Barry Connell

Roscommon Tue, 4th Aug, 2026  Hashtag Pretender It was a very ordinary beginners’ chase. We’ve a rating of 124 and hopefully the handicapper will drop us a good bit for that now,. The third horse was only 104. He was entitled to win it on his rating. We had a little concern over the ground but I don’t think it was too bad. He’s one of the few horses that we have that handles proper summer ground. He grabbed at the second last and missed it and what I liked today was when he got headed, he battled back. Last year he was making the running and when he got headed that was the end of him, but they were much better races last year. With a clear round he was entitled to go and do that, you’ll struggle to find a weaker beginners’ chase all year. I don’t think he’s good enough for any of the novices and I’m hoping the handicapper will drop him a little bit.

Wexford Wed, 22nd Jul, 2026  Farrokh I get a great kick out of winning these 0-100s as I hardly ever win them. It's normally Eoin McCarthy or those other brilliant trainers who operate well with these horses. We have an incredible range of trainers in this division and this horse had finished second in this race two years ago. We tried him with blinkers and cheekpieces but took them all off today, except for a sheepskin noseband. He jumped well, never missed a beat and the jumping won it for him. It is fine margins down at this level, but if you jump well and keep saving, that can make the difference. There might be something over fences for him in Galway.