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Danestown Navan Co Meath
By Enda McElhinney
His career began as a farrier but the Co Meath-based handler has gone on to establish himself as a top-class trainer, renowned for his ability to plunder targets in Britain alongside success on the home front.
Cromwell's original dream was to be a jockey. As a teenager he spent time on the Curragh with Dessie Hughes and later at Newmarket with Paul Kellaway, before trying his hand in Australia, where he was based at Flemington Racecourse.
Things didn't quite take flight and so he returned to Ireland and did his apprenticeship as a farrier, qualifying and quickly building up a strong business as his love of horses endured.
By 2005 he had opted to take out his own training license and in 2007 Dodder Walk landed a handicap hurdle in the hands of Andrew Lynch at Cork to give Cromwell his first winner.
He based himself at Danestown in Co Meath and has consistently grown from humble beginnings to become one of the most successful trainers in Ireland, with the support of his wife, Kiva, and three children.
Cromwell's Grade 1 breakthrough came when Jer's Girl won the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Novice Hurdle under Barry Geraghty at Fairyhouse in March, 2016.
Geraghty was the man in the plate again a month later when Jer's Girl added the Grade 1 Tattersalls Ireland Champion Novice Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival.
On the Flat, Cromwell saddled Sretaw under Wayne Lordan to win the Irish Cambridgeshire at the Curragh in August, 2014.
He was proving himself at elite level under both codes and won his first Group race on the Flat when Princess Yaiza landed the Group 2 Prix de Royallieu at ParisLongchamp in October 2018.
Of course, the biggest stage of all for Cromwell is Cheltenham in March and, typically, his breakout moment in the Cotswolds was noteworthy as Espoir d'Allen won the 2019 Champion Hurdle, becoming only the second five-year-old winner since See You Then in 1985.
Sadly, the JP McManus-owned Espoir d'Allen suffered an injury at home in the off-season that followed and had to be put down.
Two years later, Cromwell was on the Cheltenham trail again, this time scooping a double as Vanillier won the Albert Bartlett and Flooring Porter dominated the Stayers' Hurdle from the front.
Flooring Porter became a standard-bearer for the yard and won the Stayers' again in 2022, while he would land a Kerry National over fences in 2024 before an injury ended his season.
Owner McManus has always been a strong supporter of Cromwell and together they captured the biggest prize of all in 2025.
Inothewayurthinkin had justified heavy support to win the Kim Muir at Cheltenham in 2024 before following up in an Aintree Grade 1 novice.
He was routinely beaten by stars like Fact To File and Galopin Des Champs in Ireland in three starts in late 2024 and early 2025 but he was rated a 15/2 chance to come good in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
He travelled well under Mark Walsh and took advantage of a subdued Galopin Des Champs to run out a convincing winner of the Blue Riband.
There was much talk of the Grand National afterwards, given he was well-in on ratings, but Cromwell opted to sidestep that race with an eye on the future for his star seven-year-old.
Al Boum Photo (2019, 2020) and Galopin Des Champs (2023, 2024) have landed back-to-back wins in the Gold Cup in the last decade and Inothewayurthinkin is 7/2 favourite with some firms to achieve the same feat in 2026.
