Punchestown Tue, 29th Apr, 2025  Bud Fox His work has always been good at home. He has plenty of gears. Derek obviously trained him to win his point-to-point and strongly recommended him. I know they often do but he was mad about this fella and he’s a lovely horse going forward. I’ll have a conversation with the owners, but I’d imagine that will be it for the moment and then go jumping next season. We have all summer to think about it.

Fairyhouse Sun, 20th Apr, 2025  Aurora Vega Like her mother she’s maturing with age. The family just seems to get better with age, and it looks like she’ll stay further. Quevega had a big heart and she’s breeding mares with a big heart as well.

Ballinrobe Fri, 11th Apr, 2025  Miss Corby She missed the break and missed the first. It wasn’t the plan but he didn’t panic and plan B worked,. The better ground helped big time. She ran well first time but then ran into all the soft ground and it just didn’t happen for her, she can be a bit buzzy as well.

Aintree Fri, 4th Apr, 2025  Jonbon That wasn’t a very easy day for any of us yesterday. We all feel that and I know he does, too. We have issues we’ve got to sort out with Constitution Hill, but he and I will work that one out. For him to come back and give a horse a ride like that today, that’s a great man. That (Punchestown) would be our intention. He’s back at home in Seven Barrows in his box and he was sound this morning.

Naas Thu, 3rd Apr, 2025  Shuffle The Deck That was nice. I thought two was a bit sharp for him. I was hoping to go to Fairyhouse or Punchestown and whether he’ll run there depends on the ground. It was just alright today, I wouldn’t have run him on anything quicker. He’s a big horse with a future in front of him, he’s a great leaper. At least he put a bad run here in the Grade 1 behind him. He was out of his comfort zone then on very bad ground. He’s taking a bit of time to mature and hopefully he goes the right way. He won a point-to-point, and I’d say he’ll make a nice three-mile chaser. I was surprised to see him win over two, which is always a good sign. He liked a bit of good ground. I thought he was a bit of a mudlark but it was bottomless here in January and I’d say he just didn’t like it.

Limerick Tue, 1st Apr, 2025  Birdsandthebees She toughed it out, which is something she hadn't really done before but Aidan said she jumped great and stuck her head down,. She was unsuited by the heavy ground here in January but seems to like that. We'll keep her going for the summer.

Navan Sat, 22nd Mar, 2025  Canal End I’m delighted, we haven’t had the best of seasons so it’s great for a horse like him to come out and do something in a nice race like that. It’s a great end to the season and I’m looking forward to getting him out again. The whole way through the race I was never really happy with him. It was only from the back of the last that he really found loads and stayed at it. We’ll try and find another chase for him between Fairyhouse and Punchestown. We mapped out today after his run in Naas the last day. The ground was very heavy there and Mark said he didn’t really travel in it, but he galloped the whole way to the line. We said we’d go for this race, with it being a novice handicap. Whether we keep him to novice handicaps, we’ll see. We’ll speak to Frank and JP and see what they want to do.

Cheltenham Fri, 14th Mar, 2025  Inothewayurthinkin I would like to see it again, I don’t think I took it all in, but it’s an exciting day. I’m absolutely speechless. I was worried about the pace of the race on the better ground, he was only just hanging in there the whole time — he was flat out. He’s a very good horse. Going down to the second-last I thought we had a good chance. What can you say? It’s brilliant, I’m just thrilled. Great thanks to JP and Noreen for having the confidence to supplement him. It’s brilliant, they’re so good to train for. They’re brilliant people.

Cheltenham Fri, 14th Mar, 2025  Inothewayurthinkin I’m absolutely speechless. I was worried about the pace of the race on the better ground, he was only just hanging in there the whole time – he was flat out. He’s a very good horse. Going down to the second-last, I thought we had a good chance. What can you say? It’s brilliant, I’m just thrilled. Great thanks to JP and Noreen for having the confidence to supplement him. It’s brilliant, they’re so good to train for. They’re brilliant people.

Leopardstown Mon, 3rd Mar, 2025  Secrecies Of Stone Jack kept him happy all the way. He said he liked being wide, he doesn’t seem to like the hustle and bustle of things. He was very confident all the way around with the way he was jumping, the rhythm and the way he was pricking his ears. He was loving it and he just kept taking him back. He won easy in the end. He’s rated 102 there and he’ll probably get a whack for that. I’m just glad that he went and did it. Probably because of the room that he needs, these galloping tracks suit him well. He might get into the bottom of something nice at Fairyhouse or somewhere like that.

