Racing fans to be given a look inside Coolmore Stud

The gates of Coolmore Stud, which have been closed to all but the most well connected among the world's horseracing set for more than 40 years, are to open to the public for the first time this summer.

The Co Tipperary stud farm is one of the finest racehorse breeding centres in the world, where a top stallion can earn €250,000 each time he covers a mare. However, what exactly goes on behind its perfectly manicured hedges has been a closely guarded secret for decades.

The public will be able to catch a behind the scenes glimpse of the John Magnier-owned operation the for the first time as part of a summer initiative announced by the Fethard Horse Country Experience.

The Stud Farm tour will only be available to visitors to the Tipperary horseracing museum, which opened last year. It has since seen more than 6,500 visitors from as far afield as Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Japan, Canada, USA, Australia, China, and the UAE.

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One of the objectives of the volunteer-run museum was to support the regeneration of the town of Fethard and the increased footfall over the last 12 months has seen two new B&Bs opening while McCarthy’s Bar and Restaurant in the town has since extended its opening hours.

“We have been blown away by the support for and interest in the Fethard Horse Country Experience over the past year, and the positive impact it has had on our local community as a whole,” said Jimmy O’Sullivan, chairman of Fethard Community Heritage Centre.

“The museum has played a key role in attracting visitors from every corner of the world to experience our town, and our local economy has truly benefitted as a result.”

To mark its first birthday, Joseph O’Brien presented his 2017 Melbourne Cup to the museum on Monday. It will be displayed throughout the summer.

The cup will join the skeleton of the legendary Coolmore sire Sadler’s Wells, one of the most successful stallions of all time, ranking as Britain and Ireland’s leading sire a record 14 times. Also on show in the museum is the 2006 Cheltenham Gold Cup Trophy, which was gifted by local trainer Michael Mouse Morris.