Bellewstown Thu, 4th Jul, 2019  Lady Scathach It was very tight. I thought she was nabbed. I think she was headed and came back again,. Luckily enough they did a great job watering the track and she doesn't want it too quick, I'd say the softer the better. She's a tough filly and the nice handy weight there helped. Niall is riding with great confidence. He gave her a great confident ride and said he felt all the way that once he got the run he had plenty there. She made it difficult in Gowran as she hangs left. When she won first it suited as they came up the stand's side but going left-handed would definitely suit her better. We'll tip away and keep her going as long as she's well.

Curragh Fri, 28th Jun, 2019  Albigna She got there in the end. Shane said she was outpaced throughout the race and she'd never been so fast in her life but when she got going she was good,. Her class got her there. I thought she was going to be nowhere but then suddenly she took off. It's very bad for my heart!. I've got some nice fillies and I'm very lucky to have them. We'll find races for them. She'll definitely step up to seven, she's not going to go six again, and even at the end of the year she might go a mile. She's in the Moyglare. They are lovely fillies and they will all be three-year-olds, they are bred to be three-year-olds - which is great. I took the punt on Monday and supplemented her. I hadn't got her in this as it had actually closed the day before she won her maiden here. It was money very well spent and it's great when it works.

Naas Wed, 26th Jun, 2019  A New Dawn She had a good run the last day and the drop back to six seemed to suit,. She's very tough, very genuine, and gives it her best shot. She's a nice little filly. I'd say that was a fair maiden, the second filly had form in Listed races, so I'd be hoping she'd get black-type.

Tipperary Sun, 23rd Jun, 2019  Killourney He is a big honest horse who did it well in Gowran and did it well today. Bill said the track was a tiny bit tight for him and he'll come on from that. Pat Grogan from Killourney owns and bred him (as part of the Rachra Partnership) and they have a better looking half-brother by Kodiac to sell this year!

Cork Fri, 14th Jun, 2019  Who's Steph It was very straightforward and he is rated 97 so you'd expect him to be winning his maiden like that. He hit a flat spot turning in and I thought 'what the hell' but Colin said to go further and said he ran to his rating,. I'd have gone a mile with him but Colin called it right and said to go 10 (furlongs). I take no credit for it as I'm lucky to be in the right place - Adrian (Keatley, previous trainer) found and sourced the horse and bought a cracking horse and has done a grand job with him and we've just brought him along quietly. It's not nice circumstances but that is horse racing. He is staying with me and I seem to be gathering Hong Kong-based owners at the minute, rather than selling to them. It has been 20-odd years of selling to them so it is nice to have it this way around. They are lovely horses to have and most trainers will train these horses to win and I am lucky with my team of horses at the minute.

Ballinrobe Mon, 27th May, 2019  Zoffalee I'm delighted with him. He's owned by my wife so I'm even more delighted with that,. We'll probably try and sell him after that. He probably ran into one the first day in a handicap and then he was beaten fair and square the last day. It was probably a weaker contest today. I'd have preferred it if he didn't win by nine-and-a-half lengths!. We'll see what the handicapper does to him and see where we go. He has done a good bit of schooling over fences so we might take in a chase as a four-year-old as they get good allowances.

Curragh Sun, 26th May, 2019  Dalton Highway I told Andrew to wait all day on him. He did his homework on the last two years of the horses form and had seen that Pat (Smullen) got up late on him at Killarney,. For a guy of his age to have done so much research was great, and he was thrilled when I said to try and do the same as Pat did.

Curragh Fri, 24th May, 2019  Albigna she got a little bit warm at the start but really has behaved beautifully and was very relaxed. Shane said it just took her a while to realise what she was doing but she came between the two horses and put her head down. He gave her two slaps and that was all. We’ve always liked her and thought she could run very well but wasn’t sure if she could win this evening. She’s a lovely filly, and will have learned plenty in behind. She’s going to be better when she goes over seven furlongs. We just wanted to get this race out of the way first and haven’t made any plans.

Cork Wed, 22nd May, 2019  Woody Creek she did it well and is just starting to get her confidence back. Hopefully she keeps progressing and we'll see where we go next. She holds an entry for the Ballyogan Stakes and I wouldn't rule it out, an owner-breeder (Craig Bernick) has her.

