BUCKLEY RECONFIRMS HE HAS NO INTENTION OF JOURNEYING TO TOWCESTER

Ian Fortune

It certainly hasn’t been a secret in recent weeks and months but Pat Buckley is not going to be travelling to Towcester for the English Derby.

The news made a splash in the UK this morning with the Racing Post running it as their lead story, although it won’t come as a shock to many on this side of the pond.

Indeed, Pat has been telling anyone that will listen since coming home from Towcester last year while he has been saying it openly again since October/November.

Said Pat to the Racing Post: “I've made my feelings known in the past and obviously have seen what's been happening at Towcester in recent months.

"I can confirm that I'm 100 per cent not travelling over this year. It is a shame as we've a really strong team of dogs and I would have up to ten in the kennel who would have been under consideration - certainly Ballinabola Ed, Bobsleigh Dream, Tullig Raven, Bens Teddy and Stream Of Sydney would be the type you'd want to bring, but not this time."

 

ED IN GOOD SHAPE

On the subject of Ballinabola Ed, who would have been amongst the favourites for English Derby glory, Buckley hinted at his likely targets saying, "He's in great shape. He'll have the big races on his card such as the RPGTV 600 and the Irish Derby as targets. I wouldn't rule out bringing him over to England for a big competition somewhere in 2023 but we'll just see how things go."