Al Boum Photo
7yo g (/1F2F1O/11-2
Buck’s Boom - Al Gane
Mrs J Donnelly
He is back in and he put on a lot of weight. He was very light after Cheltenham and Punchestown last year and he was very light going out on his summer holiday but he has come back in looking great.
Mark Rapple who rides him out, is very happy with him. We have never had a Gold Cup winner in the yard to plan a programme for but I’d imagine that he will go for all the obvious races.
Cheltenham took a lot out of him and Kemboy was the fresher horse when he beat him at Punchestown, but he ran a hell of a race in the circumstances that day.
Burrows Saint
6yo b g (/1203/4111-5)
Saint Des Saints - La Bombonera
Mrs S Ricci
He is back in and he is an oil painting of a horse – he would really catch your eye. Diarmuid Keeling rides him out and he’s very happy with him. It was a great performance to win at Fairyhouse and finally break our National hoodoo. He was a novice and his jumping was very impressive that day.
You’d imagine that he will have to tackle Grade 1 company and if he falls a little bit short in that grade, then you’d have to think about Aintree for him.
Cadmium
7yo b g (/1521344121-)
Early March - Mirquille
Supreme Horse Racing Club & Kenneth Sharp
He was spectacular at Aintree when he won the Topham. He was keen that day but horses can do that in a race like that, as they get a breath at every fence and the fences come up pretty quickly. That race tends to turn up multiple winners, so I’d imagine that he’ll go back and have another go at that in the spring.
Chacun Pour Soi
7yo b g (1253/1-1)
Policy Maker - Kruscyna
Mrs S Ricci
Rich has been very patient with him. We have had him for a long time and it was great to see him fulfil his potential on the track last season. His performance at Punchestown was out of this world. He was a fresh horse going into that race and maybe that was a help.
Diarmuid Keeling, who rides him out, is very happy with him. I am not sure where we go with him. Do we keep him to two miles? Do we step him up in trip? He looks great after his break and when he had his niggles, Willie never rushed him. He is an older, more mature horse now, so hopefully he will stand up to training and remain sound.
Chacun Pour Soi - "his performance at Punchestown was out of this world" \ Healy Racing.
Douvan
9yo b g (111/11117/F2/)
Walk In The Park - Star Face
Mrs S Ricci
He stayed in all summer and Willie just kept him ticking over. He didn’t do a lot but we didn’t want him to throw him out to grass and get heavy. Keeping the weight off his limbs might help him keep him sound.
He is a lot lighter and fitter than the rest of them and everyone is very happy with him. I looked at his pedigree the other day and the dam bred just one winner, so it is obviously just not a sound family.
We have made no secret that he is probably the best horse that we have had and it is frustrating that his record doesn’t reflect that and you have to wonder too, has he has passed his prime now? But time will tell and hopefully we can keep him sound and just get a clear run with him this season.
Willie Mullins with Douvan and Rachael Robbins \ Healy Racing
Faugheen
11yo b g (11/1P261/2F3P-)
Germany – Miss Pickering
Mrs S Ricci
He looks great and is back in. John Codd is very happy with him and he was never a horse that stands out on the gallop. I am not sure what the plan is for him at the moment and I’d imagine that we will know more, when he starts doing bits of work in November time. It is not impossible, to suggest that he could go novice chasing – it might be the easiest route for him perhaps, but we’ll see how he is working and make a decision then.
Footpad
7yo b g (/11111/F28-)
Creachadoir – Willamina
Simon Munir & Isaac Souede
He is back in and last year was hugely frustrating. We have changed his stable and a few little things with him at home, hoping that might invigorate him. We are at a loss as to what went amiss last season. It is a big step up from novice to open class and that might have been a factor, but he is way better than he showed last season. He won over two and a half as a four-year-old and if he could settle, stepping him up in trip would be no problem for him.
Kemboy
7yo b g (4F11/11U11)
Voix Du Nord - Vitora
Supreme Horse Racing Club & Brett T Graham & K Sharp
He came in the fattest of all our horses. He enjoyed his day out at Tramore. Ruth Dudfield looks after him and she has a smile on her face every morning. He is not the tallest horse – he is not your stereotypical, three-mile chaser to look at – but he has done nothing but improve over the last 18 months, so who is to say that he can’t improve again?
It is hugely exciting to have him and the Gold Cup winner back in the yard for Cheltenham next March. At the time, it was hard to know what to make of his Christmas success – David gave him a fabulous ride on the day and we learned nothing at Cheltenham. But he was spectacular at Aintree and no one will ever forget his victory at Punchestown under Ruby.
Al Boum Photo may not have been at his best that day but it was still a huge performance from him. It is just great to have him and Al Boum Photo for all those good three-mile chases this season.
Klassical Dream
5yo b g (324P/111-1)
Dream Well - Klassical Way
Mrs Joanne Coleman
He will go the Champion Hurdle route. He came back in looking well and Eilish Byrne, who rides him out, is delighted with him and we are hoping that he will follow in the footsteps of Faugheen, Hurricane Fly and Annie Power. He is a tall horse – he is probably taller than your average Champion Hurdler – those French horses often aren’t as filled out as the Irish horses. I’d imagine that once we get him fit, he will look quite similar to last year.
Klassical Dream will have the Champion Hurdle as his aim \ Carolinenorris.ie
Min
8yo b g (24/1151-2)
Walk In The Park - Phemyka
Mrs S Ricci
He is back in and our head man Dick Dowling looks after him. He is a horse that probably doesn’t get the credit he deserves and his win record is very impressive. He may have been a little bit disappointing at Punchestown, but on the day, Un De Sceaux was awesome. His performance at Aintree was exceptional and I’d imagine that he will go the same route as last season.
Laurina
6yo b m (/1111/114-)
Spanish Moon - Lamboghina
Sullivan Bloodstock Limited
She is back in and it was a frustrating season with her last year. Hopefully we’ll get a lot more rain for her this season so we can run her more often. She is better than her run in Cheltenham and I am not sure, if we go down the Champion Hurdle route with her or do she go chasing? She has the physique to go chasing and now we have the mares’ chase at Cheltenham. She has always been very strong and she looks like a war horse.
Laurina \ Healy Racing
Mister Blue Sky
5yo gr g (121-3)
Royal Applause - Mujdeya
Shanakiel Racing Syndicate
He is back in and he’s a horse that we think a lot of. You’d imagine that he might stay hurdling and he works like a good horse. He’s exciting horse and hopefully we’ll get a clear with him.
Un De Sceaux
11yo b g (/11211/251)
Denham Road - Hotesse De Sceaux
Edward O’Connell
He is still pulling the arms out of Virginie Bascop every day. He still has the fire in his belly. I’d imagine that he will follow a similar path to last year and while we know he Ioves soft ground, we saw last year when he won at Punchestown that he is very effective on good ground. Perhaps we are over playing the ground with him. He has come back in looking fantastic and he retains all his enthusiasm.
Un De Sceaux \ Healy Racing