Honeysuckle the mount of Rachel Blackmore was named as Horse of the Year for the second year in succession at the annual Horse Racing Ireland Awards which were announced in Dublin last evening.
Leading owner JP McManus and the recently retired Kevin Manning were also among those honoured at the award night. Winner of the Contribution to the Industry Award, JP McManus is a 19-time champion National Hunt owner in Ireland. He has been associated well in excess of 4,000 winners, including the Champion Hurdle, the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Aintree Grand National. Kevin Manning’s career spanned 40 years with a farewell winner for his great ally Jim Bolger at Galway in October and he wins the Irish Racing Hero Award. Kevin was champion apprentice in 1984 and again in 1987 and his career would yield 36 Group 1 winners including both the Epsom and Irish Derby classics.
The 10 winners at the 20th annual awards were:
Contribution to the Industry Award: JP McManus
Irish Racing Hero Award: Kevin Manning
Horse of the Year: Honeysuckle
Emerging Talent: Sam Ewing
National Hunt Award: Henry de Bromhead
National Hunt Achievement Award: John ‘Shark’ Hanlon
Point-To-Point Award: Liz Lalor
Flat Award: Billy Lee
Flat Achievement Award: Dylan Browne McMonagle
Ride of the Year: Wayne Lordan
Photo credit – Fennell Photography
2022 Horse Racing Ireland Award Winners (L to R): Back – Sam Ewing, Robbie Power on behalf of Henry de Bromhead, John ‘Shark’ Hanlon, Peter Molony, Billy Lee, Front – Wayne Lordan, Kevin Manning, JP McManus, Liz Lalor and Dylan Browne McMonagle
