The Wexford takeover continues…
Both a Wexford-based jockey and a Wexford trainer combined for a win at the Cheltenham Festival on Thursday.
Cleariestown jockey, Barry Stone, was on board of Daily Present trained and won the Kim Muir Amateur Jockey’s Handicap Chase.
Remarkably, it was his first ride of the festival and his first-ever ride in Britain.
Meanwhile, Daily Present was trained by Enniscorthy and Wexford-based horse trainer, Paul Nolan, and was bred in Wexford at Jimmy and Eileen Furlong’s Thistletown Stud.
Speaking after the race to ITV, Barry stated:
“It’s magical stuff. I’ve been dreaming of it for years growing up and nothing can top this. This is what dreams are made of. You’re following the best lads around so you can’t do too much wrong when you’re following them boys.
“My uncle was a jockey in Ireland and he’s a trainer now, training point-to-pointers. My brother is a professional jockey. We’ve grown up with horses all our lives and places like this is where you’d want to be. He winged the last and when I landed, I knew I just had to keep him up to his work,” the Wexford man said.
Barry’s brother is professional jockey, Conor Stone Walsh, who came in second place at the Festival after a fantastic ride on board of Robbie’s Rock on Day 1 of the Festival.
On Wednesday, two Wexford jockeys had wins at Cheltenham. Wexford jockey, Sean O’Keeffe and Sean Flanagan claimed their first wins of the Cheltenham festival for 2025.
It’s great to see Wexford thrive on one of the biggest horse-racing festivals in the world.
The final day of the Festival – and the penultimate Gold Cup – will take place on Friday.
Jason Redmond
From Gorey, Jason is the owner of Wexford Weekly. He is also a post-primary English and History teacher.
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