Gold Cup winners plan to bring Minella Indo to parade in Mayo

by John Melvin

The Mayo owners of Gold Cup winner Minella Indo intend to bring the horse to Ballina when current restrictions due to the pandemic are lifted.

Barry Maloney, who has strong connections with Ballina, while his family originally came from the Balla-Kiltimagh area, said it would be a great boost for the area if they could have current US president Joe Biden, who also has Ballina-Knockmore connections, and Minella Indo brought to the town in the same year.

Barry and his brother Alan Maloney are the current owners of Mount Falcon Hotel, which is just outside Ballina on the Foxford Road.

In an interview with Midwest Radio, he said he was not surprised by the success of Minella Indo, who came under the radar going into the big race which was dominated by the three-in-a-row bid by Alboum Photo and, of course, top jockey Rachel Blackmore.

“It was an amazing day. He was the forgotten horse really in the race and that may have suited us as he came in under the radar but we knew what he was capable of.

“We had seen Allaho win and he had beaten that horse three times so we expected a big run,” he said.

It was devastating for the Maloney family not to be able to attend the race given the great connections they have with the famous racing venue where they have attended regularly.

“It was devastating not to be there. We had been going to Cheltenham for 18 years in a row and my dad, who died a few years ago, loved Cheltenham and we all went together.

“But it was still a great race to watch and a Gold Cup is a Gild Cup and according to all the reports it was a truly run race and Jack Kennedy gave the horse a great ride,” he said.

Brian’s dad, John, was born and raised in Kiltimagh, and also lived in Balla, where a number of uncles were also raised, so there are still very strong connections with the Balla-Kiltimagh area.

Brian was born in the Middle East and educated in Dublin but spent at lot of time in Ballina where he has a house and where he runs the Mount Falcon Hotel with his brother Alan.

His wish now is to bring the horse to Ballina to go on parade.

“My brother Alan is on to me about bringing Minella Indo down and as soon as this cursed virus is blown away and we are all vaccinated we would will love to get him down to Ballina and hopefully US President Joe Biden and Minella Indo will both visit Ballina in the same year and what a boost that would be for the town,” he said