Barry O’Neill is a winner at annual HRI awards

By Dan Walsh

The 21^st Horse Racing Ireland Awards were presented in Dublin last night (Monday) and Wexford’s Barry O’Neill from Kiltealy is the Point-to-Point Award winner after a thoroughly dominant season.

A total of 64 winners in the pointing fields saw Barry crowned champion rider for the seventh straight year as he rode almost double the number of winners of any other rider.

With the assistance of Colin Bowe and David Christie in particular, the Wexford rider could boast a 33% strike rate for the season, his highest to date across 18 seasons of race-riding, and his growing list of regional titles was further enhanced by the addition of the eastern and northern awards in 2023.

Barry O’Neill has ridden 798 career winners and is leading the 2023-24 championship with 19 winners to date.

There was a second Wexford winner at the awards. Poulpeasty native Aidan O’Brien won the Flat Award. A multiple Group 1 winner once again, Aidan won at the highest level in Ireland with Auguste Rodin taking both the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, the trainer’s 100th European Classic win, and the Kingdom Of Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes. Paddington won the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas while also at the Curragh, Savethelastdance won the Juddmonte Irish Oaks, Luxembourg captured the Tattersalls Gold Cup with the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes going the way of Henry Longfellow. Auguste Rodin also gave Aidan a record ninth Epsom Derby success and his 17th winner at the Breeders’ Cup in early November and the following afternoon he was crowned champion trainer for the 26th time.
Horse Racing Ireland Chairman, Nicky Hartery, commented: “Our annual awards give deserved recognition to everyone who makes the Irish racing and breeding industries the outstanding successes they are. I want to thank everyone for their efforts and dedication throughout the year and on this night.”