Thomas Lyster [TL]: You rode over 100 winners as an amateur rider over the jumps and on the flat. Was being a jockey something you always wanted to do?

James Nash <[[[[[[[[[B>[JN]: We always had horses at home and always had racehorses, so I was riding out from a young age.

I spent summers and weekends in Eric McNamara’s when I was younger, so it just went from there, really. I rode my first point-to-point winner for my father and I had my first rides at the track for Eric. So, that is how it really started for me.

TL: What was it like riding for two very successful trainers in the sport in Willie Mullins and Dermot Weld? What were their key strengths as trainers?

JN: When I started out properly, I went to Kelvin Hitchmough in Cork and I rode a couple of bumper winners for him and a few point-to-point winners as well.

I got the job then in Dermot Weld’s and the difference really when I went there first was that he had an amazing quality of horse, there was a big difference for me coming up here to ride very well-bred flat horses.

But at that time Dermot would have had 25 jumpers compared to now, he would have had lots of jumpers and it was a complete difference because you were riding four to five good horses every morning, so it was just a great opportunity to ride.

I was still a 7lb claimer at that stage so it was a great opportunity. They were both brilliant trainers in their own rights, just at that time it was more interesting for me than it would be now in Dermot Weld’s because he had plenty of jumpers as well as having plenty of good flat horses. He had plenty of good jumpers as well.

I went to Willie’s not long before Willie retired from riding hoping I would pick up a few bits and pieces there because I had no claim at that stage.

Bumper horses

As soon as Willie retired he was very good to me and he let me ride most of the bumper horses, so that was very lucky as well to end up with such a great job.

They were completely different types of trainers, Dermot had his way of doing things and always very successfully for years.

I know that when I went to Willie’s, he concentrated on getting the horses a lot fitter because his were 99% jumps horses whereas Dermot’s were 80% flat horses. That was just the difference, obviously you had to be a lot harder on the jumpers.

TL: You rode some very good horses for Willie Mullins such as Florida Pearl, Adamant Approach and Davenport Millennium. What were they like to ride and what was the best one you rode?

JN: Yeah, I was lucky everywhere I went there were amazing horses. I rode an awful lot of good horses for Dermot Weld as well but after been in Willie’s for a while I got to ride very good horses in races. Even horses I didn’t ride on the track, I was riding five Grade 1 horses every single morning.

It was an incredible experience, five ‘aeroplanes’ every single day and very, very good horses that did not reach the same heights as Florida Pearl and them because of problems or niggly problems or issues that they had, but they were very good horses and it was a great experience riding them. Missed That was a very good horse, Royal Alphabet, Be My Royal – I rode all of them and they were amazing horses. Every yard would love one or two, never mind to have them all.

It is very hard to argue that Florida Pearl wasn’t the best I rode. I won on him in Leopardstown as a four-year-old and he won 10 or 11 Grade 1s after that. He was an exceptional horse, no doubt, but there was plenty around with him who were very good horses.

I was third on Be My Royal in the Cheltenham bumper and he went on to be first past the post in a Hennessy (at Newbury) that he ended up losing on a technicality. Hedgehunter was another amazing horse. I rode him a couple of times but we only finished second in bumpers. When he stepped up in trip, he won a Grand National.

TL: Since retiring from the saddle in 2004 you have switched to training. What has that been like so far?

JN: It has been good, I love training and it is very interesting. It can be tough. There are some great days but also disappointing days. I really enjoy it, it is not an easy game but it is a game I love and I am going to stick with it for the time being. We have had six winners since December 1st.

We are delighted with the way the horses are running at the moment, with plenty of placed runners as well. It is great when they are running well because it makes everything easier.

TL: What are the differences with training now compared to when you started over 10 years ago?

JN: The biggest differences is that the bigger stables seem to be getting bigger and the smaller stables seem to be getting smaller. There are four huge yards and lots of small ones. Trainers seem down in numbers.

Every year we go to trainer meetings they tell us that the numbers are down. In terms of sourcing staff it is harder now than when I started. I have a great team but there are not as many young people getting into the game as there used to be.

TL: How many horses do you have currently have in training and who has been your most successful one to date?

JN: We have between 15 and 20 in training, depending on the time of year. Your Busy was our best jumper. He won a Kerry National and was placed two or three times in Aintree.

I think he won about 10 races, He was a smashing horse and a brilliant one to have around. It was great fun. He brought us to all the festivals. A great jumper and a sound horse.

Our best flat horse is a horse named Luisant. A fabulous sprinter, he won listed races at the Curragh and Leopardstown, was placed at all the big meetings and gave us some great fun as well.

TL: Finally, is there any horse from your stable to look out for at the big meetings this spring?

JN: We ran Forza Milan in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham last. We had entered Scheu Time in a couple of handicap hurdles there but decided not to run him there.

Another horse we are looking forward to is Hammersmith. We ran him in a Grade 1 race at Leopardstown’s Dublin Racing Festival but things went wrong for him there.

The ground didn’t suit him and he tweaked something somewhere, but he is 100% now and I think he will be a better horse when the ground dries up. He is one of our better horses.