Since the switch to the training ranks following a successful career in the saddle which witnessed Grand National Trial success aboard Willie Mullins’ subsequent Aintree National winner Hedgehunter in 2003, Sam Curling has steadily risen through the ranks to now sit as one of the leading producers of young horses within the point-to-point circuit.
From his base in Skehanagh near Cashel in Co Tipperary, Curling who is the son of highly respected equine artist Peter Curling, has saddled 36 winners to date between the flags including a season’s best of 10 winners last term.
In the short number of seasons which he has saddled horses, the roll call of quality track performers who have graduated from his yard includes Grade 1 winner The Tullow Tank, Grade 3 winners Listen Dear and Royal Reveille, listed chase victor Standing Ovation and the 153-rated chaser Cocktails At Dawn.
Primarily focused on producing progressive youngsters, he has a significant amount of French-bred horses in his yard this year; who form a strong team that he has assembled for the season, with many horses of note.
FOUR-YEAR-OLDS
ALFRED ROLLER (IRE)
4yo b g
Mahler - Cointosser
(Needle Gun)
Sam Curling
We bought him at the Land Rover Sale last June and he goes very well. He is out of an eight-time winner who won four on the flat and she has already bred three track winners. He is a very athletic type and will definitely run in the next couple of weeks as he seems to handle soft ground. We like him a lot.
ARDMAYLE (IRE)
4yo ch g
Whitmore’s Conn - Welsh Connection
(Welsh Term)
Zoe Doyle
He is entered at both Tyrella and the Pigeons this weekend and is from the family of Ballytrim. His dam has had a few winners since I got him which has been lucky, as he is a full-brother to Ink Master who won over hurdles for Philip Hobbs last season, while his half-brother Conal won a maiden hurdle at Punchestown in November, and his full-sister Dazz The Dreamer was 10 lengths clear in a maiden at Belharbour before she came down at the final fence. He is a brilliant jumper and has shown us plenty of pace so far.
CELEBRE D’ALLEN (FR)
4yo ch g
Network - Revoltee
(Grand Seigneur)
W.B. Connors
He is the third horse that I have had for Walter Connors. We had Javert who finished fourth at Kilfeacle and is now rated 139 over fences for Emma Lavelle, and last season we had Neumond for Walter and he fell at the last at Liscaroll when holding every chance before being sold to Nicky Henderson. Celebre D’Allen is a horse for nicer ground. He has shown us plenty of speed in his work to date, so we will wait for some better ground before running him.
CEMISTER (FR)
4yo b g
Anzillero - Miss Tiepy
(Video Rock)
Sam Curling
I bought him out of the Derby Sale in June. His dam won six races on the track and he comes from the family of Pomme Tiepy who won two Grade 2s for Willie Mullins, so he has a nice page. He would be a bit more backward than some of the others so we won’t run him until later in the spring.
CINTEX (FR)
4yo b g
Assessor - Precieuze
(Video Rock)
Tessa Foreman
He is another that I bought out of the Derby Sale and I actually bought him from Walter Connors. He is owned by Tessa Foremen who is from Nenagh and she also has B L Swagger in the yard with us. His dam is a half-sister to Impek who won four races for Henrietta Knight, and she has already bred two multiple track winners in France. He seems to like a bit of nicer ground so he will be one for later in the spring.
CIRQUE DU SOLEIL (GER)
4yo ch g (P)
Samum - Cinecitta
(Diesis)
Sam Curling
He pulled-up on his debut at Belharbour and the ground that day was softer than I thought it would be which caught us out. He likes better ground so we will wait for the weather to turn and he will be fine when the ground gets better. His dam won twice on the level in France and there are plenty of flat lines in his pedigree.
CRYSTAL LAD (FR)
4yo ch g (F)
Kapgarde - Qrystale Mag
(Vertical Speed)
Sam Curling
He ran a great race on his debut at Oldtown before he fell at the penultimate fence. I bought him out of the Tattersalls Derby Sale in June and he has a lovely pedigree. His dam was a winner in France and is a half-sister to Royal Paradise who was third in a Grade 1 and Royal Rosa who won the Grade 1 Champion Bumper at the Punchestown Festival. I am giving him plenty of time to get over that race and he will be out in the next month to six weeks. He is a very nice horse and I like him plenty.
