Denis Hogan

Pulling up after winning the Grade 2 Charleville Mares Chase on Youcantcallherthat last week I knew that it was the biggest winner of my riding career but it was only afterwards that it dawned on me that it was also the biggest winner of my training career.

We had won a few Premier Handicaps and valuable flat races that were worth more in prize money but to win a Grade 2 was fantastic and a nice tonic for everyone in the yard as we recently lost Tithonus who had been a great servant and who was responsible for winning some of those big prize’s on the flat last year.

I’m thrilled with the way things are going at the moment because we have steadily crept into the top 10 in the trainers list and been able to stay there for the last couple of months and I’d hope to have a few runners between now and the end of the jump season at Punchestown next month that will help keep us there.

And to be honest, I would consider ourselves more of a yard for spring to autumn time so that is why having a good winter has been very pleasing as traditionally it is at the summer festival’s like Killarney, Listowel and Galway that we tend to do well and I think I’ve got a bit of a team to target them meetings with again this year.

Mixing the training and riding isn’t easy but I certainly wouldn’t swap it. I’d say I’m definitely enjoying the riding more now than I was when I was claiming and it was my sole focus. People would say to me that there’s plenty of pressure in doing what I’m doing because if owners want to blame the jockey or the trainer… well then I’m getting it both ways, but I think it actually helps to know the horses so well and hopefully that leads to a few more positive results. There’s continuity there and no switching and changing.

That doesn’t stop owners suggesting another jockey and if an owner is paying the bills here and one of the top lads are available and the owner wants to go down that route, of course you might be disappointed not to be riding the horse, but there’s absolutely no issue as that is their choice. It’s a professional business for me and that is how it is run so likewise for example, if one of the lads in the yard gets on a horse and gets on well with it we’ll keep him on the horse or if we feel we need to claim we’ll do that, it’s just all about doing the right thing about the horse but I’m certainly enjoying the riding a lot at the moment. I don’t have a lot of time to be throwing myself around looking for spare rides but if anything ever came up I’d take the opportunity with both hands.

We are very busy at home though and I do have to say that I’ve been very lucky to get a start from my parents, Mary and Martin, with the facilities at home and from Charlie Swan who was probably the main reason I got into racing growing up so close to a man of his calibre. We’ve 40 horses in at home and a few more boxes taken in Charlie’s so it works out very well. It’s great to be able to bump into Charlie and he’d always be there to text you if a horse run well… or if you’ve messed up!

We are lucky to have great facilities in both yards and the young horses then don’t have to mix with the racehorses so it reduces the risk of picking up any little things and it’s a yard that is busy the whole year around thank God. That is important because we’ve got very good staff and I enjoy working with them as much as I do working with the horses so to be able to keep them all year around is a huge bonus. We accommodate every type of horse here and after the Grade 2 winner last week we’d a winner on the all-weather at Dundalk. Last year we won Premier Handicap’s at the Curragh over 5-furlongs and point-to-points with horses over three-miles but I think whenever I do give up riding I might look at a getting some more flat horses and two-year-olds because I really enjoy them. We’ve a couple that might run this week and about six in total and hopefully some smart ones.

When you see somebody like Charlie giving up I suppose it was daunting enough because he had some very good owners and you would wonder if he can’t make it pay how are we going to but we just have to work away hard at it and I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else. When you look at Gordon Elliott, he gives us all a chance. When you see what he can do you know it actually is achievable. He is a master class trainer and he has climbed the ladder from the ground and done great and you’d be always looking at someone like him and thinking with small steps we can get there too and I think we’ve made a steady climb every year since we started but this is by far the best year so hopefully that can continue now.