Going - Yielding. Fine
Jackpot Pool - €5,000.00 Dividend - €411.70 Winning Units - 8.5. Placepot Pool - €51,089.41 Dividend - €43.10 Winning Units - 829.29. Pick Six Pool - €23,309.26 Dividend - €2,472.10 Winning Units - 6.6. Days Aggregate - €168,579.00 Last Year
Sunrise shines for Queally
There is a winners' auction race coming up somewhere and that's where he'll go. These auction races are a good idea for those type of horses,. We bumped into one trying to give it ten pounds, at Tramore. We'll get through the next race before deciding on running in the Final at Punchestown.
Monkfish proves too strong for novice rivals
He is a stayer and was never going to be anything else. I thought I had the other horse covered when he fell and was pleasantly surprised when I looked behind me at the last. I was a good performance by Monkfish. More than likely he'll run in the Albert Bartlett but he'll be entered in the Ballymore also. That was a good trial for the Albert Bartlett if that is the direction we go.
Strong support for Pakens is rewarded
Things didn't go right for him the last day at Fairyhouse; it was a highly competitive handicap and we let him freshen up a bit and changed the training routine at home,. We thought we were in with a good squeeze today and he came and he produced again. We are caught in a hard place; we're not on the bottom and we're not in at the top so we have to pick our races. I thought if ever I had a chance in a big handicap it was the last day and that's why I went for a big handicap first. He may go up for winning today so he'll be giving that weight away in a big handicap again. He is tough and I think he'll probably get three miles and I honestly believe he'll win on the flat. Andrew Flattery rides him out every day, no one else sits on his back and I great feedback from Andrew. I'm very lucky - I have four horses and five different people to ride out!
Steel proves too good for Footpad
I was disappointed with Footpad but I think he ran too free and the pace was a little bit slow. The two horses up front weren't jumping at the speed you'd expect in a race like this. Footpad did too much in the middle mile of the race and missing the omitted third last fence didn't give him a chance to get his breath back which left him exposed. I was very pleased with how Real Steel jumped and how he stayed on and he is improving. Voix Du Reve improved from his last run as well. I'd imagine the Ryanair Chase is the plan for Real Steel. Paul said he was as straight as a dye today and there was no bias (jumping left or right). We were concerned before but we have to be looking at the Ryanair Chase with that performance. Footpad could possibly do the same but today was not his run. Maybe he had too hard a race in Kempton and it may have impacted on him.
Elimay powers clear to land Grade 2 contest
Elimay is coming on all the whole time,. Mark said she missed the ditch and I thought she hit a flat spot. She did it the hard way then having to come around (wide). I thought Cut The Mustard ran a great race; she is improving and for her second run over fences I was very pleased with her. I'm pleased with the two of them. One, if not the two of them, could go for the Dawn Run Novice Chase at Limerick in March. I don't have anything else obvious for that race.
Soul sees it out for in-form Walsh
I thought if he was anything near his old self that he'd nearly have to win with the 7lbs (claim) off his back, but he needed the 7lbs!. He hasn't been easy to train and has had plenty of leg trouble and is a lad who we can't do a lot of work with and we keep him ticking over nicely. He'll go for something similar again and I wouldn't rule out going back over hurdles at some stage. He jumped better today than he had because his jumping had been a bit of a problem for him over fences. Eoin is flying.
Burke thanks his lucky stars after Coolbane win
You need an awful lot of luck in this game. I took him to the sales but he was sore the morning of the sale and I actually couldn't give him away,. Dr Richard Newland bought him outside the ring (for £30,000) but later sent him back, before 14 days were up. It was to my luck that he did. He is a fierce honest horse and the trip obviously suited him today. I've no plan with him. Tom gave him a brilliant ride; that's his second bumper winner but he has 52 point to point winners and I keep slagging him because I rode 55 winners in my time. So that now puts him on 54!. Dan McDonald owns him, he lives in Edinburgh and his elderly mother was buried today.
