‘Etched in the history books of Ireland’ - Trainer, Owner and Jockey to follow at Fairyhouse This weekend we have the highly competitive Fairyhouse BoyleSports Grand National meeting. It is a meeting that has a big part to play in the Irish National Hunt calendar, and we see plenty of top-class horses running at this festival every year. It is a very important weekend for Fairyhouse Racecourse, who are sure to have big crowds on all three days of racing action. On Easter Monday we have the BoyleSports Irish Grand National, a race that is etched in the history books of Ireland itself. The majority of the population of the country stops and pays attention or has a small wager on the race. It is just one of those traditions that has been passed down through the generations, and it looks like this year’s race is going to be an extremely exciting renewal. Across the weekend we are set to have plenty of English runners, which is a brilliant sign because it increases the competitiveness of the racing, and it will be extremely good to see different jockeys, owners and trainers coming over to compete against their Irish counterparts. Here is a trainer, owner and jockey to follow over the Fairyhouse weekend who could spring some surprises. Trainer - Ian Donoghue One trainer that will not have plenty of runners across the weekend, but definitely has runners with chances, is Ian Donoghue. He will have Beggars Rock, Vaureal, Royal Gladiator and Break My Soul flying the flag for his stable at the weekend. Ian is a very capable trainer and has plenty of winners at the Fairyhouse already this season, across Ireland and England. Vaureal has already won at Fairyhouse this season, and Break My Soul was a very good third at the Cheltenham Festival. So Ian is definitely a trainer to keep an eye on over the weekend, and it will be interesting to see how his runners move in the market as well. Owner - Robcour Looking at owners, it would be obvious to put in JP McManus, but in terms of a quality team to look forward to at Fairyhouse with chances, I believe the Robcour team could have an exciting Easter festival with the likes of Lazare De Star, Mange Tout and Relieved Of Duties running at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival. Mange Tout skipped Cheltenham in order to run in the Grade 1 Honeysuckle Mares’ Novice Hurdle, so she will have a big part to play in that race. Jockey - Michael Kenneally A jockey to keep an eye on over the festival will be Michael Kenneally, who has made the headlines this season. Since going from a seven-pound claim to a five-pound claim, he has probably felt things dry up a small bit in terms of winners, but he is still riding extremely well. You can imagine that he will be on some nice outside and spare rides for big trainers in the big handicap races, and he is definitely a good one to follow throughout the weekend. It looks set to be a fantastic weekend, one that could spring surprises as always