Fairyhouse Sat, 22nd Feb, 2025  Nick Rockett I thought it was a nice performance, beating an Irish National winner in the process, and it was a nice trial for Aintree. I'm very pleased with him,. It was tough coming back from the Thyestes only four-and-a-bit weeks before. That was tough and should leave him spot on for Aintree. They were very tough conditions there and he'll probably take a little while to recover from that but he has the time. I was very impressed with how slick he jumped, his jumping was excellent. We aimed him for the Irish National last year but it didn't work. He's a horse I think has the potential to run well around Aintree. Bobbyjo winners have been lucky around there. We just need to get there and have a bit of luck in running.

Navan Sun, 9th Feb, 2025  Verdant Place He doesn't like it tacky, and it was a big worry coming here. He would be happier on ground that is getting softer rather than ground that is drying. Simon said they weren't going that deep in it which was a big help. Anything between soft and yielding he is fine on. It is great that he gets through it, and he loves it around here which is a big help. Simon was a lot happier with the way he jumped. We might come back here next month for the Listed race that he actually ran in last year. We'll see what the handicapper does with him and see what Frank (Berry) says. It looks like a good option for him. This season has been going great with him. He was a bit disappointing last season, but this season he is really back to himself and we have got a clear run with him. He is running away as well as expected.

Leopardstown Sat, 1st Feb, 2025  Final Demand That was a huge performance, Paul was in the perfect position the whole way and when he pulled him out, it was a question of what was left in the tank – it turns out there was plenty. He was probably going better at the winning post than he had the whole way. There was a good few disappointments there but for him to be able to do that is huge. It’s a nice start but we need a few more!. Jumping the last today was the first time I realised he was a bit above average, but what he did from the last today sets him apart from a lot of other horses.

Leopardstown Sat, 1st Feb, 2025  Final Demand 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.

Punchestown Mon, 27th Jan, 2025  Maughreen I thought it was a huge performance for a mare having only her second run, against the experience that Familiar Dreams had,. She went out and made her own running, jumped from hurdle to hurdle. She made one or two little mistakes and got a bit close at the last, but Paul was happy to let her fiddle that. She learned. I’m not sure we’ll any more chances to give her a run between now and Cheltenham, we’ll see. Looking at that I don’t think she’ll need one. She should improve, I’m hoping she’ll improve from that. She took a blow and she was idling. All roads lead to Cheltenham.

Punchestown Mon, 27th Jan, 2025  Maughreen I thought it was a huge performance for a mare having only her second run, against the experience that Familiar Dreams (third) had. 

Fairyhouse Sat, 25th Jan, 2025  Aurora Vega It looked a big improvement to me, I was really taken by that performance,. I thought she’d come on a lot from the last day, (but) I wasn’t expecting that out of her. She looked like one that you’d maybe want to keep for the Grade One Mares’ Novice here at Easter. That would be foremost in my mind at the moment. Baby Kate disappointed me a little bit with her performance there.

Fairyhouse Sat, 25th Jan, 2025  Aurora Vega It looked a big improvement to me, I was really taken by that performance. I thought she’d come on a lot from the last day, I wasn’t expecting that out of her. She looked like one that you’d maybe want to keep for the Grade 1 mares hurdle here at Easter. That would be foremost in my mind at the moment. Baby Kate (sixth) disappointed me a little bit with her performance there.

Gowran Park Thu, 23rd Jan, 2025  Nick Rockett This horse has been a fantastic servant and to win here means so much more. It gives me an inner feeling of consolement as it’s what Sadie always wanted. It would be great to have a runner in the Grand National. He’s honest, he jumps well and he stays so that’s all you can ask for in a National horse. There will be great celebrations in the area tonight as Sadie’s family are all from around here. It was a tremendous performance. For me, today was the day. You might get a chance to win one big handicap with a horse in a season and what a race to win. We’ll probably look towards a National whether it be an Irish or Aintree. When we were growing up the Thyestes was always a National trial. The weights used to come out before the Thyestes that time.

Gowran Park Thu, 23rd Jan, 2025  Nick Rockett He was impressive, wasn’t he? We thought he was going to be one of our better bumper horses once upon a time and he got injured, but he jumps fantastically well and hopefully he might live up to what we hoped he could be. Jonjo’s horse brought a fair level of form and we beat him well and hopefully there’s more to come. He’s owned by my mother, but is for sale to stay in the yard and he’s a horse that could go to the spring festivals and later on in the year he could be a Galway and Listowel horse. He does have a bit of a funny action and his sister Pink In The Park is exactly the same, so it’s a family trait. They both have very unusual ways of galloping, but as my father says if they can swing it fast enough it doesn’t matter!

