On a crisp, clear Wednesday afternoon in the Dublin mountains, more than one driver slows down to take in the incongruous sight of a man in silks sitting on a horse on a grass verge next to a layby, overlooking a barely frosted valley and beyond that, the capital of Ireland.
The horse is no ordinary animal. The man is no ordinary rider.
The views are stunning and it is a fitting setting as Inpho photographer Morgan Treacy puts six-time champion jump jockey Paul Townend, and triple Gold Cup winner Sizing John through their paces in the search for the killer promotional shots for Dublin Racing Festival, which takes place at Leopardstown on February 3 and 4.
Dublin Racing Festival is a non-stop carnival of all that is good about the National Hunt sphere, a feast to beat all feasts, as the best take on the best. There is no hiding place, thus delivering for connections and sports fans alike.
Sizing John was stewarded skilfully by Jessica Harrington for the late Ann and Alan Potts to make history, registering the first of his three Gold Cup triumphs over a ten-week period in what is now the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown in February 2017. Cheltenham and Punchestown glory ensued.
“He never got the credit he should have gotten for what he did,” ventures Townend, prior to sitting on the back of the Midnight Legend 14-year-old.
Dublin Racing Festival was unveiled the following season, where Footpad got Townend off the mark in the Goffs Irish Arkle Novice Chase. He would go on to record three victories over the two days and though posting his only blank in 2019 - when Willie Mullins’ number one, Ruby Walsh was free of injury and got his decisions right - he has 18 on the board now, with a sumptuous book of prospects to call upon in the quest to add to that tally in little over a fortnight’s time.
At this remove, the East Cork man has still to decide what he will ride in many of the races, particularly the novice events, where no leviathan standing head and shoulders above the rest has emerged just yet. It is why Dublin Racing Festival has established itself as such a proving ground and should do so again this term.
It is also why for Townend, the build-up has begun already.
“It’s from now,” the 33-year-old confirms. “You’re looking at what will go where. Now is the time you’re working the horses. The week before, you’re not going to be able to ask any serious questions of the horses! You can’t leave the race on the gallop. It’s from now. I’m trying to sit on as many as I can and see what’s going well.
“Especially the novices, because they can step forward so much. Like the two-mile novice hurdle that was run at Christmas as an example. We’re still in he dark about what probably is our best. Daddy Long Legs didn’t turn up on the day. He could win at Leopardstown in February and he didn’t show up at all at Christmas. I thought I’d know a bit more coming out of Christmas, and I don’t.
“Then there’s the novice chasers. Last year, El Fabiolo showed up (at the Dublin Racing Festival, winning the Goffs Irish Arkle by ten lengths). I chose the wrong one. Novices can progress at different rates.
“It’s also why Dublin Racing Festival is such a major event. The prize money is a big thing for the trainers’ championship. If one has a good festival and one has a bad one, it can be a big swing. And it’s huge prize money for the owners. And it’s not a long week of racing either. It’s all the top racing packed into two days. We get a lot of visitors over from England too and it’s just always a great atmosphere.
“You have a fair idea coming out of Leopardstown at the start of February what you have. You have a better understanding of what’s where. There’ll be bubbles burst and there’ll be dreams made. It’s very rare that there’s a turnaround in the Grade 1 form after, barring a bad jumping error having determined a result or bad luck or a horse just having an off-day.”
We know the established stars take you to the highest planes, and last year’s Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup and Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle heroes, Galopin Des Champs and State Man, have certainly done that for Townend. But there is a different sort of excitement that comes from working with the youngsters.
“When they do something you’re not expecting it’s fantastic. The other side is the disappointment of the one you think is going to build and keep buiding throughout the year and it just peters out.
“I get more kick out of the novices because when I was riding first, when it came to the seasoned horses, Ruby knew what he was riding and so I knew what I was riding and bar something happened, the result was always fairly sure, especially as the string wasn’t as big as it is now.
“Whereas with the novices, I could always sneak one of them because maybe what I was on had just improved a little quicker, or he might have missed it because he was in England on the Saturday and I got a feel off it in a maiden or sat on it at home. And at the very start of my career, as an 18-year-old, I had Hurricane Fly winning my first Grade 1 in the Royal Bond. So I probably always loved what might happen with the novices.
