Halford excited to have Platinum Warrior in Irish Derby

Michael Halford cannot contain his excitement at having just his second ever runner in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby when he saddles Platinum Warrior in the colts’ Classic at the Curragh on Saturday.

It was back in 1986 Halford took a chance with Fighting Hard on the back of a victory at Roscommon, but he trailed home last of 11 behind Shahrastani.

That was in the very early days of Halford’s training career. He has come a long way since then, with success at the highest level. He has always wanted to have a runner with a chance and Platinum Warrior is no forlorn hope.

Being by Galileo, he is bred for the job and booked his ticket for Classic honours with victory in the Group Three Gallinule Stakes at the Curragh five weeks ago.

“I had a runner in the Irish Derby 32 years ago called Fighting Hard. He was owned by Seamus Purcell, who had Buck House (the Champion Chase winner in 1986), and was ridden by Gabriel Curran,” said the Co Kildare handler.

“He was entered as a yearling and Seamus said ‘why don’t we have a day out?’. He didn’t make a show of us by any means, but didn’t get involved.

“We are very lucky to have Zhang Yuesheng on board and he has some very nice horses with us. It will be a big day for him as well. He’s an owner who is investing worldwide, and it will be a big occasion for him to have a runner in an Irish Derby.”

Halford’s association goes back to his childhood.

“I was born and reared just down the road,” he said.

“My father was the farrier at the Curragh for years, so from the time when I was old enough to jump in the back of the car I was coming up with him. It was always the ambition to have a decent runner in the race, so I’m looking forward to it.

“We want to be competitive and it’s a big achievement for the whole team to have a horse good enough to run in the Irish Derby. There are lots of very capable trainers in Ireland and it’s not about the ability to train these horses it’s getting them.

“As Jessie (Harrington) and Ken (Condon) showed this year, there are lots of trainers capable of training Classic winners, but it’s a matter of getting your hands on the good horses and having good owners that have the finances to go out and purchase them.”