could have been the same for Jack, but for a cruel twist of fate we’ll never know.
What we do know is that Jack was a much loved son and brother who was encouraged and supported in the pursuit of his dream and in life that is all any of us can hope for.
We all have dreams, but in most cases life just gets in the way and we never actually get the chance to fulfil them. Amongst the heartbreaking sadness of Jack’s passing is the joy of knowing he was actually chasing his dream.
Queen Elizabeth II probably had lots of dreams too, but she chose duty to her family and country above all else. In all of her 96 years she rarely let her guard down and the only thing we really know about her personally is that she inherited her mother’s passion for horse racing. Out of all the video footage of her life as Queen the only clips of her showing any real emotion in public seem to have been at horse race meetings.
I was surprised with the chaotic response from the British Horseracing Authority to her passing. You would presume protocols would have been in place for years ahead as to what measures were to be taken when she died. Up to mid-morning on Friday no decision had been made about the St Leger meeting at Doncaster on Saturday and only yesterday was it announced that there would be no UK racing on the day of her funeral.
David Egan will certainly be happy that the decision was made to reschedule the St Leger on Sunday and provide him with a memorable first Classic victory. The 23-year-old Kildare man dedicated his breakthrough win to the memory of Jack de Bromhead.
Frankie Dettori saw his runner-up finish in the same race on Haskoy demoted to fourth for causing interference which seemed at odds with the recent high profile case of the The Ridler at Royal Ascot. I have a feeling that if Haskoy had won the St Leger he possibly would have kept the race and it was only because he finished second that he was demoted.
Connections of Haskoy have indicated their intention to appeal the decision of the Doncaster stewards and it will be most interesting to see how they get on.
It was obviously a huge weekend for Irish racing with Champions Weekend and as usual the racing was top class. Aidan O’Brien deserves great credit for bringing Luxembourg back from injury to win the featured Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.
O’Brien, as always, was quick to deflect the praise away from himself by pointing out that it is a team effort, “It was unbelievable from a lot of people. Killian rides him every day, Stephen rides his lead horse, Derek looks after him, Jamie is in charge of him, Wayne rides him in all his work, Ryan gave him an incredible ride.” I suspect that as long as Aidan remains at the helm the other names are interchangeable and they’d still get the same results.
Several French runners and four British-trained winners added to the spectacle and importance of Irish Champions Weekend and a personal highlight was to see Highfield Princess land her third Group One contest in a row in the Flying Five at the Curragh on Sunday. To think that she was beaten in a handicap off 57 at Doncaster just over two years ago is quite remarkable.
Finally, I received a copy of Healy Photography’s latest pictorial book last Friday - Point to Point, The Heart of Irish Horse Racing, and I must say it is a gem. The 191 pages are not just packed with brilliant images and characters from that sport, but lots of stories, anecdotes and lists of all the former champions of the sport. I think it’s their best one yet!
