Aidan Howard

No-one was more surprised than I was when Frank Berry told me a couple of weeks before the Galway Festival that I would be holding onto Winter Escape.

We do a bit of pre-training for Mr McManus and Winter Escape came to us from Alan King’s. Alan did a fantastic job with him. He finished fifth in a County Hurdle to Arctic Fire, not beaten far at all but he had a few training issues so they decided to keep him on this side of the water for this season anyway.

I wasn’t expecting to keep the horse though. I was expecting him to move on like the rest of them, so it was a big surprise and I owe Mr McManus and Frank a massive thanks for that.

I was delighted because he had done a couple of nice bits of work and we had realised he was a decent horse. He finished second in Galway on his first run for 246 days and then won back there in September. Then came Sunday and it was some thrill to see him win the Grade 3 novice chase at Cork so well.

I developed an interest in horses through hunting back home in Delvin. I was big into football too and the club put me forward for the Westmeath minors but I was to go to RACE at the same time. As the rest of the players were getting good and hardy, I was trying to stay small so it was never going to work and when I moved to Kildare, that was the end of it.

I went as an apprentice to Mr John Mulhern, who was fabulous. But then I got too heavy for the flat so I went jumping for Shane Donohoe and I went from Shane Donohoe to Tony Martin. I learnt a massive amount from the likes of Tony. He was very good to myself and Jenny Lynch when we started off training about 13 years ago, when I was still only 23.

We had a couple of good seasons but then the recession came along and it tightened things up. Then Frank Berry and Mr McManus came along about three years ago and that was a massive help to us. Frank called in and asked could we take a couple and it all started from there. I’d have a good few for them there the whole time now.

It wasn’t that I decided to go that way rather than focus on training. I have to pay the bills. I’ll take what I’m given but I love doing both. It’s great to watch the horses going on and doing well in Ireland and England.

We train at James Burns’ yard on the Curragh and I run the place with Jenny. We just tip away quietly but we have a great team, the staff are excellent and Barry Cash is an important part of the set-up too.

It is a great place, especially for the younger horses because it’s a very quiet spot. You have the gallop just outside the door that’s maintained by the Curragh, harrowed regularly and they are great facilities.

I don’t know if we’ll get any new horses as a result of Sunday’s win or if Winter Escape goes on to do more. I would never say no to having more good horses and I’m always hoping to get them but I’m happy with what I have.

We only have 10 to 15 in full training at any time. There’s everything here from point-to-pointers to sprinters. Enter The Red, who is owned by my most important owner, my mother Nuala who loves her racing, has won seven times, the most recent over five furlongs at Navan last month at nine years of age. I just sent him home to Westmeath this week for a well-deserved break.

The Last Indian has won two handicap hurdles for us already this year and five races in all. I’m hoping she’ll be good enough to win a couple of big pots on the flat and over hurdles.

I bought a couple of yearlings at Goffs during the week as well. You’re always hoping to get a bit of luck for some small money.

Winter Escape came home very well from Cork and he seems to be good after the race, so he has an entry for the Drinmore Chase. That will be a first for me at that level but he’s earned the right to be there now and we are all looking forward to it.