Dundalk Fri, 6th Oct, 2023  Jack Red Cloud That's great and he did it well,. He had a very nice run first time at Leopardstown and we expected him to improve but I was the most stunned man at Punchestown on his next run. When I watched it again the ground was very chopped on the inside and he just wasn't going. It was a similar thing at Down Royal, he just didn't handle the ground but we had no opportunity and this was the place to come as he qualified for this race. We were reasonably hopeful, you can never be confident, and we just said to Ben to keep it as straight-forward as he could. When the horse was relaxed he decided to take it over after the first two furlongs and he made it all from there. It was a nice simple run and the horse did well. He wants good ground, obviously it's unlikely to dry up on the turf so he'll probably come back here.

Down Royal Mon, 25th Sep, 2023  Go Sioux Me Delighted!. I suppose the ground was an 'if', he was a fair drifter (in the market) now. We were very happy with him at home, I'd say when horses go on good to firm they don't always go on heavy. It is not (a negative for progeny of his sire) and in the spring, when we were working him with the jumpers on real soft ground, we were never going to be worried about it. I had that bit of confidence anyway. He's still learning, he's still a big, green lad - a big unit. Hopefully (plenty more in him), Ben loves him anyway and he's learning on his job. He's still very, very green, so I'm expecting him to improve.

Curragh Sun, 10th Sep, 2023  Native American I thought he was workmanlike but did it well in the end to be fair. He grew (since his last run, and win, in May) and just wasn’t scoping great so I couldn’t get stuck into him but he’s done plenty of cantering and we were pleased with him. I’m sure he will improve again. He’s quite a nice horse, we do like him but he’s a work in progress. The jockey felt the ground was just dead enough for him and felt he wanted better ground. we won some sales races with Wootton Bassett (now standing at Coolmore for a €150,000 stud fee) and he ended up winning the (Group 1) Prix Lagardere. That was in my mind before the race so we’ll see how he is and decide whether he goes or not.

Down Royal Fri, 8th Sep, 2023  Ashwiyaa Delighted to finally get her head in front. She was already third in a Group 2 and she has just had a habit of getting herself beaten for one reason or another. It was my own fault for putting the blinkers on her the last day dropping her back to five, she didn't seem to face them. I took them off her today and bounced her back out again. Colin said she might be made for that five furlong Listed race in Dundalk. She has a lot of speed and wants something to aim at, and just does enough when she gets there. That was the plan, she was able to travel away and she is able to have something to keep her concentrated and go and quicken up . Great to get her maiden bracket sorted. She has strengthened up a lot over the summer and, if she keeps doing, that she could win a little stakes race somewhere.

Naas Sun, 27th Aug, 2023  Ocean Quest That's great. She hasn't run since Ascot, we gave her time. We know she likes a bit of give in the ground and that's why we put away after Ascot,. I think she'll go on anything actually and she's a very classy filly. Ascot in October is the main target and she's in at Haydock in the Group 1 sprint there. We didn't put her on Irish Champions Weekend because it's five furlongs, but apparently she gets a free entry now. If it came up heavy, maybe. This summer we've had no idea what ground we're going to get. You can have good to firm in the morning and abandoned in the afternoon. We know she goes on heavy, she's won on heavy and she's gone on good to firm so she's a very versatile filly. She's classy and speedy.

Curragh Sat, 26th Aug, 2023  Letsbefrankaboutit He learned a lot the last day when he had to race on his own, he won his race,. He was a bit babyish before the race the last day but he was very good today, didn't put a foot wrong, and did what I hoped he'd do. It takes a lot for me to run a maiden in a Group 3 but I just thought he might be fit for it. I was going to go to Cork next week for a six-furlong maiden but I just put him in this, I just had a feeling that it might be the right move and it worked out. I did ask Billy about five times if it was the right thing to do!. He's a big horse, we won't overdo it this year and hopefully we'll have a nice horse for a couple of years to come. He's entered in everything and we'll see how he is, I think he'll be a nice horse in time.