A cold and fruitful start to 2025!
With the festivities a distant memory and the ground fully thawed out, it feels like we are fully immersed back into the season!
The frost pretty much put a stop to proceedings on the racecourse for a week or so, but it was all systems go here at Jackdaws Castle with Doc working hard to get the gallops ready for first lot.
We think the lowest it reached was -8 degrees, and although it looks very pretty, we’re glad it’s warmed up a bit!
On the track, we have been lucky to have had some fantastic winners.
Red Dirt Road and Fortunate Man gave us a Boxing Day double at Aintree, with Beachcomber and Richie winning emphatically at Kempton the following day.
We enjoyed another stylish double at Newbury on December 28th with Peso and Jipcot producing superb runs.
Our hot streak continued with Clondaw Royale getting back to in the winner’s enclosure at Haydock, before Springwell Bay, with a scintillating performance at Cheltenham, and All The Glory, winning in a nice fashion at Southwell, giving us a New Year’s Day double and making it a perfect start to 2025.
After a few days racing was abandoned due to the cold weather, we were back to winning ways last weekend with Collectors Item winning the Somerset National nicely at Wincanton, before Hasthing made it two out of two at Windsor and Mersey Street got off the mark at Fakenham.
We are currently sitting in seventh place in the Trainers’ Championship with 55 winners and just shy of £850,000 in prize money to our names which is very pleasing indeed.
Away from the track, we will be heading to the Tattersalls Cheltenham Sale at Festival Trials Day on Saturday 25th January. As always, if you would like to get involved, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to find out more at joe@oneill.racing.
We wish you all a lovely weekend.
Best wishes and take care,
Jonjo & AJ
Recent Winners
The Cold Spell at Jackdaws Castle
Since the New Year, along with large parts of the country we have endured some very cold weather here at Jackdaws Castle, the Head lads noted it at – 8C one morning when up early to feed the horses.
Our brilliant team have worked extra hard to make sure life continues as normal during this period and it was wonderful that Kris from the Cotswold Larder in Broadway kindly gifted and hand delivered the staff some delicious cakes & cookies, just the treat you want to keep you working away in the cold!
Although it can be rather frustrating, it does look very magical. Our social media team love it, especially when they can create reels and take photographs like the ones below!
View this post on Instagram
Christmas Party
After having our first party scuppered by Storm Darragh before Christmas, we were finally able to celebrate with the team on December 28th at Dunkertons in Cheltenham.
Dunkertons is a superb venue for a party with lots of brilliant food options and music!
Tattersalls Cheltenham Sale
The next Tattersalls Sale takes place after racing at Festival Trials Day at Cheltenham on Saturday 25th January.
This sale will offer a select group of winning and placed point to pointers and horses and has produced some very good horses, including our very own Are U Wise To That and 2024 Welsh Grand National winner Val Dancer.
You can view the lots of the sale HERE.
If you are keen to get involved with O’Neill Racing and considering purchasing a horse, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at joe@oneill.racing
Employee of the Month
We are delighted to announce Liah Corcoran as our latest Employee of the Month.
Liah has been awarded this for her fantastic attitude and multitasking. She leads up Bill Joyce and it’s her birthday on Saturday so here’s best wishes for a great day!
Liah wins a dinner, bed & breakfast overnight stay at any Accor Hotel of her choice within the UK.
A huge thank you to Chris Ford and Accor for their generous sponsorship of our Employee of the Month which rewards team members with a wonderful experience.
Jonjo Jr. filming with Cheltenham College
It was lovely to welcome the team from Cheltenham College last week for a morning’s filming here at Jackdaws Castle with Jonjo Jr.
This film is part of a series focussing on a selection of Cheltenham College alumni and their chosen careers.
The interview will be coming soon and we will share it with you all once it’s live.
It couldn’t have been a piece about Jonjo Jr without Vinnie getting involved!
In the news!
It was lovely to see an interview with AJ in the Telegraph this week.
You can read the article on the Telegraph website here – www.telegraph.co.uk
A huge thank you to Marcus Armytage for writing it!
Stable Tours at Jackdaws Castle
Our VIP Stable Tours are incredibly popular and make the most wonderful gift for a horse racing enthusiast.
It’s a wonderful opportunity for fans of our great sport to go behind the scenes at one of the most famous training establishments in the UK.
Your day will start at the stunning Lygon Arms in Broadway at 7:15 am, before heading to Jackdaws Castle to watch the horses on the gallops and in the swimming pool, and soaking up the breathtaking scenery of this magical location.
Depending on the day of your visit, you may have the chance to see our top jockeys schooling the horses or observe our resident farriers at work as they prepare the horses.
Your tour culminates with a visit to our Owners’ Suite where you may have the opportunity to meet Jonjo and AJ for a photo opportunity and a chat.
For all the information and how to book, please visit oneill.racing/about-us/stable-tours.
Upcoming Birthdays & Work Anniversaries
Happy birthday to…
Bobby Taylor
January 9th
Liah Corcoran
January 25th
Jonjo O’Neill Jr.
January 26th
Susie Bradshaw
February 5th
Social Media
We are very active on all of our social media platforms,
please give us a follow using the links below.
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If you would like to get in touch and find out more about getting involved in racehorse ownership please call us on 01386 584 209 or email joe@oneill.racing.
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