Donnacha O’Brien criticises ‘brutal’ Irish Champion ride from Shane Foley
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Mon 14 Sep 2026
Donnacha O’Brien has branded Shane Foley’s ride on Irish Champion Stakes winner Hotazhell as “brutal”, after his own stable star A Boy Named Susie suffered interference on his way to finishing fifth in Saturday’s Leopardstown feature.
Oisin Murphy delivered A Boy Named Susie with what looked a major challenge approaching the final furlong, but he was one of three horses impeded, along with Lambourn and Hawk Mountain, as the Jessica Harrington-trained Hotazhell drifted left under pressure.
The latter claimed the Group One showpiece by a nose from the fast-finishing Wimbledon Hawkeye, after which Foley was given an 11-day suspension for careless riding by the stewards for the “prolonged and continuous nature of the offence”.
A Boy Named Susie was beaten just under three lengths and his trainer was left wondering what might have been.
“I thought it was brutal riding from ‘Dusty’ (Foley) to be honest. If a claimer did that you’d give them a proper telling off. That’s racing and I’m sure he’d know that himself,” said O’Brien.
“Paddy (Harnett) hit a horse one extra in Cork the other day and got a similar ban to what Shane got, so it’s frustrating.
“Oisin thought he was coming to win – he thought he was going better than the winner at the time. I think he had the quickest second-last to last furlong and then he obviously just got wiped.
“He’s a good horse and he seems OK afterwards, so it could be worse. It’s so hard to get horses that good and to get them right on the day. To get to a race like that with a chance is so hard – it is frustrating.”
O’Brien is hoping for compensation before the season is out, with a possible trip to Keeneland in November under consideration.
He added: “We’ll make sure he’s OK and the Breeders’ Cup is an option. I think the Hong Kong Cup would be a nice option for him in December. That’s definitely something we’re thinking about.
“I think we’ll keep him (in training) next year as well, so we have a lot of options.
“He seems A1, so we’ll live to fight another day.”
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