Going - Good. Fine and sunny
Jackpot Pool - 560.12 Not Won. Carried forward to Kilbeggan on Sunday 3rd June. Placepot Pool - 18,493.08 Dividend - 55.40 Winning Units - 233.27. Days Aggregate - 74,591.00 Last Year 175,808.00
Nicholson off on holidays after Susan success
That's two winners this week now. I'm going on holidays to France tomorrow so I can go now!. She did it well. She didn't get away as well as we would have liked at the start, but she is a good mare and jumps well. She'll have a summer campaign. There is a amateur Flat race at Leopardstown for her now in a fortnight's time. Mark gave her a good ride, he does a lot of schooling for me. We have a good partnership together. I think I gave him his first winner over jumps on Great Oak. Tramore is a lucky spot for me.
Icelip strikes again at Tramore
I wish there was more racing down here for him! He ran well at Wexford (finished third), he was a bit novicey. The ground and everything suited him today so it's happy days. John Grant is one of his owners, he is ninety-one and he was here last night. Unfortunately he was a little bit sick today so he stayed at home. That'll give him a good lift. It depends on what the handicapper does now. He could go back hurdling as well. He is ground dependent and is fairly track dependent now too! We'll try and get him to win one somewhere else. If not we'll come back here in August. He was awkward early on his career, but in fairness to John Cullen he done a great job riding him before he retired. If you ride him up with the pace he just pulls too hard. You'd be saying to yourself how is he going to make up that ground, but he just seems to around here. Sean knows him so well now, and he just let him pop away early on. He is a ten-year-old starting to jump fences, and he doesn't take much work at home.
Rio gets off the mark under Orr
Flanagan doubles up with Mackenzie
Steelambition makes all to see off market principals
I don't know what happened him the last day. We were going to send him to the sales but he ran so bad he didn't go. I'm putting it down to the ground. I put the tongue strap on today even though I don't think there is a lot wrong with his wind. He just runs with his mouth open. He likes this ground and he probably wants to be jumping. He is a three mile chaser and is still for sale. He won his point-to-point well. He was just all wrong last year. A few of my horses ran bad the week when he disappointed at Roscommon. I'm hoping that he'll be fine going forward. He'll win more races. He is owned by Michael Regan from Roscommon, and everything he has had with me has won, so we are keeping that record up.
Coolfighter also makes it four at Tramore
He loves this place. I fancied him. He is a horse that is hard to get fit, you can work him all you like at home, but there is nothing better than a race. He's had three or four runs leading up to this. He ran in Clonmel and ran well, but I had to give him another run on the Flat at Leopardstown just to get him right for here. The boys wanted to come here, they told me that they wanted to win this race at Christmas time! It's grand when it works out. I was surprised he was 25/1 last night. I suppose he hasn't got the gears for the Flat anymore and that run at Leopardstown probably put a lot of people off. He loves the ups and downs around here. It's great for the owners after Masterchippy broke his leg earlier (in the fourth race). He'll tip away for the summer and he will probably come back here in August.
Lucy justifies short price on debut
She did it well and she is a nice filly by Yeats. She has shown me plenty at home. She got balloted out at Ballinrobe and I was disappointed with that, but it's good that she got in here. I don't know whether she'll go for a winners bumper, I might go jumping with her. She is more a hurdles mare than a winners bumper mare, but Patrick might have other ideas. We'll see.