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Gowran Park Wed, 12th Aug, 2026 Rock Of Claremont He did it well. He's a horse that's improved with every run. He needed the extra furlong, the way he was coming home at Dundalk. He's a big horse and he just took the time to develop. He did it quite nicely and, when Billy got to the front, he wasn't doing an awful lot so hopefully that means he has more in the tank. He's still a big baby and the cheekpieces just helped him focus.
Wed, 12th Aug, 2026 Rock Of Claremont He did it well. He's a horse that's improved with every run. He needed the extra furlong, the way he was coming home at Dundalk. He's a big horse and he just took the time to develop. He did it quite nicely and, when Billy got to the front, he wasn't doing an awful lot so hopefully that means he has more in the tank. He's still a big baby and the cheekpieces just helped him focus.
Leopardstown Thu, 6th Aug, 2026 Hard Promises He is a very nice horse, we waited on him. We ran him at Navan just because of opportunities. We were pitching him in against that company, but we were hoping he'd run a nice race and he did. He took a blow and came on from that race. It was a nice run and that left him with the form to come here. You still have it to do, but he did it very nicely - it was a bloodless victory. Ben gave him a lovely ride. It was nice to see. He's from a good, deep pedigree. He's bred to be a progressive horse. He's showing us that at home and he is very relaxed. He just eats and sleeps. Even training him at home, you can switch him off. He just does nothing. He's a horse that at the beginning he was just part of the crew but then, once you woke him up, you saw that he could do. He's a nice horse to train because of that. He just goes through the motions until you ask him to pick up. We'll take it from here. We have no plans yet, but I think we are fairly versatile with regard to ground and trip.
Thu, 6th Aug, 2026 Hard Promises He is a very nice horse, we waited on him. We ran him at Navan just because of opportunities. We were pitching him in against that company, but we were hoping he'd run a nice race and he did. He took a blow and came on from that race. It was a nice run and that left him with the form to come here. You still have it to do, but he did it very nicely - it was a bloodless victory. Ben gave him a lovely ride. It was nice to see. He's from a good, deep pedigree. He's bred to be a progressive horse. He's showing us that at home and he is very relaxed. He just eats and sleeps. Even training him at home, you can switch him off. He just does nothing. He's a horse that at the beginning he was just part of the crew but then, once you woke him up, you saw that he could do. He's a nice horse to train because of that. He just goes through the motions until you ask him to pick up. We'll take it from here. We have no plans yet, but I think we are fairly versatile with regard to ground and trip.
Galway Thu, 30th Jul, 2026 Faro Island Billy gave him a lovely ride, got a good position throughout the race and he picked up nicely. He had won previously at Gowran and while we always felt he wanted 1m4f, we didn't get our tactics right the last few times. We got him to relax today, took blinkers off and put the cheekpieces back on and everything worked. Unfortunately Jim (Nicholson) isn't here and while I was in the UK with him recently and we travelled home together on the same flight, he couldn't come due to work commitments. I told him to come, without me sounding too confident, so he'll probably be sorry to miss out. Jim is from outside Belfast, is steeped in racing through his association with Down Royal and the Tote, and is a very good owner.
Down Royal Fri, 17th Jul, 2026 Youcansaythatagain He's a nice horse. He was a very late foal and we had to just take our time with him, but he has a very nice pedigree. We always thought there was something in the tank, so we never really pushed too hard. This year he has come to himself and we think there is more to come. He's a horse that seems to be improving all the time, great attitude at home and is thriving really well. Very green (on debut) and even there when Billy pulled him out, he was a bit green and ran about a bit, but straightened himself and come home. Actually looked to have won it nicely enough in the end.