Tom Taaffe
Encyclopedia
Tom Taaffe is an Irish horse trainer based at Portree Stables, Boston, Straffan
, (near Ardclough
) in County Kildare
.
He began training in 94/95 jumps season, having had a successful career as a professional jump jockey for the Arthur Moore stable.
The son of jockey and trainer, Pat Taaffe
, who famously rode the legendary Arkle
to a Cheltenham Gold Cup
treble in the 1960s and trained 1974 Gold Cup winner Captain Christy
, he emulated his father's success by training Kicking King
to win the same race in 2005. The horse also had back to back wins for Taaffe in the King George VI Chase
in 2004 and 2005. Taaffe also trained Ninetieth Minute, who won the Coral Cup
at the 2009 Cheltenham Festival
.
Other notable horses trained by him are Emotional Moment, Solar System (now retired), Tumbling Dice and Secret Native. The yard's jockey of choice is Tom Ryan.
Statistics on Irish-Racing.com show that Taaffe has had an amazing strike rate of 15% in Ireland since 2001.
Straffan
Sruthán was mistakenly cited by Thomas O'Connor in the Ordnance Survey Letters in 1837, and adopted as the Irish form of Straffan. Seosamh Laoide used it in his list of Irish names of post-offices published in Post-Sheanchas . An Sruthán gained currency among those involved in the Irish revival...
, (near Ardclough
Ardclough
Ardclough, officially Ardclogh , is a village and community in the parish of Kill County Kildare, Ireland, two miles off the N7 national primary road. Amongst its buildings today are a national school, a church, Ardclough GAA Club, and one shop "Buggys". Ardclough also contains the historic round...
) in County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
He began training in 94/95 jumps season, having had a successful career as a professional jump jockey for the Arthur Moore stable.
The son of jockey and trainer, Pat Taaffe
Pat Taaffe
Pat Taaffe died in 1992 in Dublin Hospital, aged just 62. His health had been poor for some time.Taaffe is a National Hunt jockey who famously rode Arkle to win three Cheltenham Gold Cups between 1964 and 1966...
, who famously rode the legendary Arkle
Arkle
Arkle was a famous Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. A bay gelding by Archive out of Bright Cherry, his grandsire was the unbeaten flat racehorse and prepotent sire Nearco. Arkle was bred at Ballymacoll Stud, County Meath by Mrs. Mary Alison Baker of Malahow House, near Naul, County Dublin...
to a Cheltenham Gold Cup
Cheltenham Gold Cup
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in the United Kingdom which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and 2½ furlongs , and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped...
treble in the 1960s and trained 1974 Gold Cup winner Captain Christy
Captain Christy
Captain Christy was an Irish-bred and Irish-trained racehorse, who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup as a novice.In spite of an alarming tendency to make mistakes, Captain Christy was one of the very best Irish chasers of his era and his 30 lengths demolition of Bula in the 1975 King George VI Chase at...
, he emulated his father's success by training Kicking King
Kicking King
Kicking King is a National Hunt racehorse trained in Ardclough, Co. Kildare, Ireland, by Tom Taaffe. He is best known for his victory in the 2005 Cheltenham Gold Cup, the major Chase run at the Cheltenham Festival...
to win the same race in 2005. The horse also had back to back wins for Taaffe in the King George VI Chase
King George VI Chase
The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 3 miles , and during its running there are eighteen fences to be jumped...
in 2004 and 2005. Taaffe also trained Ninetieth Minute, who won the Coral Cup
Coral Cup
The Coral Cup is a Grade 3 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 5 furlongs , and during its running there are ten hurdles to be jumped...
at the 2009 Cheltenham Festival
Cheltenham Festival
The Cheltenham Festival is one of the most prestigious meetings in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, and has race prize money second only to the Grand National...
.
Other notable horses trained by him are Emotional Moment, Solar System (now retired), Tumbling Dice and Secret Native. The yard's jockey of choice is Tom Ryan.
Statistics on Irish-Racing.com show that Taaffe has had an amazing strike rate of 15% in Ireland since 2001.