Going - Good. Dry and overcast
Placepot Pool - 14,191.39 Dividend - 246.00 Winning Units - 40.38. Partial Carry Over of 8,517.51 to No CourseQuadpot Pool - 2,080.08 Dividend - 45.10 Winning Units - 34.07. Days Aggregate - 79,620.92 Last Year 74,184.00
Hollow too strong for rivals in Downpatrick opener
The best track in the country!. He had okay hurdle form last year and I thought he was a big price this morning at 7/1. He had a run back on the flat and he likes the kind of nice, good surface, it is important for him. He jumps very well. He's not short of pace and he won well. It is nice to get that anyway. We'll probably keep trying to find nice ground for him. Possibly Bellewstown next month but he is actually in the Ulster Cesarewitch on Friday (at Down Royal), it might be worth having a look at. I think he is around 61 on the flat. The owner is New York based and was actually here until Sunday. He'll be happy.
20/1 Leader leaves previous form behind
If you run beyond tomorrow, you can't run in point-to-points at all. I had decided if she didn't run well, we would go that route and then we would go back to the track again. The last day Darragh said she just choked a wee bit, she's a very tense mare. He said to put a tongue tie on her just to help her a wee bit. He rode her slightly wide of everything else and she jumped and travelled everywhere. When she got to the bottom of the hill, I knew she would come up the hill as she stays well. In fairness to her, she has grown. She was a very small mare when we got her and she has grown into a nice mare. She has been weak all along and she is only just starting to come to herself now. She's tough. My biggest problem with her has been her weakness but she has been thriving and thriving. Just in the last two months you can see her turning into a mare. Her outlook was improving. Before she was only a shell. Darragh was just saying when he came in 'that's the point-to-point route finished!'. We've always talked about her enjoying a cut in the ground but she really enjoyed that today. I don't think it is the ground, I think it is strength now and she is learning and starting to relax. She jumps a fence well too so we have a few options.
O'Keeffe gets Gateau home to grab quick double
O'Callaghan and Logique on the mark again
He is living outside. He was a very worried and stressy horse when he was younger and he is happier, I suppose you can do that (live outside) at this time of year. It has totally changed his mind. Every run has got better with confidence, that was his best run today. He did everything really easy. He is rated 94 over fences so we will have to look at that. There's a Sligo meeting in two weeks time. We were scratching our head with him at one stage but we tweaked a few things and living outside he just seems happier. It just goes to show when a horse clicks. Shane said he knew he was going to win everywhere, he said four out he was hoping he wasn't going to get there too soon. Shane works for Ted (Walsh) and Ted is mad about him. He is getting better all the time and improving. He is getting confidence all the time and the horse is getting confidence all the time, and it is working well together.
Cross collects on chase debut
Both horse and jockey did very well - Jordan was at his best and the horse pulled it out. When he got to the hill, I thought it was nearly over but, no, he stuck his head down which is what you want them to do. It did (the inside route paid off), it is shorter and it does help but I think it was also his attitude as well. He is a quality horse and jumps great and stays. The future is bright for him.
Rocky gets the verdict in photo thriller
Molloy back in winners enclosure with Escape
She was very game. I hadn't my licence and she went down to Colm and he always loved her like I did. It didn't really happen. Obviously this was a weaker sort of contest and she probably ran up to what she did (when fourth) in Clonmel I'd say. I had taken out my licence in the meantime and I have one other horse in training, another moderate mare so I said we might as well have two of them and try and do something with them!. My last winner was here six years ago, a mare called Autumn Shades. I normally train to sell before they run, it is point-to-pointers. She will probably go hurdling. She is from a super family and I actually trained her grandmother.