Valued owners playing a crucial part
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Sam Coen, Evita Thompson, Niall Slevin, Cathal Slevin, Ciaran Murphy and Michael Slevin.Image 2 of 3
Ross Doyle, William Drew, Niamh Weafer, Ciaran Murphy, Dylan Browne McGonagle, Dot Love and Mark Boylan at The Curragh, following the victory of Dupont Law.Image 3 of 3
Ciaran Murphy, with Niall Slevin (second from right) and jockey Sam Coen (right) following the success of Something Noble.The Slevin brothers from Mount Temple, Niall and Cathal, enjoyed memorable success at the Galway Races, with their horse Castleheath among the winners at the big meeting in August of last year.
Castleheath claimed victory in the Caulfield Industrial Handicap as part of the renowned festival at Ballybrit. Trained by Ballymore native Ciaran Murphy and ridden by Sam Coen (a younger brother of established jockey Ben Coen), Castleheath pipped Heliogabalus in a hugely exciting finish.
Cathal was delighted for trainer Ciaran Murphy of Charlestown Racing, Mullingar, and the rest of his team.
Ciaran took over the licence from Dot Love in 2021.
“They’re the ones who put in the hard work. We trust Ciaran’s judgement with the horse, he’s the expert. Their yard is a huge operation but Ciaran has great help from all the team there,” he noted.
“To have a winner in Galway is unbelievably special, just the prestige of it, and it’s great to be able to say you had a winner there. It was an excellent race and an amazing finish. We were waiting in the parade ring for about five minutes before it was confirmed that Castleheath had won. It’s a big one for us. You would be quietly confident with that horse, but it was just great to get the win in Galway. There was a fantastic finish to the race. Our horse came from nowhere. Sam gave him an unbelievable ride,” he added.