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Howardstown House Bruree Limerick
Once a very successful amateur jockey, he has gone on to be a trainer who has carved out a special niche with horses that thrive over unusual courses and obstacles.
Here’s a look at who he is, what he has achieved, and what makes him special.
Bolger hails from Graiguenamanagh, County Kilkenny and he moved to Limerick in 1985, setting up his base at Howardstown House, Bruree.
Before his career as a trainer, Bolger had a very successful spell as a point-to-point and amateur jockey. He rode for the legendary PP Hogan, among other top trainers.
Bolger amassed major success in that period, saddling 413 winners on the point-to-point circuit, a record that wasn't surpassed until 2006, while he also collected the champion point-to-point rider title on seven occasions between 1980 and 1999.
What makes Bolger so unique is not just that he trains jumpers, but he has transformed into a specialist of cross-country races, banked fences and hunter chases.
His training stables are purposely built for those kinds of races. Howardstown House has challenging banks and a cross-country course, which replicates those to be seen at both Cheltenham and Punchestown.
Bolger is widely known as “The Boss of the Banks” on the Irish National Hunt scene for how consistently his horses perform in banked and cross?country type contests.
Bolger and leading owner JP McManus have teamed up to have great success over the years and they have accumulated a number of standout horses over the decades.
Spot Thedifference is one of his most memorable horses, winning seven times over Cheltenham’s cross-country course, the last of which came in 2007. He was also a multiple winner of the La Touche Cup at Punchestown.
Gilgamboa was another stable star. He won the Grade 1 Ryanair Novices’ Chase at Fairyhouse in the hands of AP McCoy and also triumphed in his final three races before retiring in 2018.
On The Fringe was an unbelievable hunter?chaser for the yard and landed an incredible treble with wins at the Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown festivals in the same season.
It has been quite a successful 2025/2026 season for Bolger to date, as he is operating at a brilliant 21 per cent under rules in Ireland with nine winners from 42 runners.
Inthenickoftime was a nice winner of a Galway handicap chase in October 2025 and the five-year-old will probably eventually head over niche obstacles in time, but he has another win or two in him before that.
Pride Of Place was a wide-margin winner of a handicap chase at the Listowel Harvest Festival and could be one to watch in staying handicaps, while In Excelsis Deo is a classy type that has just joined the yard from Harry Fry and might be one to watch.
