Go Racing Enjoys Record Ratings

In 2004 Go Racing enjoyed successful ratings with 1.2 million viewers tuning in and 2005 is proving to be an even more successful year with over 800,000 viewers tuning in after only 6 episodes, 250,000 of which are brand new viewers.

In this week´s show Brian Gleeson visits the legendary Tipperary handler Edward O´ Grady, one of the most successful trainers at the Cheltenham festival on both sides of the Irish Sea. With seventeen winners to date, is there more to look forward to in 2005? Find out how preparations for a typically strong challenge are going and how much confidence there is behind Back In Front in the Champion Hurdle and Pizarro in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. If you have ever wondered exactly what the officials named in the front of a racecard actually do you´ll find the answers as Jennifer Walsh spends a day meeting them at Punchestown on a recent raceday.

Go Racing airs on TV3 Thursdays at 7.30pm and is repeated on Saturdays at 10.00am.

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EDWARD O´GRADY Profile

Situated in Ballynonty in County Tipperary lies the stable of trainer Edward O´Grady who has been one of Ireland´s top trainers over the last thirty years. His father Willie was also a fine trainer who sent out plenty of winners during the 1950´s and 1960´s before Edward began training in 1972. While he could never be accused of being an overnight success, O´Grady quickly built a reputation for being a shrewd man to place his horses and anytime that there was money for one of his horses in the betting ring one could always be sure that it would go close. Over the years, he has enjoyed some tremendous successes at the Cheltenham Festival and he recorded his first big winner when Mr Midland landed the National Hunt Chase at the famous meeting in 1974 in the hands of well known jockey and now successful trainer ´Mouse´ Morris.

1978 was the year that he really made an indelible mark on National Hunt racing in Ireland. The now legendary owner, J.P. McManus, had his first good horse in training with O´Grady in the shape of Jack Of Trumps and this one showed considerable ability when easily taking the Ratoath Novice Chase at Naas, the Irish Field Novice Steeplechase at Punchestown as well as the Heineken Gold Cup over the same course before rounding off the year with a fine success in what is now known as the Durkan Brothers Chase also at Punchestown. However, 1978 was the year that will always be remembered as the year of Golden Cygnet. O´Grady´s charge had shown promise when fourth in the Leopardstown November Handicap but he really stamped himself as a horse to follow when bolting home by twenty lengths in a maiden hurdle at the Leopardstown Christmas Meeting in December 1977. A fluent win in the Slaney Hurdle at Naas in January was followed by another victory in the Fournoughts Hurdle at Punchestown in February before he landed the Supreme Novices´ Hurdle at Cheltenham in March 1978, winning by no less than 15 lengths in quite breathtaking style. On a memorable day for O´Grady he recorded a magnificent double when Flame Gun took the Waterford Crystal Stayers´ Hurdle an hour later. Sent to Fairyhouse to contest the Fingall Novice Hurdle, Golden Cygnet justified odds on favouritism by never coming off the bridle before he was pitched in at the deep end for his next race which was the Scottish Champion Hurdle at Ayr on April 15th. In those days this race was run as a handicap and despite his relative inexperience Golden Cygnet was receiving just 1lb from the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle runner up, Sea Pigeon, while he was conceding weight to the likes of Night Nurse, a former dual Champion Hurdler, and Beacon Light, a top class hurdler at that time. However, such was the confidence behind O´Grady´s charge that he started as the 7/4 joint favourite despite the fact he was only a novice. In a race that will never be forgotten for all the wrong reasons, Golden Cygnet travelled strongly throughout and was disputing the lead with Sea Pigeon facing up to the final flight until disaster struck. Golden Cygnet took a crashing fall and was killed instantly leaving thousands of unfulfilled dreams and broken hearts as the racing public looked on in horror. Racing fans on both sides of the Irish Sea were left wondering just what might have been and for O´Grady and jockey Niall Madden this must have been the worst day of their careers. There is no doubt that Golden Cygnet could have been one of the all time greats and interestingly when asked in later years, legendary trainer Vincent O´Brien indicated that the only horse he had ever seen that could have compared to Hatton´s Grace was Eddie O´Grady´s star novice.

The following year, O´Grady sent out Hindhope to win the Galway Plate while just 24 hours later his Hard Tarquin took the Guinness Galway Hurdle completing a double which has not been achieved since then. In 1981 O´Grady began to train more and more flat horses and he gained a notable success when Istimewa justified favouritism in the very competitive November Handicap at Naas. This was also the year when he saddled his first Group winner on the flat as Cooleen Jack landed the Ballyogan Stakes at Leopardstown while two years later Bit Of A Skite won the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham before adding the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse while three weeks later the Whitbread Gold Cup at Sandown was won by Drumlargan.

In 1984 Northern Game won the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham beating the subsequent Triple Champion Hurdler See You Then in the process. With O´Grady then concentrating on the flat it was another 10 years before he struck again at the Cheltenham Festival with Time For A Run (Coral Cup) and Mucklemeg (Festival Bumper) doing the honours. Now back mainly as a National Hunt trainer it was not long before more big race successes were achieved with the likes of Ventana Canyon (1996 ArkleTrophy) and Loving Around (1996 National Hunt Chase) doing the business while other Cheltenham winners in recent times were Pizarro (2002 Champion Bumper) and Back In Front (2003 Supreme Novices Hurdle).

After Back In Front´s decisive victory in the Bula Hurdle over the same course in December, he is now a solid second favourite for the Smurfit Champion Hurdle in two week´s time and this one must be seriously considered on the strength of his overall form.

O´Grady´s other big race successes in recent years are as follows:

Time For A Run (1997 Paddy Power Handicap Steeplechase), Nick Dundee (1998 William Neville Novice Steeplechase, 1999 Dr P.J. Moriarty Novice Steeplechase), Ned Kelly (2000 Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle, 2001 Winning Fair Champion Novice Hurdle, 2001 Powers Gold Label Novice Hurdle, 2002 AIG Europe Champion Hurdle), Sacundai (2001 Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle, 2003 Aintree Hurdle), Takagi (2002 Troytown Chase), Back In Front (2003 Supreme Novices Hurdle, 2003 Evening Herald Champion Novice Hurdle, 2003 Morgiana Hurdle), Pizarro (2003 William Neville Novice Steeplechase, 2004 Dr P.J. Moriarty Novice Steeplechase).