Big blow for Galway trainer as Presenting Percy is moved from Kelly’s stable

THE horse box driver rumbled through the parish of Craughwell on Monday morning certain of his destination, but unsure how to get there.

In an era where bad news travels fast, within hours the horse racing fraternity knew that Pat Kelly’s stable had been stripped of its star.

Two-time Cheltenham festival winner and one of the most popular horses in training, Presenting Percy, has headed to new pastures – Gordon Elliott’s yard in Longwood, Co Meath.

It’s a devastating blow for the small-time Kelly stable which has successfully mixed it with the sport’s big operations at different stages over the past three decades.

And not alone has Presenting Percy departed the West, but seven other horses carrying Philip Reynolds’ colours in the Kelly stable are also being dispersed to new handlers.

The decision was a tough one for Reynolds, who has enjoyed spectacular success at the Cheltenham festival through the exploits of Presenting Percy and the ill-fated Mall Dini, also trained by Kelly.

These triumphs for the low-key, media shy Galway handler fascinated the racing public and when Presenting Percy lined up for his first crack at the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2019 – the blue riband of chasing – he was sent off the market leader. Punters love an underdog story and Kelly fitted the bill perfectly.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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