Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Dunwoody’s Grand National day run across North Korea Prison term could KO Mcgregor’s US career
Racing legend Richard to take on a marathon
LEGENDARY jockey Richard Dunwoody will run a marathon in North Korea instead of attending the Grand National this weekend.
A few hours after the world’s most famous steeplechase has been run in Aintree, Liverpool, he will be pounding the streets of Pyongyang.
The 54-year-old Belfast man, a twotime National winner, will run 26.2 miles through Kim Jong-un’s secretive hermit state.
Richard told the Racing Post: “I’ve never been to North Korea before and I want to see what it’s like.”
He has a personal best of three hours and 10 minutes, set in 2002, but he’ll be happy as long as he breaks four hours in Pyongyang.
The former jockey added: “Basically it finishes in a stadium and they say it’s full of 50,000 people.
“If you complete in less than four and a half hours you finish in the stadium and that’s what I’d like to do. You start in the stadium with a huge crowd as you depart and it is 26.2 miles through the city.”
Dunwoody, who won the Grand National in 1986 on West Tip and in 1994 on Miinnehoma, retired in 1999 due to a neck injury.
Since then, the Ulsterman has taken on a number of sporting challenges in aid of charity.
In 2008 he, along with American explorer Doug Strop, spent 48 days trekking to the South Pole.
A year later, he walked the same mile 1,000 times in 1,000 consecutive hours, ending the challenge by marching the home straight of the Newmarket racecourse.
He also took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2009 and, last year, he walked 2,000 miles across Japan.
Dunwoody will this week travel to North Korea, undeterred by the tensions between the nuclear-armed nation and Donald Trump’s America.
The sportsman, whose last marathon was in Dublin in 2004, is raising money for the Injured Jockeys’ Fund and the Ebony Horse Club in Brixton, with a target of €2,800. A CURIOUS giraffe at a safari park had a shattering experience when it reached into a car through an open window.
The window began to go up but it was halted by the creature’s head and smashed moments later – sending shards of glass over the animal’s face and neck.
Footage shows Strider the giraffe pulling its head away in shock but bosses at West Midland Safari Park said the majestic animal was “checked over immediately by staff and sustained no injuries from the glass”.
Chiefs at the attraction in Bewdley, Worcs, are probing the incident. There were two people in the car.
It is believed the giraffe was on the lookout for food. CONOR Mcgregor could face serious immigration issues if he pleads guilty to charges relating to an alleged bus incident in New York.
The Notorious could face seven years in prison after being charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief last week.
Lawyer Dmitriy Shakhnevich, who worked for the District Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn where Mcgregor, 29, is charged, said a “not guilty” plea will see the case go to trial.
He added it would also leave him with a criminal record in the US and could severely damage his career.
Mr Shakhnevich told the Imirror: “If he pleads guilty to something that leaves him with a criminal record, that can affect his ability to re-enter the US.
“Obviously, that’s hugely important because Conor makes his fortune fighting for an American company, with most of its shows in the US.”
IMPLICATIONS
The lawyer went on to describe what will happen if no plea is entered.
He said: “Then the case will be put down for Hearings and Trial. However, as with all cases in Brooklyn, that is highly unlikely.
“If Conor pleads ‘not guilty’, and refuses to engage in any plea, then the case will go to trial.
“If he’s convicted at trial, it’s entirely possible he’ll be sentenced to jail time, particularly due to the felony charges.
“Something tells me a plea will be worked out in this case to avoid any such risks. If he pleads guilty, in my view, he will likely avoid jail time.”
But Mr Shakhnevich added he is confident Mcgregor’s lawyers will prevent him from being imprisoned.
He said: “It’s very highly unlikely Conor will ever see any jail time in this case. The immigration issue must be dealt with carefully, and I’m sure it will be because Conor has excellent lawyers.”