“Of course I get them wrong more now that I’m in that position and that risk is always there with the novices, rather than the open horses.”
That is among the most difficult aspects to succeeding Walsh as Closutton No 1. The advantages, he stresses, far outweigh any negatives, but you didn’t have to weigh up so many factors when it was another man sweating, making the selection for him and by extension, for you.
“Whatever happened, it was a good ride. The pressure was off you. You could ride it under the radar a little bit. Try something a little different maybe and if it didn’t come off, sure you were on the second string anyway. And a lot of the time, especially with the novices, there was very little between them. But the pressure wasn’t there. The eyes weren’t on ya.”
Getting accustomed to this new demand took a little time.
“You could drive yourself demented before a race, thinking, ‘I picked the wrong one.’ But come declarations, you pick one and you go with it. The rain might come and you’re on the wrong one and you know it and there’s nothing you can do about it only ride the one you’re on and hope they surprise you.
“But if you’ve the homework done and make your decision based on enough evidence and the right reasons, and build the race in your head around your horse, you can do no more and you’re either right or you’re wrong.”
Of course there are no calls to be made about Galopin Des Champs and State Man. The latter is one of his favourite horses.
“He just turns up every time. You can rely on him. You can make the running if nothing else will or you can sit in behind. He just shows up and runs his race most of the time. He jumps, he gallops and he tries hard for you. I just get a great kick out of winning on him, I must say, and doing it for the Donnellys adds to that.”
It was on Marie and Joe Donnelly’s Al Boum Photo that he won his first two Cheltenham Gold Cups. Galopin Des Champs provided the third last March, after removing some doubts that had existed, outside Closutton at least, about his ability to stay three miles by recording an eight-length success in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup 12 months ago.
“He’s doing well and everything has gone well since the Savills Chase at Leopardstown at Christmas. He probably had a little bit to prove that day after losing twice, although we never lost faith in him and he was showing us all the same things at home. But that performance was as good as anything he had ever done before and if he were to repeat that every day, that would be good enough for me!
“It will be a strong race for definite and Fastorslow is obviously a big danger again but there hasn’t been all that much between them in the Punchestown Gold Cup and the John Durkan. I’d be confident if Galopin is firing, he would take all the beating.”
Owner Audrey Turley’s prodigious talent enjoyed a tremendous reception at Leopardstown after the wondrous Savills Chase romp but it was nothing compared to what greeted Townend and Faugheen after their victory in the Ladbrokes Novice Chase in 2020.
“There have been a lot of good days at the Dublin Racing Festival but that has to be the highlight. You don’t hear the noise during the race because you’re in the zone but straight after the line you could hear it. And then to see people running back, rushing to get to the parade ring. And the reception there, roaring and clapping and it lasted so long. You don’t get that much in racing. I suppose when a champion loses a few and comes back, people love them that little bit more. It was a fantastic day.”
It hasn’t been all gravy of course and while he claimed the two feature events last year, he had to watch stablemates get the better of him on a number of occasions. Facile Vega and Lossiemouth were two high-profile mounts that didn’t deliver and he didn’t escape criticism. He has learned to handle such reverses but points to having another juicy carrot awaiting as a considerable benefit in that process.
“I think I’m getting better at dealing with setbacks. I criticise myself. I analyse the mistakes I make and kick myself when I get it wrong. The position I’m in though, I’ve a chance of rectifying it half an hour later or the next day. Someone that isn’t as lucky as me might have to wait until that horse runs again. They might have one bullet to fire. Whereas I’m lucky that I can try to redeem myself if I make a mistake, relatively quickly.
“I got a load of decisions wrong last year. And I was walking out of Leopardstown — disgusted is the wrong word — disappointed I missed out on a few winners. But I won the Paddy Power Gold Cup, the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle and the €150k Liffey Handicap Hurdle. If people won them in a season, they’d be having a brilliant season and I’d done it in two days. So you can get greedy as well. You need a reality check and have the right people around you to give it to you as well.”
Just another ingredient in the mix that has propelled Paul Townend to the summit of his profession, a truth we can expect to be exhibited, once again, at Dublin Racing Festival 2024.
