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Perfect ride from champion-elect
The news last week that Final Demand had been disqualified from second place in the Grade 1 Brown Advisory Novices Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March for failing a drug test is a big story.
Horses fail post-race drug tests on a fairly regular basis, but it is rare for it to involve such a high profile horse representing one of the sport’s most successful ever trainers in a major race at the Cheltenham Festival.
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I'm from Letterkenny, Co Donegal and my first association with horses was through pony racing or flapping. That brings all the young jockeys together and you can see the future racecourse jockeys. Donegal is on top form at the minute with jockeys! The likes of Dylan Browne McMonagle, Patrick McGettigan, Oisin and Conor Orr, Luke McAteer and Martin Harley - they are all top-class jockeys, and they are all making a real name for themselves.
I trained a few flappers myself and won plenty of races. We never had the facilities that we have now, we were dodging into other people's fields! We also went to the beach the odd day. I thought there was nothing like the flapping, I really enjoyed it. You were heading away to different towns and meeting different people. You made friends all over Ireland. I was probably involved in it for 30 years. I had a very good pony called Sing Sing. He was a 14.2hh and we went to Dingle with him and he won three years in a row there.
By Shane Redmond - GERRIT'S GEM (6) was running over five furlongs for the first time when a game second to the well-fancied Stag Night at Naas. He looks to hold this afternoon's rivals Bay Of Supremacy and Gazelle D'or on that effort and could also have the measure of Irish Rumour who recorded his second win over this course and distance at the beginning of last month. Gotta Catch'em All is also a two-time winner here, but over a furlong further.
