SLIGO Races board member and former chairman Don O’Connor passed away peacefully late last month. Another former chairman Kieran O’Connor posted on RIP.ie: “Donald’s contribution to racing, his knowledge and care of the racecourse was second to none. He will be greatly missed for his expertise and dedication but mostly for his big personality, his good humour and presence amongst us for over five decades of racing at Sligo. It was a pleasure to work alongside Donald and reassuring to have his son Kane, a fellow board member, carrying on his good work on the track.”

SHAREHOLDER will stand at Tally-Ho Stud in 2027. A son of leading USA sire Not This Time, Shareholder was a €460,000 breeze-up purchase for Wathnan Racing in 2025, who won first time out for trainer Karl Burke and then won the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot. He didn’t race again after his two-year-old career. Tally-Ho’s Roger O’Callaghan said: “He’s an extremely good-looking horse and by one of the best young Kentucky sires in Not This Time. We look forward to supporting him strongly.”

BREEDERS visiting Newmarket for the yearling sales are invited to view Field Of Gold at Banstead Manor Stud. The classic and Group 1 winner is new to the roster for the 2027 season. He will be available to view Monday to Friday across Books 1 and 2, from 11.30am to 3.30pm. Appointments can be made through the nominations team on 0044 1638 731115.

THE Irish Stallion Farms EBF Navigation Stakes will be run at Killarney on Monday over an amended distance of one mile, three furlongs and 50 yards. The listed race was due to be run at Cork last Tuesday - over a furlong shorter - but was cancelled due to high winds.

NEAL Davies has been appointed to the board of the Irish National Stud by the Minister for Agriculture. The appointment is for five years.

Minister Martin Heydon commented: “Neal has served for over 30 years as a CEO, chairman and chartered director spanning multinational, private-sector organisations, industry bodies, and cultural institutions.

“He has extensive commercial experience in the advertising industry and is a recognised advocate for helping organisations build distinctive brands, attract visitors, run complex communication campaigns and deliver sustainable growth commercially. Neal also brings a wealth of formal governance expertise to the board of the Irish National Stud.”

The Minister also thanked outgoing director Dairine Walsh for her significant contribution to the board over a 10-year period, which included a nine-month term as interim chair.