Going - Soft (Hurdle), Yielding, good to yielding in places (Chase). Breezy and dry
Jackpot Pool - €7,486.50 Dividend - €149.70 Winning Units - 34.99. Placepot Pool - €82,531.38 Dividend - €38.40 Winning Units - 1504.34. Days Aggregate - €618,755.03 Last Year
Final Demand impresses in Dublin Racing Festival opener
It was a huge performance, absolutely huge. Paul was in a lovely position the whole way and the horse did everything fairly right. Turning for home, when he started to niggle, I wondered what was going to be in the tank. Little did I think that he was going to have that much in the tank and he was probably going better at the winning post than he was at any part of the race. There was a good few disappointments there, including plenty of mine. For him to be able to do that on his second run over hurdles was a huge achievement.
'Proper one' Hello Neighbour delights Cromwell
I’m just thrilled to win a Grade 1. I haven’t won a Grade 1 in Ireland for over four years, that’s just the nature of how competitive it is here. He’s a proper one. I brought him along slowly and he’s answered every call, hopefully he’ll improve again. We’ve always liked and he’s progressive. I was very pushy to get someone to buy him and thankfully Paddy and Yvonne (Sheanon) did. Fair play to Paddy (Sheanon, owner) he was brave and put the money out, he’s getting rewarded. He was still a little bit keen, but I think he’s going to learn every day. He’s a straightforward horse, but he just wants to get on with it - he’ll be fine. The more he does, the more he’ll improve.
Cromwell doubles up with Perceval Legallois
You wouldn’t think he was after running over fences, he was very nimble over hurdles. Obviously, he was off a lower mark. I thought coming here that he was a better chaser than a hurdler, but you can’t argue with that. He’s in the National and sure you’d have to consider it. It’s fantastic, it’s so hard to be competitive here so to win two races is brilliant.
Majborough - 'He's a monster, isn't he?'
It was very good, fantastic. I was looking at it from the stands, whereas everyone else was looking at it on the TV. The whole crowd were going ‘ooh and aah’ every time he got close to one but watching it from the side he never looked in danger, never looked like falling. The camera does lie now and again.
Galopin Des Champs powers his way to Irish Gold Cup hat-trick
Paul has huge faith in him and said he was just going to jump out and go with him. I thought we might make it with Embassy Gardens. There were four or five upsides him jumping the first but he had burned them off by the time he got to the third. He just jumped and galloped for three miles and it didn’t look like he was stopping coming up to the winning post. He’s just a real champion. They were all taking him on, they were plenty of horses up there and there was no diminishing the pace at all during the whole race. It was an out-and-out stayers race. I was focused on the race and getting over the last and everything in front of me in the stands stood up so I couldn’t see so I was trying to watch the television. I was trying to watch and see if there was something coming out of the clouds, but sure enough when I got to see him again he was clear. I thought Fact To File would be a bit closer, but Mark (Walsh) was happy that he had settled well and was going to leave him settled and have one go at him, and that’s what he did. He only finished third in the end.
Upwardly-mobile An Peann Dearg shows fondness for Foxrock
It’s great for Jim and Sonja (Buckley), they are very important people in the yard and it’s great to have them here and win a big pot. He travelled well, something similar to the last day, but he probably hit the line a little bit stronger. We could see it today, but the handicapper can see it as well!
Colcannon opens up a path to Punchestown
We always thought he was fairly useful. It was unfortunate what happened last year with Finn (Tegetmeier). He was point three light, which is nothing, and he went and won by nine lengths (disqualified at Punchestown). When he went to Punchestown and the mare (Sixandahalf) beat him, we felt he was gone at that stage. Then he had a bad run in Thurles, when we shouldn’t have run him as it was too soon. He was a shell. The whole intention after he won his bumper was to go jumping with him, but the schooling just wasn’t going the way I wanted it to go. I felt he was going to take a run or two over hurdles to get to where we want him. I said at Christmas he’d run but he won’t win because he won’t jump well enough and his novice season could end up with him winning late on. I’d say we go with a different plan. We decided we’d run him in the bumper at Christmas, but the day before we had spots in the yard and he came up with a couple of spots so we had to take him out of that and then here was the next one. Unfortunately, he’s not qualified for Cheltenham but I think he’s okay for Punchestown, so we’ll probably plan for that. If there is something in between, at Fairyhouse, we’ll see.
