Leeside jockeys Wayne Lordan and Darragh O'Keeffe are honoured
Rockview Roman and Wayne Lordan win for trainer John McConnell last month in Dundalk. Picture: Healy Racing.
Barry Drake
TWO Cork jockeys were honoured at the Horse Racing Ireland Awards.
The Flat Achievement Award went to Corkman Wayne Lordan who had a terrific time of things in 2019.
He began the season with success on Hermosa in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket and rounding off the year with a first Breeders’ Cup win on Iridessa, adding to their wins in the Pretty Polly Stakes and the Coolmore Fastnet Rock Matron Stakes on Longines Irish Champions Weekend.
Darragh O’Keeffe is the winner of the inaugural Emerging Talent Award.
Darragh O'Keeffe. Picture: Chris Bellew/Fennell Photography
Standing out among several hugely promising young National Hunt jockeys, Darragh landed his 60th success and rode out his claim when winning the Cork National on the Michael Hourigan-trained The Gatechecker at Cork at the beginning of last month.
Darragh rode his first winner only 16 months previously. The Doneraile jockey looks a terrific prospect.
Tiger Roll, owned by Gigginstown House Stud, is one of the most popular horses in training and was the runaway winner of the Horse Of The Year Award.
In April of this year, he became the first horse since Red Rum in 1973 and 1974 to record back-to-back wins in the Aintree Grand National for trainer Gordon Elliott and jockey Davy Russell, having notched up his fourth win at the Cheltenham Festival only the month before.
