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Gigginstown House Stud to wind down their racing operations

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  • 14-05-2019 1:25pm
    #1
    Donald Trumped
    Closed Accounts Posts: 184 ✭✭


    Did anyone see this coming? The big losers here are Gordon Elliott who will have to find new owners that have a similar cheque book to what Michael O'Leary had in order to keep up the pace set by WP Mullins.

    What must Willie Mullins be feeling now though? He will quietly be dancing a jig to hear this surprise news, that's for sure.

    I look forward to hear what other posters think and their thoughts on their favorite Gigginstown horses in the past? There were many like War of Attrition, Apple's Jade, Don Cossack and of course Tiger Roll, to name but a few.


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    #2
    BumperD
    Registered Users Posts: 5,681 ✭✭✭BumperD


    Can you at least post a link to the fake news Donald :)


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    #3
    ASOT
    Registered Users Posts: 7,733 ✭✭✭ASOT


    BumperD wrote: »
    Can you at least post a link to the fake news Donald :)

    It's not fake news unfortunately Bumper.

    https://www.rte.ie/sport/racing/2019/0514/1049388-gigginstown-will-stop-purchasing-young-horses/

    Big shake up coming if they follow through with it anyway.


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    #4
    marvin80
    Registered Users Posts: 1,817 ✭✭✭marvin80


    Big loss to Irish Racing:

    https://www.theirishfield.ie/news-gigginstown-house-stud-to-scale-down-racing-operation-463594/


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    #5
    The Tetrarch
    Registered Users Posts: 2,092 ✭✭✭The Tetrarch


    I do not follow National Hunt but I am not surprised.


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    #6
    RoyalAcademy2
    Registered Users Posts: 48 ✭RoyalAcademy2


    My initial reaction is: good riddance.

    They always treated certain people in the game with contempt and now they (he!) has just run out of interest?

    It beggars belief.

    Just yesterday I has a conversation with an industry veteran concerning Sheikh Mohammed along the same lines. It seems inevitable that the Arabs will significantly reduce their involvement in years to come and this will be the chillest of all winds.

    I believe, in both Ireland and the UK, there is far, far too much racing (and too many racecourses) and a lot is built on a foundation of sand.

    Typical of O'Leary to have an announcement about this as it will echo on for years to come and the "Ryanair" model will perpetuate.


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    #7
    BumperD
    Registered Users Posts: 5,681 ✭✭✭BumperD


    ASOT wrote: »
    It's not fake news unfortunately Bumper.

    https://www.rte.ie/sport/racing/2019/0514/1049388-gigginstown-will-stop-purchasing-young-horses/

    Big shake up coming if they follow through with it anyway.

    Oh crap that’s not good.


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    #8
    Kauto
    Registered Users Posts: 823 ✭✭✭Kauto


    No real surprise. Not much enjoyment to be had with having 5 or 6 horses in one race on a regular basis.
    Spending upwards of 300k on 3 year olds with Mikey' s impending retirement wasn't going to last either.


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    #9
    Panrich
    Registered Users Posts: 3,781 ✭✭✭Panrich


    Does anyone know how many horses they have in training altogether? It's a huge loss to trainers but they will have at least up to 4 or 5 years to wean themselves off the dependence and streamline their operations gradually.

    The big problem as already pointed out is on how the dependence on relatively few big owners like Gigginstown unbalance the whole racing market here and their loss will be very hard felt.


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    #10
    jkbkhhho7t
    Closed Accounts Posts: 158 ✭✭jkbkhhho7t


    not good for Irish racing , Gigginstown pumped millions into it where is all the money going to come from now ? most peoples whinging about them was easily fixable with a three runners per race per owner rule


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    #11
    The Tetrarch
    Registered Users Posts: 2,092 ✭✭✭The Tetrarch


    I think it is great news for Irish jumps racing.
    I would like the same for flat racing.


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    #12
    realdanbreen
    Registered Users Posts: 8,154 ✭✭✭realdanbreen


    Surely HRI would have been in discussion with both the O'Leary and JP about their long term plans?


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    #13
    WicklowBrave
    Registered Users Posts: 230 ✭✭WicklowBrave


    I don’t think this is good news for Irish racing. Nearly every horse in the country rated 150+ will be stabled in Closutton.


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    #14
    tipptom
    Registered Users Posts: 4,219 ✭✭✭tipptom


    Spend more time with his children??

    Its not as if he was stuck down in Roscommon last night cheering on Swingbridge while the kids had no Daddy at their hockey match.

    Would say its more like they have won all the big chases they wanted to win and getting bored with it now.

    Ediie will have to fend for himself.


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    #15
    zpehtsfd
    Registered Users Posts: 627 ✭✭✭zpehtsfd


    It was no secret that the main goal the last few years was to help make GE champion trainer. They went hell for leather and it still eluded them. Big reason they're winding down now. imo.


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    #16
    NaiveMelodies
    Registered Users Posts: 3,172 ✭✭✭NaiveMelodies


    Tis very bad news for National Hunt racing. The amount of people that would have relied on GG money to make a living must be in the 1000s.

    It won't be easy to replace them with an owner/owners willing to piss their money away for the sake of sport.


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    #17
    Francie Barrett
    Registered Users Posts: 16,401 ✭✭✭✭Francie Barrett


    Not sure I buy that. Why would Michael O'Leary spend tens of millions a year to help a complete stranger be champion trainer?

