Trotting legend Doonbeg wowed crowds at the Amman Valley Trotting Club last week (16 August) by smashing the track, British and world records for fastest mile on a track measuring less than half a mile.
The 14.2hh was a successful pacer — where the legs move laterally together rather than diagonally as in trotting — in his native Canada, earning C$1million (£621,000) before being retired due to ill health.
The seven-year-old was bought by Co Kildare-based trainer Christy Dunne in 2008.
“We’re so thrilled,” Christy told H&H. “He clearly prefers the conditions over here.”
Doonbeg broke the previous world record of 1min 55sec, set by Rowleyalla at Harold Park, Australia, in 2000, by 1.3sec.
This article was first published in Horse & Hound (26 August, ’10)
