KILDARE trainer Jessica Harrington has assembled a strong team of horses for the 2016/17 season: “We have a good few older horses this year which is what you need for the big handicaps which is great. We have a good mix and we have some very nice young horses. A few of them have yet to be named but as a bunch, they look nice.
“I’d imagine that we’ll have around 50/60 or so to run for the winter. A few more will come back in for the spring and we had a good year with the flat horses.
“We have great staff and owners and we have an open door policy here – anyone can come down and see what we have.
“The horses look well and like everyone else who has horses that handle soft ground, we are just waiting for the weather to change.”
ALE AMBROSIO
4yo bf (50)
Big Bad Bob - Memorys of Madness
Robcour
She was a bit disappointing at Naas. They didn’t go a good gallop and she was a bit free and I might start her over hurdles and then perhaps, she might go back for a bumper after that. She is a filly that I think would like to stride along and she does jump well. She will go on any ground.
BILLY’S HOPE
5yo bm (-153331)
King’s Theatre - Lady Bellingham
Flyers Syndicate
I was delighted with her the other day and she has definitely benefited from stepping up in distance.
I am not sure what we’ll do with now. She has the option of a three-mile novice hurdle or she might go to Leopardstown for the Pertemps Qualifier. She will be kept on the go for the winter and she seems to handle most types of ground, but I wouldn’t run her on heavy.
CLOSE SHAVE
5yo bg (8)
Presenting - Knock Down
John P McManus
He had a nice run the other day but he is a great big horse and is basically a chaser.
Whatever he does over hurdles will be a bonus and it was hard to know what to make of his run the other day as he disappeared into the fog.
DON’T TOUCH IT
6yo bg (212213-13)
Scorpion - Shandora
John P McManus
He ran a lovely race the other day at Gowran and I was delighted with him. He jumped well and I’d imagine that we’ll bring him back for a two mile beginners chase before Christmas or we might wait for a two mile race over Christmas. He is a lovely horse and he did very well for us over hurdles.
EASY PASS
3yo bg (542445)
Elusive Pimpernel - Shady Nook
Flyers Syndicate
I think he is a very nice horse and it was a shame in that he just jinked the other day and unseated Robert. He is a lovely big horse and we’ll find a juvenile hurdle for him this side of Christmas and I think he is capable of winning his maiden hurdle.
He jumps well and he is a good stayer. He should develop into a good dual-purpose horse for us next year. He handles the soft ground well.
ENGLISH PALE
3yo bg (90-3415)
Elusive Pimpernel - Terme Cay
Basil Holian
He is another nice horse and he will run in a three-year-old hurdle before Christmas.
He jumps well and he had some good form on the flat and you’d like to think that he should be able to win his maiden hurdle and progress from there. Ground wise, he should be able to handle heavy ground.
FORGE MEADOW
4yo bf (1-21)
Beneficial - Ballys Baby
Joseph M Doyle
She will take her chance in the Royal Bond at Fairyhouse on Sunday. She won what looked a very good maiden hurdle at Wexford and she would have appreciated a stronger gallop. That would have helped her jump better. It was a good performance at Wexford and I think she would appreciate a more galloping track.
She is a lovely filly and she has done everything that has been asked of her to date. The first three home at Wexford pulled a long way clear of the remainder and she has come out of that race in very good form. If she missed Fairyhouse, she will go instead to Thurles for the mares listed novice hurdle. She has a lot of pace so two miles suits her well.
GIRLY GIRL
7yo bm (/1152193-4)
Golan - Clan Music
T A Crowe
I was delighted with her the other day at Gowran and I was told that she jumped very well. There is a two mile and three beginners chase coming up for her and it’s a pity there are no mare chases for her this side of Christmas. I think she needs a good cut in the ground and she will get three miles. She is a very nice filly.
HIGH TAIL IT
5yo bg (2/3)
Milan - Castlerose
John P McManus
He had a nice run back the other day and he will go on back over hurdles now.
JELAN
4yo bf (2614)
Milan - La Noire
G McGrath
She will go on now over hurdles. She has won her bumper and she ran very well in a listed mares bumper at Navan last Sunday. She does jump well and we’ll find a maiden hurdle for her now. She does like nice ground and I think she will get two and a half miles.
JETT
5yo bg (/4214-526)
Flemensfirth - La Noire
G McGrath
He ran very well over hurdles at Navan the other day. He just was a bit keen for his own good and we will send him over fences now.
We’ll find a beginners chase for him over two or two and a half miles. He has schooled well and he is a 130-plus hurdler so hopefully he will do well in novice chases this season.
