Mongol Derby victors to host celebration night

Tara jockey Donal Fahy and his weighroom colleague Richie Killoran from Galway are to host a night to celebrate their recent first and second placings in the Mongol Derby, which they rode in aid of the Injured Jockeys Fund. The event, which will double as a fundraiser, will take place in Fergie's, Kilmessan, this Saturday night. Donal, who has only recently recovered from injury, took first place in the world's longest and toughest horse race. It was a nail-biting finish as the lead changed hands many times over the final two legs. After a rough night in a shed, Donal and his riding partner for the whole race, Richie Killoran, came into horse station 23 in the early morning mistakenly thinking they were in the lead, only to discover they were in fourth and fifth places. The following two legs saw them both put in an impeccable performance as they made up 30 minutes to join the race leader Barry Armitage, from South Africa, who had been riding with Joe Dawson and had held a commanding lead for the majority of the race. As they thundered across the line, Barry and Donal were literally neck a neck with Richie Killoran just 44 seconds behind. As the dust settled on their 1,000km ride, the horses went straight into the vet check and Armitage picked up a two-hour vet penalty, losing him the joint first position and shifting Richie into second. Third place was taken just under an hour later by Michaela Gradinger who was followed just a few seconds later by Christoffer Adriansson. Following fundraising in Britain, where the jockeys are based, and at Galway Races, this local fundraising party in Kilmessan marks the climax of their campaign for the Injured Jockeys Fund, and all support is welcome.