'Dead' horse allowed to run after injunction lifted by judge

The Tartan Spartan, the horse who was supposed to be dead, is now free to run after the High Court refused to extend an injunction to prevent him from racing on Friday morning.

Thistle Bloodstock, a company of Kilkenny stud farm owner Jim Long, obtained an injunction to stop The Tartan Spartan from running as it was believed the horse had been euthanised in 2019 after suffering a tendon injury.

Andrew Hughes, manager of Thistle Bloodstock, first learned he was still alive this month when he picked up a paper to see The Tartan Spartan declared to run at Naas.

Philip Fenton: now trains The Tartan SpartanCredit: Patrick McCann

Hughes initially succeeded in obtaining a temporary injunction to prevent the horse from running. When the case returned to the High Court before Justice Senan Allen on Friday, it was heard that Hughes had corrected an earlier statement with a supplemental affidavit in which he admitted that the passport for the horse had been sent with him when he was being taken to be put down.

The Tartan Spartan is now trained by Phillip Fenton, who bought the horse for €2,000 off Jim Derwin, a dealer who had in turn acquired him after Declan Glynn, the horsebox driver directed to transport the horse, contacted him.

Fenton, whose wife Patricia Hogan is now the registered owner, and Derwin objected to the injunction, and Fenton argued via an affidavit that Thistle were "embarrassed at having sold a perfectly good horse".

Fenton argued that Thistle were trying to "take advantage" of his hard work, and Justice Allen agreed to lift the injunction.

The judge adjourned the matter for a month and gave directions for an early trial of the ownership issue.

The seven-year-old gelding has won three races in his career, all on the Flat, and is rated 93. His entry at Naas earlier this month was over hurdles where he boasts a rating of 109 having been placed once from three outings in that sphere.

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