Meath men nominated for racing awards

Stamullen-based trainer Peter Casey and Kilskyre, Kells trainer Tom Gibney have both been nominated for a prestigious award in the Outstanding Achievement category of the 2012 Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) Awards. The annual event will take place at Leopardstown Racecourse on Monday 10th December. Meath jockey Barry Geraghty goes up against trainer Tony Martin in the national hunt category. The Awards acknowledge the human and equine excellence in the sport of horseracing where Ireland continues to achieve enviable success in the highly-contested international arena. "This year has proved to be another excellent year for Irish trainers and jockeys both at home and abroad, with an impressive tally of eight Irish winners at Royal Ascot and four of the five major races falling to Irish raiders on British Champions Day," said HRI chief executive Brian Kavanagh. "Cheltenham saw five Irish-trained winners and no less than 12 Irish-trained seconds, Irish jockeys won 22 of the 27 races and Irish-bred horses won 12 races including six of the Grade 1 contests. At this year's Melbourne Cup the first seven horses home were Irish-bred," he added. Minister for Agriculture, Marine and Food Simon Coveney TD will be the guest of honour at this year's awards.