IRISH RACING YEARBOOK 2026 - Rockett Man
More than €3000 worth of FREE admission tickets for in excess of 100 race days – more than 60 times the price of purchase
Patrick Mullins is sitting comfortably. The Melling Road goes by underneath him and the first fence looms. Nick Rockett measures it up and pops.
Seamless, rhythmic, relaxed.
Broadway Boy and Tom Bellamy cross in front of him, right to left, but Nick Rockett doesn’t flinch. Clear sight of the second. Up, pop, land.
Smooth.
The third is the big ditch. They talk about the big ditch, one of the most difficult fences on the course these days, they say, since they have softened The Chair and filled in Becher’s Brook. Nick Rockett doesn’t hear the talk though, he just sees another spruce obstacle in front of him and he measures it up. Lands running.
Metronomic.
Fences four and five pass underneath him. Jump, land, jump, land, and then the hedges on your left, then Becher’s Brook. Not as fearsome as it once was, not as severe as it was in 1989, or even in 2011, but it’s still a tricky fence; there’s still a small drop and it comes at you at an angle, there’s a small dogleg turn to your left as soon as you jump it.
Nick Rockett gets in a little tight to the fence, skews a little in the air, but he’s never in any danger. Thirty years ago maybe, even 15 years ago, the steepness of the drop could have taken his centre of gravity beyond his base, but this was nothing. He’s quickly back into his rhythm and onto Foinavon.
Irish Racing Yearbook 2026 is the definitive, established and revered annual chronicle of horse racing in Ireland as well as covering the achievements of Irish people on foreign soil, encompassing the entire spectrum of the sport of racing and thoroughbred industry in the form of interviews, profiles, analysis and more.
A collaboration of the best writers and photographers with the leading protagonists in all spheres from breeding to sales, from point-to-point tracks to the racecourse, it has been a favourite stocking filler at Christmas for many years.
This year, multiple HWPA Racing Writer of the Year nominee, Donn McClean sits down to chat with Patrick Mullins, who won the award last year, but is better known as the champion amateur jockey that was victorious in the Grand National last April.
The articulate assistant trainer to his father Willie, talks about Aintree but a lot else too, including his future ambitions and the relentless appetite of the boss of Closutton.
Patrick will be in attendance for the official launch of Irish Racing Yearbook 2026, which will take place at Punchestown Racecourse prior to racing on Tuesday, December 9.
Patrick is a long-time writing contributor to the Irish Racing Yearbook and this year, he pens an article on Seán Flanagan, the man with the pilot’s licence and the valeting business that rode Marine Nationale to win the Champion Chase in March.
Meanwhile, David Donohue draws a link from the Grand National triumphs of Nicolaus Silver to Nick Rockett that extends far beyond their beyond their names as he recounts his personal Aintree journey.
Rachael Blackmore conducted her first in-depth interview following her retirement in May with our editor Daragh Ó Conchúir four months later, and in the feature that emanates from that conversation, explains the thought processes that led to that sudden decision, how much she misses race riding, as well as what she thinks now about the role of gender in the sport and a lot else.
Alan O’Sullivan tells Ronan Groome about how his late brother Michael continues to be an influence after his death in February, as he considered his own best year in the saddle.
Johnny Murtagh speaks to Ian Gaughran of his ambition to be every bit as successful as a trainer as he was as a jockey but for his legacy to be that he was always there to help others. Mental health is high on Murtagh’s agenda, as well as his belief that racing needs to be better at promoting its countless positive stories.
Paul Townend chats to fellow Corkman Denis Walsh about achieving the unprecedented feat of completing the calendar year Grand Slam of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Grand National and King George. No one is more aware than Townend of the how lucky he is to have the type of ammunition available to him but the results of the first three of those races 12 months later were a reminder to enjoy the highs when they come.
And on it goes. Gold Cup winner Gavin Cromwell, Derby winner Wayne Lordan, maiden Group 1 winner after 50 years Joe Murphy and his son Joseph. Pat Doyle, the producer of three Grade 1 winners as well as the National hero, Dylan Browne McMonagle, our new champion flat jockey, Billy Loughnane, the Irish-born pilot that seems on his way to be British champion at some point.
There is Sam Ewing and Danny Gilligan, Robson Aguiar, Cian Collins, Gary Carroll, Jody Townend, Richie McLernon, Nicola Burns, Declan Queally, Eoin McCarthy, Andy Slattery, Eric McNamara, Toni Quail, Barry Stone and Pat Downes of Aga Khan Studs all provide exclusive interviews.
As 2026 will be the 30th anniversary of Imperial Call’s Cheltenham Gold Cup victory and 25th anniversary of Galileo’s Derby Double, we take a stroll down memory lane.
We honour the history-making Winged Leader as well as some of those that died during the year, including the aforementioned Michael O’Sullivan, Kevin Prendergast, Edward O’Grady and Mikey O’Connor.
And we look at the international feats of Willie Mullins, Aidan O’Brien, Gordon Elliott and Henry de Bromhead.
We also have the usual sales and stallion analysis, as well as a look at some of the horses to follow on the flat in 2026, all provided by expert commentators. A comprehensive thoroughbred breeding section extends even further to the digital publication, G1.
Apart from the editorial calibre and visual feast, Irish Racing Yearbook is coveted by regular racing fans for the GO RACING vouchers kindly provided in conjunction with the racecourses of Ireland, offering free admission to more than 100 race days throughout the year, at a total exceeding €3000. That constitutes more than 60 times the price of purchase – and far in excess of that again for those that capitalised on the various pre-publication discounts.
Irish Racing Yearbook 2026 (€49.50/£42.50) is on sale now in all good newsagents and bookshops and can be ordered online (www.irishracingyearbook.com) or by phone (+353 56 7761504).