Odds-on Dragon wins Gowran opener for de Bromhead

I’m delighted with that, it’s great for the owners Pimlico Racing. She more or less jumped okay, she got a bit of a fright down the back (rival jumped across her) but stayed on really well. She knuckled down after the last and she was good.

Ma Jacks Hill strikes on hurdling debut

McManus' homebred wins first race of new William Hill series

It was great. She stayed at it well, Aidan said the race fell apart a bit. It’s great to get a winner, she’s a home-bred of Noreen’s (McManus). It’s always nice when the fillies win. She just about got away with the ground, I’d say. We’ll see what the handicapper does and look for something similar. This (William Hill) series is a great incentive, so fair play to them. It’s nice to get one on the board in it anyway.

Hollow back in winners' enclosure

She’s a bit mad! She ran too free in Listowel the last day and ran too free in Clonmel before that and in the Galway Hurdle she didn’t jump off,. I wanted to run her in the Irish Cesarewitch last week and he wouldn’t let me but now I want to run her in the Colm White Handicap at Naas (on October 12th). She has loads of ability, she’s very talented. If she puts it all together she’s capable of winning one of those. She did too much in the visor the last day and run herself into the ground. She’s fully mad and we just have to try and keep a lid on her. She ran well in the Tipperary Cup in Clonmel but she pulled for a mile-and-six, she was still pulling turning into the straight and still finished fourth. She’s not learning. We’ll go to Naas now.

Sign wins back over timber

He very seldom runs a bad race, he’s always running respectably,. That was his first time wearing cheekpieces over hurdles and I think that helped him out today. It probably wasn’t the strongest of races, we were considering whether to run him or not with the ground but he ran grand. He’s consistent but struggles a bit to get his head in front. Hopefully he’ll go on from there and he’ll keep tipping away in handicaps. I think once the ground isn’t too tacky he gets away with it. It’s definitely loose out there with the rain that came. He might go back on the Flat now and then we could give him another run over hurdles before the real winter ground.

Rothwell's 'horrendous day' gets better at Gowran

That makes it a better day because it was horrendous until then!. I came in and an umbrella left the bookies and missed my head by an inch. I said ‘this is going to be a good day’ because it should have clocked me. Then one fell in the first, one got brought down in the third and then a horse, Quarry Rocco, slipped in the stable and was lame behind and I couldn’t run him. I was saying ‘what have I done wrong?’. That’s brilliant. The lads (Cluain Abhann Racing Syndicate) are great. The horse has been very solid. He ran a good race in Kilbeggan over a year ago but got an injury and we nursed him back. He ran a great race the last day and was super today. He had a lovely racing weight and handled a bit of an ease. We never got to run him on softer because he got an injury in the summer and then we brought him back again this summer. This is his first time that he’s got to run with an ease. I said to the lads that I thought he would appreciate it but I couldn’t be sure. He obviously did.

Liadawn wins Listed bumper for the Mullins

She got headed but she’s very tough,. She has a fantastic pedigree; we lease them off Jock O’Connor. I won this bumper on her dam (Snag List) 10 years ago and we’ve had Nikini, who is her aunt, and Williamstown Dancer, who is her sister. They are all black-type mares. Anne and Margaret and Jock O’Connor do a fantastic job cultivating the family. This time last year Sara (partner) was in labour with Wynter (daughter) and this is Wynter’s first winner to be at, it took us a year to get here. She’s a good mare and we might look at Cheltenham in November.