John Nallen proved to be a popular winner of the Point-to-Point Award as the winners were announced at the 19th annual HRI Awards.
The Clonmel hotel proprietor had been nominated alongside Pat Doyle, Barry O’Neill and Colin Bowe in the point-to-point category, but the award went the way of Nallen following a three-week period that he enjoyed last spring to last a life time.
Two horses that started out with him in the point-to-pointing field went on to win two of the biggest prizes in racing.
Minella Indo, which had made a winning debut for the Clonmel hotelier in a five-year-old maiden at Dromahane in March 2018, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup almost three years to the day of his initial success and three weeks later it was the turn of Minella Times to propel John back into the spotlight when racing to Grand National success at Aintree.
There were strong point-to-point connections right throughout the ceremony which had to be held virtually due to the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, with Rachael Blackmore claiming the Irish Racing Hero Award on the back of an outstanding year that saw her crowned the leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival only weeks before her Aintree Grand National win.
Her Champion Hurdle heroine Honeysuckle scooped the Horse of the Year Award. The Kenny Alexander-owned mare who had started her career in the pointing fields at Dromahane with Mark O’Hare and Gerry Cosgrave, again won all before her.
Easily the most popular horse in training, she topped a remarkable season with success in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. She rounded off last season when winning the Champion Hurdle at Punchestown at the end of April and made a stunning start to her 2021/2022 campaign with a third successive win in the Grade 1 Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse last month.
For her tireless work in ensuring that racing continued to run smoothly and safely during the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Jennifer Pugh, Senior Medical Officer of the IHRB, has been honoured with the Contribution to the Industry Award.
Horse Racing Ireland Chairman, Nicky Hartery, commented: “It is fitting that those who achieved such great success on the racecourse share our awards’ limelight with Dr Jennifer Pugh.
“Jennifer went above and beyond all that is expected of her in the role of Senior Medical Officer of the IHRB to keep the industry running safely as the Covid-19 pandemic again threatened to disrupt the racing year. I thank her most sincerely for all her work and congratulate each of our winners for their tremendous exploits in 2021.”
Suzanne Eade, Chief Executive of HRI, said: “I am delighted that we can pay tribute to those who achieved so much and made such telling contributions to our wonderful industry in the past 12 months. Jennifer and Rachael have been two of our leading lights and their awards are so well deserved.
“As we saw at Fairyhouse only a few weeks ago, Honeysuckle is certainly the darling of the racing public and I congratulate her owner Kenny Alexander on her achievement in winning the Horse of the Year Award.”
