Which horses will Bronsan Racing have at Cheltenham next week?

It looks like we will have Solness in the Champion Chase, Nurburgring in the Jack Richards Novices’ Handicap Chase, Stormbreaker in the County Hurdle and possibly Future Prospect in the Champion Bumper.

How have preparations been going?

Really well. Solness is looking as good as he has ever been and is ready to run. Nurburgring is in good nick too. We were looking for another race for him recently but it didn’t line up for him anywhere, so he goes there fresh.

Stormbreaker has three entries and the County Hurdle looks the most likely option.

The one under the radar is Future Prospect in the Champion Bumper. She’s not a certain runner but she has been working extremely well. We expected a bigger performance from her at the Dublin Racing Festival (finished fifth in the Grade 2 bumper won by Bambino Fever). She was just inexperienced but she has tons of natural talent. She could run at Aintree or somewhere else instead of Cheltenham.

Solness surprised most people in winning two Grade 1 races at Leopardstown this season. Is he still being underestimated?

It’s an interesting story. We base our decision on data – I own an AI equine company – and we thought he was very unlucky not to win the Grade 2 Fortria Chase at Navan in November. We appealed the result on the day, producing data to back up our claim that he would have won had he not been hampered by the winner at the final fence.

The decision did not go our way, but as soon as we had the opportunity to pitch Solness into a Grade 1 over two miles we took it. He ran in the Tingle Creek and finished last of four behind Jonbon, but the ground was soft and he made a mistake at the first fence.

We supplemented him for the Grade 1 at Leopardstown over Christmas, where the ground was better, and he made all to win well.

The ground was a little bit softer for the Dublin Racing Festival but we calculated that it would be better if Danny Mullins raced wide on Solness, where the ground was drier. Yes, he set fast sectionals but we were confident he could keep it up.

In answer to your question, yes, lightning can strike a third time in the Champion Chase. Jonbon is a high quality horse but definitely do not underestimate Solness. Don’t judge him on the Tingle Creek form.

What would you consider a successful Cheltenham Festival for Bronsan Racing next week?

We race as a family and we never have a bad day when we have friends and family around us. That is not a platitude. We are as excited going to Dundalk on a Wednesday night or Roscommon on a Monday.

Even when we went to the Breeders’ Cup with Givehimthebeatboys and the horse was withdrawn by the veterinary inspectors, we still enjoyed the experience.

Bronsan Racing has become a major name in racehorse ownership. What’s been the key to your success?

There’s a couple of things. My advice to anyone getting involved would be to keeo your expectations modest.

We have had wonderful help from grooms, trainers, and bloodstock agents Hubie de Burgh and Martin Buick. It’s a blend of all that advice and our own experience and intuition.

You need to have a bit of diversity in your string of racehorses. At the moment we are building up a broodmare band, with the guidance of Mick Flanagan of Rathbran House in Collon, Co Meath.

You own most of your horses outright but you’ve also had partnerships with Con Marnane, Syndicates Racing and even John Magnier. What’s your thinking there?

We love the partnership side of it. It’s an excellent way to enter the sport. Even if you only have a small percentage you soon forget that when the tapes go up. Partnerships let you meet people, get experience and get a better understanding of the game.

What would a Cheltenham winner mean for you and your family?

I started watching Cheltenham sitting on my father’s knee and that was a long time ago! It was always my ambition just to go there. Two years ago we had our first Festival runner when Hardline (150/1) ran in the Cross Country. He finished down the field but we still had a great time.

How do you handle the nerves and excitement of having runners in big races?

I get nervous just sitting into the car on a raceday! It’s a struggle just to manage your expectations. Heading to Leopardstown at Christmas there was hardly a word said in the car on the way there, and we couldn’t shut up on the way home. As I said, we got into racing to spend time together.