Naas Sat, 11th May, 2019  Woody Creek I didn't think that the other horse (Empire Line) would be capable of giving her a stone. If she came back to where she was as a two-year-old, at level weights I've always said she would be better than him. She lost her confidence badly in Leopardstown that day she got knocked over. She was quite sore after it and then she ran absolutely terrible again in Leopardstown, it was probably the wrong place to run her. I said to Craig (Bernick, owner) that hopefully she'd get a little but further in time but I just wanted to get her in a habit of racing again today on a straight track where she'd have plenty of room around her. It's worked anyway and it's great for Craig who has been a great supporter. It's nice to have a winner for him, we've had out trials and tribulations and haven't had much luck so far but hopefully this is the start of something. It was a good pot. I always had a high opinion of her last year but at Leopardstown it just all went wrong. She actually ran okay here the last day when she was drawn on the wrong side of the track. Young Andy gave her a good ride and Mikey gave the other horse a good ride, he did nothing wrong. The weight told in the last 50 yards. Mikey is a bit sick but he'll have his day someday.

Cork Fri, 10th May, 2019  Pepperoni Pete The plaudits go to Johnny as he took a little pull out the back as he knew there was something wrong with the horse in front (Geological). He thought he (Geological) was going a bit fast racing down the back straight and then he saw something wrong with his tack and he took a pull. It was a very intelligent ride by the young lad and the more rides he's getting the more relaxed he's getting. He appreciated the better ground and he'll get an extra couple of furlongs no problem.

Gowran Park Wed, 8th May, 2019  Lady Scathach I thought we were nabbed. It's her third run in ten days so she toughed it out well. She ran a bit too free today. She was drawn low and bounced well, I was afraid she might have done a bit too much too early but she toughed it out well. Hopefully the handicapper won't give her any more than she has already. She was 4lb well in today compared to the future and it wouldn't be very fair to give her any more. It's nice to get a couple of wins with her and she's doing now what we thought she might do at home. We'll have to freshen her up a bit now as she's after having a busy ten days. The bit more ease in the ground helped her there.

Gowran Park Sun, 5th May, 2019  Who's Steph You'd be very impressed with that. We're delighted with her. Going forward she is very ground dependent. Mr Strawbridge has been very good to keep her in training with us as a four-year-old and he's been very patient. She needs cut in the ground and she won't be running in all those good races if it's quick. She'll be even more effective over an extra furlong or two, even further going forward. It's all ground dependent and it's frustrating when you have a lovely filly like that but Mr Strawbridge has been very good to us and left it to us to find the right races with the right conditions and no pressure on us. One day it will be justified with her. She's obviously in the Pretty Polly and the Tattersalls Gold Cup but she'll not be going near them if it's good to firm. If it's yielding like that or soft we'd be very confident. Colin said she improved from the first day. She was gassy then and it obviously didn't help when she got wiped out on the first bend. She went down on her knees and that lit her up as she was fresh for her first run. That was a prep run as well and today he said she was a different filly. She should that day but she did win today and you'd have to be impressed with the way she did win. She got every bit of the trip last time and if today was a mile-four she'd be running in it, that's no problem. Today we would be worried that it's a bit short for her and that's why we were happy with the way she put it to bed.

Naas Mon, 29th Apr, 2019  Zodiacus She's very fast. We thought she was good but you are always afraid when you go for a maiden that you are going to come up against something,. She improved a lot from her last run and she's very pacey. Colin said she's still very green. She did it the hard way really as she was on her own and all the pace seemed to be on the stand's side. Hopefully she'll come on from that. I'd say that's probably as quick as she wants the ground, I'd say the softer the better with her. She's a very nice filly. There is a Listed race coming up in Cork, whether it is a bit soon or not we'll have to see. It's a six-furlong three-year-old and we might have a look at that. It's nice to have one that class, she seems very good.

Clonmel Thu, 18th Apr, 2019  Encapsulation She is a nice filly and is pretty decent. The owners had her and couldn't get her sold as she was a big, big, weak filly as a two year old and we just had to leave her alone,. She has done nothing but improve and improve and improve and Colin said she still didn't know what she was doing there today. You wouldn't know but that filly could get herself into Stakes class. Maybe I'm wrong but she's that type of a filly and I'd say she is a filly going places. The guys that own her have her for sale and if someone comes in with enough money, that will be the next question.