    The fact he is scaling back the operation completely suggests to me that he has just fallen out of love with the game. I seem to remember earlier this year when Apple's Jade was running in the Leopardstown Champion Hurdle, and he didn't even bother turning up because he went to watch the rugby instead. The race was on well before the match, and it was just down the road. I know the Dublin racing festival isn't exactly Cheltenham, but if an owner can't be motivated to attend it, then I would question his commitment to racing.


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    #18
    tipptom
    Registered Users Posts: 4,219 ✭✭✭tipptom


    Yep,MOL doesn't give a fiddlers about Gordon Elliot or anyone else in racing.

    He was just a young trainer that he and Eddie could manipulate and get their own way with.

    Funny enough I heard last week that he was going to send a few horses back to Willie Mullins.

    Its a shame though as they had a lot of good horses that reflected well on Ireland at the big meetings but shipped a lot of criticism as well.


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    #19
    Mostly Harmless
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,192 ✭✭✭Mostly Harmless


    O'Leary getting out ahead of the curve, jumps racing will die on it's arse and he knows it.


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    #20
    Francie Barrett
    Registered Users Posts: 16,401 ✭✭✭✭Francie Barrett


    O'Leary is very wealthy, but he does sell Ryanair shares every year, presumably to provide the cash flow to finance Gigginstown. I wonder now that he has won everything, perhaps he is just fed up having to write a check for millions every year.


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    #21
    Slattsy
    Registered Users Posts: 15,775 ✭✭✭✭Slattsy


    Will he come back under another guise, ie owner Micheal OLeary solely, and maybe have a small number of horses for one trainer..

    Strange to completely pull the plug after all that time and investment, with such a bull**** excuse. Strange indeed.


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    #22
    zpehtsfd
    Registered Users Posts: 627 ✭✭✭zpehtsfd


    Francie Barrett wrote: »
    Not sure I buy that. Why would Michael O'Leary spend tens of millions a year to help a complete stranger be champion trainer?

    Elliott is hardly a complete stranger to MOL. Gigginstown had great success for years yet they went hell for leather buying the last couple of years with the majority going to Elliott. I've heard from many sources that they wanted him to become champion trainer and i believe it to be true. GL


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    #23
    zpehtsfd
    Registered Users Posts: 627 ✭✭✭zpehtsfd


    Slattsy wrote: »
    Will he come back under another guise, ie owner Micheal OLeary solely, and maybe have a small number of horses for one trainer..

    Strange to completely pull the plug after all that time and investment, with such a bull**** excuse. Strange indeed.

    They have lots of young horses to go into training so he'll be around for another 8 years or so at least.


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    #24
    DJIMI TRARORE
    Registered Users Posts: 3,560 ✭✭✭DJIMI TRARORE


    Call me a sceptic,but would Ryanair be about to announce something soon,I know,completely different to Gigginstown,but then again it's OLeary


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    #25
    The Tetrarch
    Registered Users Posts: 2,092 ✭✭✭The Tetrarch


    A move to get Tiger Roll carrying 10-0 in next year's Grand National. :)


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    #26
    Gavin "shels"
    Registered Users Posts: 17,963 ✭✭✭✭Gavin "shels"


    Wonder if he's pulling his sponsorship... that would be huge too!


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    #27
    STB.
    Registered Users Posts: 5,380 ✭✭✭STB.


    Mostly Harmless wrote: »
    O'Leary getting out ahead of the curve, jumps racing will die on it's arse and he knows it.

    In a nutshell. Controlled exit.

    Both O Leary's have been very vocal on the selling of the Irish TV rights to Racing UK, predicting that the industry would be fecked in a very short period of time with limited prize money and nobody watching. HRI came out with some fluffy denial.

    The industry has been squeezed by the bookies who put not a whole lot back in. ARC have pissed off everyone in the UK industry with the poor state of prize money.

    Couple that with buying horses that put up miraculous cameos and performances on the point to point circuit, but prove a disappointment on track, especially for the monies paid.


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    #28
    BumperD
    Registered Users Posts: 5,681 ✭✭✭BumperD


    Mostly Harmless wrote: »
    O'Leary getting out ahead of the curve, jumps racing will die on it's arse and he knows it.

    Why do you think jumps racing will die?


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    #29
    Annabella1
    Registered Users Posts: 637 ✭✭✭Annabella1


    Retained the Grand National
    Won Gold Cups and multiple grade 1’s
    Has always says publicly that he loses his shirt on running Gigginstown
    Nothing left to achieve
    Will probably bring Mullingar RFC to the AIL next


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    #30
    Motivator
    Registered Users Posts: 2,751 ✭✭✭Motivator


    There are winners and losers in this situation. Many will benefit from increased opportunities but I feel Irish Racing as a whole will suffer.

    I’m never short to criticise the Gigginstown operation. I feel a lot of the things they do are wrong but I also have to acknowledge the good that they do. I hate seeing multiple runners in races and half the runners on a card owned by one man but I feel Irish Racing will be worse off without him. I never thought he would pull the plug completely, I envisioned a big scale back where a focus was on quality rather than quantity but the announcement today was a surprise.

    Who replaces the money Gigginstown pump into the Irish Racing now?


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    #31
    Gavin "shels"
    Registered Users Posts: 17,963 ✭✭✭✭Gavin "shels"


    Anyone happen to have a paid Indo account? This article could be interesting: https://www.independent.ie/sport/horse-racing/analysis-an-expensive-hobby-the-numbers-behind-michael-olearys-decision-to-step-away-from-racing-38112285.html


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