Oliver looking forward to the season ahead

County Tyrone trainer Andy Oliver is looking forward to the new season with relish and harbours especially strong hopes for his new batch of two-year-olds.

Oliver has advertised his skills in recent season through the likes of Cherry Hinton heroine Sendmylovetorose and Futurity winner First Cornerstone.

While last year did not exactly go to plan with his big guns, Oliver is confident that his current crop will see the good times return.

"I think I've got the nicest bunch of two-year-olds I've ever had. Some are backward and won't be out too early, the way we work is that we don't gallop them at home so as yet we haven't done anything serious, but some look quite classy," said Oliver.

"I'm not unhappy with them anyway, put it that way. The first few might be out towards the end of April or early May and then we might run another three or four by the end of May.

"Ideally you want them out by then so you can identify if any are good enough for Ascot. Someone asked me just the other day how many runners I thought I'd have there. I told them at this stage of the season half the yard is going!

"We've got some unraced three-year-olds and sometimes one or two of them might emerge to be decent and these are certainly the most exciting times of the season.

"Last year we had a pretty average bunch but before that we had some smart ones, it's swings and roundabouts, that's how it goes. We were badly delayed last year as we were carrying out work on our gallops but we won't be particularly early this year, we never are as a rule."

First Cornerstone was bought by leading American owners Team Valor before he finished fourth in the Racing Post Trophy in 2012 with the aim of taking in all the big races last season .

However, despite a promising first effort in the Irish Guineas, the colt was held back by a low-grade respiratory infection and has not run since finishing eighth in the Secretariat Stakes. He remains in training in America.

Oliver said: "First Cornerstone stayed in America and that was always the plan, he hasn't run since. I still have horses for Team Valor and we were talking about him the other day actually. I think he needs a bit of cut in the ground, then they'll see him at his best. At least with Team Valor still owning him they'll know what to do.

"He had a respiratory problem last year and it was very frustrating we never saw him at his best."

It is obvious Oliver knows what to look out for at the sales, however, having bought Sendmylovetorose for £5,000 and she recently sold for 335,000 euro. He also came close to buying Hong Kong's current superstar, Designs On Rome.

"We won the Cherry Hinton the year before with Sendmylovetorose and I was the underbidder on Designs On Rome. He was being sold by Moyglare and when he didn't reach what they wanted they asked me to make a bid," said Oliver.

"They came back to me to tell me someone had outbid me and did I want to make another offer. I said I'd let him go and then I found out Pat Flynn offered £500 more. I also used to train Lucky Nine, he's won a hatful of Group Ones out there, he was called Luck Or Design when I had him.

"It just goes to show the quality we have in Ireland. If you can win a maiden at the Curragh I think it's an advert that you are doing your job right."