JEZKI
8yo bg (/122341/1-)
Milan - La Noire
John P McManus
He is back with me a while and everything seems to be good with him. He will go for a racecourse gallop somewhere and the plan is that he will start off in the three mile Grade 1 hurdle at Christmas time. It’s a case of so far so good with him and we’ll see, we’ll get his first run out of the way before we make any more plans for him.
It is great to have him back and I have been very happy with him. He has done a lot for us already and for a horse of his age, he hasn’t done a lot of racing.
KALINITE
4yo bg (90)
Kalanisi - Gerarda
Geoffrey Ruddock
He has had a wind operation since Galway and it seems to have been a success. We’ll step him up two and a half miles, maybe a bit more. I was delighted with him the other day and he is a good stayer and he will remain over hurdles now.
KEPPOLS QUEEN
8yo bm (/7416-342)
Indian River - Keppols Princess
Mrs C.M. O’Loughlin
She has developed into a very good servant, I was delighted with her run the other day at Wexford and she looks a novice chase winner waiting to happen. She jumped super and I think she will be better over two and a half miles and she does love heavy ground. If the ground came up soft she could go to Cork next weekend and if she can do as well over fences as she did over hurdles, we’d be very happy.
LIGHT THAT
4yo bg (2191)
Echo of Light - Tucum
Flyers Syndicate
I was delighted with him on Saturday. Wexford just didn’t happen for him and he has come back to himself and making plenty of use of him on a good galloping track was a big help to him.
It was a good race and I am not sure where he’ll go - there is a listed race at Limerick or he might go for the novice handicap hurdle at Leopardstown at Christmas time, but I’ll have to see what rating he gets.
LOUPGAROU
4yo gr g (034)
Martaline - Jasminette Doree
Diarmuid Horgan
He has run well in two bumpers and he will head on over hurdles now.
He doesn’t quicken enough to win a bumper and I think he’ll be very competitive in a maiden hurdle. (Finished fourth in the maiden hurdle at Thurles on Thursday.)
MACNICHOLSON
7yo bg (/2427-F)
Definite Article - Heroic Performer
J.P. O’Flaherty
He has been a good servant and he might go for the handicap hurdle at Fairyhouse. We’ll see what the weather does this week but either way, we will get him get him back over fences sooner rather than later.
MAGIC OF LIGHT
5yo bm (P-315)
Flemensfirth – Quest Of Passion
Ann and Alan Potts Partnership
I was very happy with her the other day she would just like the ground a bit softer. She has yet to run a bad race and she will get two and a half miles. Ultimately she will make a chaser and whatever she does over fences will be bonus. She jumps well we’ll find a maiden hurdle for her now.
NEW TO THIS TOWN
5yo bg (110-3)
Milan - Jade River
Ann and Alan Potts Partnership
I was very happy with him at Gowran. He is not a two miler and jumping wise, he got his act together in the second half of the race. We will step him up to two and a half miles and I’d be confident that he’ll win his maiden hurdle. Long term he is going to be a three mile chaser and I hope that he will run in a two and a half mile graded hurdle after he wins his maiden hurdle.
OSCAR SAM
7yo bg (/P11120-0)
Oscar - Good Thyne Jenny
Cooper Family Syndicate
He ran fine on Sunday considering how much he has come up the handicap. He is not that big but he may run over fences at some of the smaller tracks like Thurles, but he will improve a good bit in terms of fitness for Sunday.
OUR DUKE
6yo bg (121P3-)
Oscar - Good Thyne Jenny
Cooper Family Syndicate
He will start over fences at the weekend. He has been schooling very well and he seems to be in great order. He seems to jump his fences much better than he did his hurdles. He is an exciting horse and one that we like a lot.
He will get three miles in time but anywhere from two and a half to three miles will be fine for him. I’d like to think there is more to come for him and he doesn’t mind soft ground.
PLAYBOOK
5yo bg (3-005)
Milan - Majorite Bleue
Robcour
He has had a few problems but he is back ready to run again now. He will go for a two and a half mile maiden hurdle. He jumps well and he travels well in his races and while he might not be the quickest horse in the yard, I think he’ll be fine over two and a half miles.
RAISE A TAIL
6yo chg (31/6-)
Definite Article - Fillmein
Crazy Gang Returns Partnership
He will go straight over fences. We will skip hurdles with him and he will go for a novice chase over two and a half/three miles.