Gowran Park Thu, 23rd Jan, 2025  Nick Rockett This horse has been a fantastic servant and to win here means so much more. It gives me an inner feeling of consolement as it’s what Sadie always wanted. It would be great to have a runner in the Grand National. He’s honest, he jumps well and he stays so that’s all you can ask for in a National horse. There will be great celebrations in the area tonight as Sadie’s family are all from around here. It was a tremendous performance. For me today was the day. You might get a chance to win one big handicap with a horse in a season and what a race to win. We’ll probably look towards a National, whether it be an Irish or Aintree. When we were growing up the Thyestes was always a National trial. The weights used to come out before the Thyestes that time.

Down Royal Tue, 21st Jan, 2025  Putapoundinthejar the Limerick run was a lovely run but he'sa Walk In The Park and was a little bit hot so it took a while for him to come round to himself. We thought he was a nice horse going to Limerick and he has always showed he was. It has just taken a while for everything to fall into place. He's still relatively young and immature. Today’s race turned into a great opportunity with Willie's (Mullins, Karoline Banbou) not there. Fingers crossed he can go on a bit from here: hopefully, he will learn and come on and there are plenty of opportunities down the road.

Fairyhouse Wed, 1st Jan, 2025  Aurora Vega She at least put that run in Wexford behind her and looked like she’s back on an upward curve,. I’m very happy with how she jumped and how she handled the ground. I think there is the Solerina race here towards the end of the month and we’d be looking at that. I like when they show a liking for here because you can always look at the Grade 1 race here at Easter.

Leopardstown Sun, 29th Dec, 2024  The Enabler He was good and just got a bit close to the last. I’m not sure what his trip is as he wasn’t getting home over three miles and two miles looked too short,. Michael and Anita (O’Leary) are racing here today and it’s great to get them a winner. He looks a chaser for next year.

Limerick Fri, 27th Dec, 2024  Uhavemeinstitches She’s a lovely filly and we’ve always liked her since day one and it’s great to get a winner for JP at Christmas,. She was jumping so well she was even jumping into the back of a few of them. Simon said it was straight forward. She ran around a bit down the home straight, had a little look about when she hit the front, but she was good over the last two. She ran here in the spring, but she was only a frame and has really filled out over the summer in Martinstown. I was really pleased when she came back in the autumn and knew I had a mare to train. With her pedigree you would say stamina is going to be her forte down the line. Bluesea Cracker is still with us and is in the stable just across the yard from this filly. She is rising 24 and is still fit and healthy. It’s great to see her daughter coming through now.

Limerick Thu, 26th Dec, 2024  Dream In The Park forty years ago today, I trained my first winner with For Jon, with Michael Byrne riding him. It was at the old Greenpark racecourse so there have been a lot of changes since but we’re still at it and haven’t gone hungry yet!. Dream In The Park jumps well and was handicapped better over fences than over hurdles, so we decided to have a go at this. We schooled him at home the other day and jumped particularly well. That’s Calum’s first winner over fences and his 7lb claim is very valuable: he gave him a great ride. Conor (McNamara, son) had the pick but went for (stablemate) Cahirdown Boy who has been lucky for him in the past, but he made an early bad mistake, so his race was gone.

Leopardstown Thu, 26th Dec, 2024  Croke Park He’s been busy enough and probably doesn’t need to run again before Cheltenham. I don’t think he wants real winter heavy ground. He maybe didn’t jump as well as he did the last day. Sam (Ewing) said he slipped going into the first. The second horse didn’t lose much in defeat either, probably more of a test will suit him. He was well up after the line. Even when he won the Martin Pipe in Cheltenham he looked like a real stayer. As he’s named, there will be Better Days Ahead.

Naas Mon, 16th Dec, 2024  Shuffle The Deck He did it nicely. He stays and jumps. He looks like a horse that will make a nice chaser. His first run was a goodish run and he came on from it, it looks like he's improved a bit from that. He is what he is, he stays going and he gallops. He's only a four-year-old and with his pedigree he should make a nice chaser. His half-brother Verdant Place won yesterday. Hopefully, he goes on to be a nice horse, lots of horses win a maiden hurdle. I've had a few nice novices over the years and I'd say he's as good as we've had at this stage, but he has a long way to go. Somebody asked me there how good he was and I said 'well he's not Rince Ri'. He's entered in the Lawlor's (at Naas) and he'll probably run there unless they (JP McManus) have something better.

Navan Sun, 15th Dec, 2024  Verdant Place It was brilliant to get it. Fair play to Simon, that's his third win on him now. He's probably not the most straight-forward horse in the world but Simon really knows him inside out. I don't tell him anything, away he goes. He was good today. His jumping probably still has to improve a little bit, he's not the slickest over them but you could ask no more. Three miles around Navan takes a bit of jumping. He's won over two-seven over hurdles and three miles is probably his trip. If the ground was softer you could drop him back a bit more but definitely on that ground he needs three miles. He won't be running over Christmas and we'll find something similar in the New Year.