Sir OJ retires

On Tuesday at Fairyhouse Brian Keenan announced the retirement of his faithful servant Sir OJ after a recurrence of an old injury.  By Tom Red A birthday present from his wife Ethel the highlight of his career was when he won the Robin Cook Memorial Gold Cup at the 2005 December meeting at Cheltenham, see picture above. After winning his 2nd race, a bumper in Galway in 2002 October meeting, he was injured and off the track for 18 months and won his maiden hurdle in Navan on his comeback. From May to November 2004 he ran up a sequence of 4 wins ending in a win at Punchestown when he beat the good mare Mariah Rollins bred by Gerry O’Down from Ballinagard in Roscommon and owned a local syndicate from Roscommon and Ballygar. His biggest scalp was probably Nickname at Naas in Feb 2006. Martin Brassil rates Nickname one of the best horses he has ever trained.  After falling in the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and the Aintree Grand National behind Numbersixvalverde he came back to win his last two races beating Light on the Broom at Gowran and in his final race he beat Kill Devil Hill, owned by Michael O’Leary, in the Clonmel Oil Chase. We wish this great servant a long and happy retirement in the fields around Roscommon.