ROCK ON THE MOOR
8yo bm (/6252-43)
Flemensfirth - Home At Last
Richard Irwin
There isn’t much coming up for her at home so she could go to Warwick for a mares chase. She likes a test of stamina and she will get three miles and she handles a bit of nice ground – she doesn’t like it too soft.
I was very happy with her run behind Willie’s good mare at Clonmel and I would be hopeful that my filly will come on for that run. She was second in the mares hurdle at Cheltenham last season. She is a really likable filly and the further she goes the better she’ll be.
SIZING JOHN
6yo bg (/211223-3)
Midnight Legend - La Perrotine
Ann and Alan Potts Partnership
He is a lovely horse and he is coming along nicely. We are still feeling our way with him and I hope to start him back at Christmas time. I am not sure if he wants two or two and half miles and apart from what I’ve seen of him on the racecourse, I don’t know a lot about him. I’ll play it by ear with him and we’ll know more about him after his next run. He is a beautiful horse and a lovely one to train.
SIZING JUDY
5yo bm (8)
Beneficial - Countess Marengo
Ann and Alan Potts Partnership
I was pleased with her run at Wexford. She just tired a bit on the tacky ground that day and we’ll drop her back to two miles and find a mares maiden hurdle for her.
SOMEDAY
4yo bg (2)
Black Sam Bellamy - Like Manner
Howard Spooner and Ian Weaver
He looks super and he will go for a four-year-old bumper around Christmas time. He has grown and filled out and he has just needed a bit of time. On his form, he should win a bumper and we’ll see after his next run as to what route he’ll go. He is a very big horse and he looks a real chaser.
SUNNI MAY
5yo bg (/413-31)
Presenting - Northwood May
Favourites Racing Syndicate
He won at Cork but he did it the hard way as he was hampered and had to work hard to win. There is a rated novice hurdle at Fairyhouse at the weekend and I’d like to run him in that with view to running him in something better around Christmas time.
He has plenty of pace so at the moment, I’ll keep him to two miles. He will come on for the run and the ground at Cork was pretty heavy so he should be able to run away on winter ground. He had some very good bumper form last season and I’d like to think that he will develop into a nice horse over hurdles.
SUPASUNDAE
6yo bg (/9317-4)
Galileo - Distinctive Look
Ann and Alan Potts Partnership
He is coming along nicely but he is a hard horse to place. I am not sure if he’ll go two or two a half miles and we might look for a handicap hurdle for him around Christmas time. If that went well, we might look at the big handicap hurdle at Leopardstown in January. But we’ll see, we are still getting to know him and he is a horse that seems to handle any ground. He has only had the four runs over hurdles and is rated in the 130s so we’ll see how he is in the next couple of weeks but that is the way I am thinking at the moment.
TEN THEATRE
4yo bf (7)
King’s Theatre - Carrigmorna Flyer
Diarmuid Horgan
She has gotten a lot stronger and we might go for a maiden hurdle with her now. Depending on how that goes, she could go back for another go at a bumper. She is a very nice filly and I am looking forward to her.
THERE YOU GO
5yo bg (053-4)
Milan - Cuiloge Lady
John P McManus
He has been placed over hurdles and in bumpers and he will go back over hurdles now and I’ll find a maiden hurdle for him over two and a half miles.
THIRSTY WORK
5yo bg (52421-77)
Robin Des Champs - Koko Rose
John P McManus
I was very happy with his first run in a handicap at Navan on Sunday and he will go for another handicap hurdle either before or around Christmas time.
TTEBBOB
7yo bg (/511P2-5P)
Milan - Our Dream
David Bobbett
It is back to the drawing board with him. I am not sure what to make of his run last week at Gowran. I am not really sure what is going on with him so we’ll just have to wait and see.
WALK TO FREEDOM
6yo bg (144-)
Arcadio - Carryonharriet
Whole of the Moone Syndicate
He will go for a two and a half mile handicap chase at Navan before Christmas. He has done well over the summer and is a lot more relaxed in himself. Hopefully he’ll develop into a horse for some of those good two/two and a half mile chases.
WOODLAND OPERA
6yo bg (-15)
Robin Des Champs - Opera Hat
Mrs T.K. Cooper, Miss Diana Cooper, Mrs C.A. Waters
I was very happy with his first run over fences and in hindsight I probably should have run him over two miles. He will probably go to Punchestown for a two mile beginners chase and we might step him back up in trip at Christmas time. Hopefully he’ll develop into a good novice chaser and as long as the ground isn’t too quick, it should be fine for him.
YOUNG BIDDER
4yo
Presenting - Zarinava
David Bobbett
He is a nice young horse that works well and he will go for a bumper around Christmas time.