Shamiran takes Martinstown Final again

He's only back with me about three months, and he'd a nice run at Fairyhouse over two miles six, which was a good prep run for today. Ian McCarthy rode him that day and deserves a lot of the credit as he's schooled him.

Well-behaved Freedom shocks

Vic steps up to land a Grade 1

Killultagh Vic looks like a chaser but I'll have to have a chat with the owners who may consider keeping him over hurdles for the World Hurdle. I don't know if Shaneshill didn't stay or he's just feeling the effects of a couple of runs. We'll have to see if any excuse comes to light to explain why he appeared to stop. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of why that happened.

Don takes the Gold

I feel sorry for Bryan but he had to go with the horse who was third in the Gold Cup, and I'm delighted for Paul who has been associated with me for a long time and I'm delighted to be able to give him a big winner. We were nervous about running him after Aintree but it's a Gold Cup and we took our chance. I should be safe in the job for another year after that! . It's very special to win, and this is what it's all about. They went flat to the boards all the way, and Paul said he gave him a squeeze turning in, and he came back on it. From the last to the line he's put seven lengths between them. Noel O'Brien (handicapper) told me before the race that he was the best horse in the race if he ran up to his rating but I think that was even better than Aintree. He proved he stays. I'll worry about Cheltenham next March, and the most important thing is that he's okay in the morning. He came out of Aintree bouncing, and it was really Michael and Eddie that gave me the confidence to come here. The owners have that many good horses at the moment that they may want to keep them away from each other and I wouldn't mind going to England with him.

Patrick picks right as Wylies win another big 1

He was the first of ours home at Cheltenham and he ran a cracker at Aintree which was the best form on offer from our yard. That's why I picked him,. He must be some tough horse to go to Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown. He's improved with every run. He has plenty of size and he's well able to jump. Dermot, who does all the work with him at home, has been telling me all year that he's been improving every month and it's fantastic for the Wylies.

Fairyhouse winner Bally wins at Punchestown

He's a fair horse having broken down three times, and he had two wind operations. Only for his owner, Billy Horgan, he would hardly be here as he's had so much patience. We just gave him time. He did it really well today. I always thought he was a good horse, and it's the first time that we have got a run like this with him without injuries. We may think about the Galway Plate but he wouldn't run on fast ground over the summer. There are plenty of nice handicaps to go for next season, and to be honest I might be tempted to put him away.

Rousing finish to day 2 at Punchestown

He's a nice horse that was bought at the Cheltenham Festival Sale. He won his point-to-point and it's nice to see him transfer that ability to the track. He's showed us at home that he's a good horse, and he's a horse for the future.