![\"Trainer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1_Screenshot-2026-08-30-at-171500.png\")
<\/p>\nLikedbymike captured the \u20ac50,000 Abergwaun Stakes under jockey Colin Keane at the Mallow racecourse<\/p>\n
17:28, 30 Aug 2026Updated 22:32, 30 Aug 2026<\/p>\n
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Trainer Michael Byrne at Cork(Image: Racing TV)<\/p>\n
There was emotional scenes at Cork racecourse on Sunday when a trainer with only two horses in his care won the Listed Abergwaun Stakes.<\/p>\n
Michael (Mick) Byrne is based near Cahir in County Tipperary and fought back the tears after his well-backed favourite Likedbymike captured the \u20ac50,000 prize.<\/p>\n
Poignantly, the four-year-old filly is named after Byrne\u2019s late son Michael, who tragically passed away at the age of just 36 in 2024.<\/p>\n
Byrne junior was a successful jump jockey for a number of years in Britain having ridden in point-to-points in Ireland and rode almost 100 winners, mostly based with Tim Vaughan in Wales.<\/p>\n
He won a race at the Aintree Festival and competed in the Grand National and had returned home to work with his dad Michael after retiring from the saddle in 2016.<\/p>\n
His sad passing left the racing community in Ireland and Britain shocked and devastated and hundreds of mourners paid their respects at his funeral in Holycross.<\/p>\n
Incredibly his family and friends raised over \u20ac50,000 for charity through a three peak challenge in Michael’s memory in Tipperary last year called ‘A Hike for Mike’.<\/p>\n
The Byrne family mainly prepare young horses for the sales and it was Michael junior who sourced the winning filly before she started her career on the racecourse.<\/p>\n
![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0_JS33043751.jpg\")
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Former jockey Michael Byrne(Image: Martin Lynch)<\/p>\n
Byrne senior still keeps two in training and on Sunday the four-year-old provided a fairytale success in one of the day\u2019s feature races.<\/p>\n
Backed from 6\/1 into 11\/4 favourite the daughter of Inns Of Court captured the five furlong contest under Colin Keane, quickening up in nice style to defeat Erosandpsyche by three-quarters of a length.<\/p>\n
An emotional Byrne spoke to Kevin O\u2019Ryan from Racing TV afterwards and said: “That’s unbelievable. It means everything really. This doesn’t happen too often to us.<\/p>\n
“We’ve only two horses to run and we ran the two of them today. Breeze-ups are our main thing. We couldn’t get this one into a breeze-up so we had to run her.”<\/p>\n
Byrne was bridging a 30 year gap from his last Pattern race success in 1996 which came over hurdles at Navan when Conor O’Dwyer rode Gentle Buck to win a Grade 3.<\/p>\n
“She deserved that, she’s been knocking on the door a good few times. She won her maiden here so she obviously loves it here.<\/p>\n
“We gave her a break after she won in Naas and it probably did her good. She got great confidence from winning in Naas, it was a nice handy run.<\/p>\n
“There is a fillies Listed race at the Curragh at the start of next month so that’s probably where we’ll go next. She doesn’t mind an ease in the ground, she handles it.”<\/p>\n
Byrne’s only other horse in training, Ochtar Againn, also ran at Cork on Sunday, finishing last of 16 in the Book Tickets Online At www.corkracecourse.ie Apprentice Handicap.<\/p>\n