Former Manchester United owner John Magnier launched a major operation to rescue Ukrainian refugees.
The billionaire businessman paid for the group to leave the war-torn country after its invasion by Russia. Families of around 20 staff from his equine businesses in Ireland were brought to safety in Ireland. The employees work at Coolmore Stud and Ballydoyle, where trainer Aidan O'Brien runs one of the world's most successful racing stables.
The women, children and extended family members are among around 13,500 refugees who have arrived in Ireland since the start of the conflict. O'Brien told the Racing Post : "Mr and Mrs Magnier have brought over all their families and put them all up. It was for anyone working between Ballydoyle and Coolmore who wanted to bring their families here. It's a lot of people and it was tough getting them out.
O'Brien said male members of the families aged 18 to 60 had to stay behind for military duty. He added: "It's shocking what's going on, isn't it? The men stayed behind. The children, wives, grannies and everyone came. They're all living around the place, B&Bs and all kinds. Places are being done up for them."
Various fundraisers have been carried out within the racing industry to help those affected by the invasion. The National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival was renamed in support of the British Red Cross' Ukraine Appeal. Former trainer Charlie Mann and champion Flat jockey Oisin Murphy are delivering aid to refugees in Poland on April 10.
Tiffany Morgan-Evans, who runs a busy pre-training yard near Newmarket with her husband Richard, has already taken a horsebox of supplies over. "If that was my family, I'd hope someone in the situation I was in, with a truck, would help," she said. "If my husband and the team at home could cope without me I really wanted to do something to help. It's women and children being left without husbands and having to cope in an awful situation."
"If that was my family, I'd hope someone in the situation I was in, with a truck, would help," she told the publication. "If my husband and the team at home could cope without me I really wanted to do something to help. It's women and children being left without husbands and having to cope in an awful situation."
Staff at O'Brien's base are preparing hundreds of horses for the core Flat season. O'Brien has been the private trainer at Ballydoyle since 1996, winning 23 titles in that time and dozens of major races. The haul includes ten Derby victories, the highlight of the summer programme.
O'Brien has the favourite for this year's contest, a horse named Luxembourg, unbeaten in his three starts to date. The top handler said earlier this week that he is likely to make his seasonal debut in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, alongside stablemate Point Lonsdale.
