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My Racing Story

My Racing Story

Philip Dempsey

Philip Dempsey Philip Dempsey
© Photo Healy Racing

Having a winner on a big day like Sunday at Fairyhouse is a great boost for an operation that’s trying to grow because it’s one of those days where more people are taking notice than normal. You’re always looking to make a step forward and a win like that is a big help.

Dinnie’s Vinnie gave us all a great thrill in winning the Baroneracing Porterstown Handicap Chase and you’d have to say, as strange as it may sound, that he is getting better, despite closing in on being 11. That was his fourth win of the year and his best performance to date.

It’s hard to explain really. He looked like he might be impressive early in his career. He fell at the last when going to win his point-to-point and that seemed to set him back a bit. He had plenty of injuries after that, a bit of leg trouble and that held him up too.

He had an operation then for kissing spines and his jumping improved from that. He had tended to be careful at the business end of a race and you could see the way he attacked the fences at Fairyhouse and the way he opened up turning for home that he has no worries now. I couldn’t believe it to be honest with you.

He was tough out and reacted the way you’d love to see when Major Destination threw down his challenge before the second last.

Coming so quickly after Mr Diablo finished second in the Troytown Chase was unreal. I got some kick out of that. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest coming to the second last when I thought we were going to win it. We were delighted with him.

Mr Diablo is a favourite of mine, I ride him all the time although the first time I sat on him wasn’t so memorable. He was an awful horse to break. Tom Dowling got 13 straight falls off him and they weren’t easy falls. I decided I’d have to do it myself but I got the same treatment. But we got there and he turned out to be a good horse.

He has had a serious tendon injury but we thought we’d lost him when he shattered his carpal bone in Killarney. Ger Kelly did the surgery on him and we just took our time with him. He had one run over hurdles a fortnight before the Troytown and that was his first run in 18 months. So to run as he did in Navan was unbelievable really.

He’s come out of it really well too. We have given him an entry for the Foxrock Chase in Navan on Saturday and after that, we’ll take each race as it comes but we will give Christmas a miss then and look to the New Year with him.

We’d love both of them to go the Grand National route. In an ideal world you’d be hoping Mr Diablo might head for Aintree. He was there before for the Becher Chase and jumped brilliant but unfortunately he never drank and just wasn’t himself. But he was brilliant over the fences. David Mullins said he saw no stride going to the last and the next thing, there was two white legs in front of him.

Dinnie’s Vinnie will have to do a bit more and you have to be a realist but whatever he does, he has given his owners a tremendous time. We’ll tip away with him with similar types of races and he doesn’t have to make a National but it would be great to go back to Fairyhouse, where he’s won three times, for Easter Monday if he could win another race and get in.

The Beatties that own him are true racing people from outside Enfield. They’re racing all their life and they never had a horse like him. The name of the syndicate is the TFC Syndicate, the letters standing for Tommy and his sons, Frank and Clive. The lads’ mother is involved now and it’s great to see them, they love racing and it was brilliant for them to have that day.

My own father, Des died not so long ago which was a blow. He always tried to put me off the horses when I was riding but as soon as I got into training, he was my biggest fan. I trained Derrinross to win a point-to-point for him and he was unlucky not to win again since but has good bumper form when second to Next Destination and has gone close in maiden hurdles, most recently beaten a nose. He had a little while off after that but has been going quite well and we’re just waiting for the ground for him now.

I rode as an amateur for many years, and rode my first winner on a horse called Ragged for Bob Jolly. I worked for Peter McCreery, Brian Malone, Homer Scott, Mick O’Toole and John Oxx and was just pipped in the Kim Muir Chase at Cheltenham in 1996. I also lost the GPT Amateur in Galway on a stewards’ enquiry but had plenty of good days.

I considered becoming a huntsman for a while but after doing some breaking for Tony Martin and Arthur Moore, I went into training. I sold some good horses early on, like Abbey Lane, Presenting Forever and The New One.

Jacksonslady was an important horse for us. I bought her for €3,500 and she went on to win more than €180,000 in prizemoney. JP McManus bought her before the Galway Plate when she finished third to Carlingford Lough in 2013. He and Frank Berry have been very supportive of us since and we have a few nice horses for them.

We developed my uncle’s place, which was my father’s home place and have all the facilities we need at Kilkeaskin now. It makes a huge difference to the horses and to us and that we can do everything at home now.

To have my son Luke riding the winners is great too, it just adds to it. We’ll keep working hard. We have around 25 horses riding out now and we have the space to take more if people want to send them. We’ll keep working hard and hope that more days like last Sunday will be the result.

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