Peter Flood

I’m based at the family homeplace just outside Kilcock and I would have started off riding ponies and hunters that we kept here.

While I was still at school, I rode out for Eddie Cawley and later Philip Dempsey and after that I rode as an amateur for Ross O’Sullivan for three or four years. I had five or six winners in point-to-points including a couple for Ted Walsh.

Then I worked in Gordon Elliott’s yard for about five years from 2013 onwards just as his string was really starting to expand.

I always had a few horses at home, including some for breaking and pre-training. I got going with a hunter chase licence and Ourmanmassini was a star horse for us in point-to-points. He was champion novice point-to-pointer for the 2016/17 season during which he won eight races, with both Jamie Codd and Lisa O’Neill winning twice on him during that campaign.

I’ve had around forty point-to-point winners in total. We’ve gradually improved the facilities at home and have gallops, a sand arena, walkers and a lunging ring as well as fences for schooling our young horses.

The main focus of the yard is still point-to-points and developing young horses with a view to selling them on. We had some good results during the most recent season and Neil Mulholland and David Christie were amongst the people who bought horses from us after they’d won or run well in point-to-points.

I’ve been restocking and have bought around ten three-year-olds who we’ll prepare for the four-year-old maidens which run from next February onwards. And I still have some nice horses to run in the autumn point-to-point season as well.

It’s such a competitive scene and you’re taking on the likes of the Doyle brothers, Colin Bowe and Denis Murphy every weekend. There is certainly some pressure involved because these young horses have to perform on the day that matters to put themselves in the shop window. Ten years ago it was maybe only Gigginstown that were spending a hundred grand and the rest to buy young point-to-pointers, but there’s any number of prospective buyers nowadays which is great for the game. When you see the likes of Honeysuckle winning Champion Hurdles it’s a great advertisement for the point-to-point scene.

Barry Browne, who should be back race-riding after Galway, is a good friend of mine and we went to school together. He rides work for me and schools the young horses and is a huge help to me. Keith Donoghue is a good help to us as well and rides a lot of work on our point-to-pointers. Paul Bannon rides a lot of the point-to-pointers in their races along with the Harvey brothers, Ben and Alex. Georgie Benson also comes in to ride work and school for me and she’s another very good rider.

I have a restricted licence for the track now and that’s keeping us busy for the summer. Thankfully they’ve been running well and Trevena won at Ballinrobe in May while Tullypole Annie has won twice at the same venue this year. I used to think Castletown Geoghegan was my lucky track but we’re actually three from three at Ballinrobe this year. It’s a really well-run track, they invite the winning owners in for a drink afterwards and look after them, and it’s great to see so many people racing there on a Monday or Tuesday evening.

Trevena has a couple of entries at Galway and might go in a two-mile handicap hurdle on the opening night. She stays well and seems to be in good form.

Tullypole Annie, who is owned by the Jolly Boys Syndicate from Summerhill and Trim, which includes two of my cousins, is entered in the mares’ handicap hurdle on Plate Day. She got 9lbs for winning well at Ballinrobe on Tuesday and, although I was initially thinking of Cork on Bank Holiday Monday for her, she might take her chance off a good racing weight if she gets in on Wednesday. The lads in the syndicate would love to have a day out in Galway and she’s in great form so we might give it a go.

I’m happy enough with the restricted licence for now and it’s good that the few we have for the track are doing so well. If things continue in the same vein I might apply for a full licence at some stage but for the moment I’m happy with what I have. After Galway we’ll crack on with getting the point-to-pointers ready for the forthcoming season and hopefully the horses stay as healthy and well as they are at the moment.