DISAPPEARING ACT (IRE)
4yo b f
Getaway - Cellar Door
(Saddlers Hall)
Zoe Doyle
She is a very big filly that I bought out of the Tattersalls Ireland August Sale. Her full-sister finished second in a four-year-old mares’ maiden at Lemonfield last year for me before going to Harry Fry to run in the colours of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede. She has finished second three-times for them so hopefully she can get a win in soon. Disappearing Act is a lovely filly but because she is big we will take our time with her and she will run later in the spring.
HIDDEN PASSAGE (IRE)
4yo b f (P)
Stowaway - More Hope
(Thowra)
Zoe Doyle
I ran her in a winner of two at Oldtown last month for the education and she has improved a lot for it. I was planning on running her in the four-year-old mares’ maiden at Lemonfield tomorrow, which is the race that Secret Door finished second in for me last year, but with that meeting having been cancelled, I’ll look for the next suitable mares’ race for her in the coming weeks. She is a lovely filly that we bought at the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale and I like her.
NO DOMESTICS (IRE)
4yo b g
Benefical - Domestic Bliss
(Presenting)
Sam Curling
He is another that I bought at the Tattersalls Derby Sale in June and he has been jumping very well in all the schooling that we have done to date. He seems to appreciate better ground so we will wait until later in the spring before running him when conditions will be more to his liking. He is out of a half-sister to Magical Mother who won three point-to-points and twice over fences on the track.
SHORT FLIGHT (IRE)
4yo b g
Trans Island - Surricate
(True Brave)
Zoe Doyle
He is a very good jumper that I bought at the Tattersalls Ireland August Sale last year. He is not overly big so he would not want the ground conditions to be as testing as they are at the moment, but once the ground dries up slightly he will run as he is ready to go. His dam won three times on the track, twice over hurdles and once over the larger obstacles in England for Ferdy Murphy.
THE CRAZED MOON (IRE)
4yo b m
Yeats - Rose Gallery
(Gallery Of Zurich)
Zoe Doyle
This is a filly that I like a lot, who we bought out of the Derby Sale at Tattersalls in June and I was looking at possibly running her in the four-year-old mares’ maiden at Lemonfield tomorrow, but as Lemonfield has been called off I’ll have to take a look at the programme book and see where we go now. She has a very nice page out of a half-sister to Remember Rose who won multiple Grade 1 races in France and over €2 million in prize money and Roi De Rose who won a listed chase in France. She is a very nice filly.
UNNAMED (IRE)
4yo b g
Black Sam Bellamy - Reivers Moon
(Midnight Legend)
I bought him at the Derby Sale at Tattersalls in June from Martin Cullinane and he is from the same family of Seeyouatmidnight who won a maiden for me at Dromahane back in 2013 and is now a leading contender for the RSA Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, so hopefully this fellow might be able to rise to the same level. He is a great jumper and we are in the process of naming him, so he should be out in the next month.
UNNAMED (IRE)
4yo b g
Central Park - Goodnightmrskelly
(Bigstone)
He is another horse who we are in the process of naming and I also bought him from Martin Cullinane. He has done everything nicely so far and should be out in the next month to six weeks. He is from the family of Burton Port who was fourth in the 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup and won three Grade 2s.
UNNAMED (GB)
4yo b f
Sulamani - Slow Starter
(Dr Massini)
I bought her as a store out of the Land Rover sale at Goffs and she is from the family of Risk Accessor who won over €250,000 in prize money. She would not want the ground too deep so we will wait for some better ground before running her.
FIVE-YEAR-OLDS
SHARP RESPONSE (IRE)
5yo b g (P65P-)
Oscar - Lambourne Lace
(Un Desperado)
Sam Curling
I bought him out of the Derby Sale in 2014 and I was happy with his first start for me at Dromahane back in October when he finished behind Megabucks, but we ran him back too soon a fortnight later at Dromahane and he pulled-up. He has had a break since that run so we will wait for the better ground with him before running again. His dam has already bred three track winners and he is also a half-brother to Ballyoptic who won a maiden at Kirkistown in Wilson Dennison’s colours and then won over hurdles at Ffos Las last month, so he has a nice pedigree.
THE PUNISHER (IRE)
5yo b g (2-P)
Kalanisi - Roscrea Travel
(Boreen)
Tadhg O’Leary
The Punisher ran well on his debut at Lisronagh as he was one of two horses carried off the course by a loose horse before going on to finish a close second to John Nallen’s Minella Beau who was sold for £100,000 at the Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale to go in training with Willie Mullins. He was wrong when he pulled-up at Oldtown, as that was on the same weekend as when B L Swagger ran at Leopardstown and they both scooped poorly afterwards. You can put a line through that run. He is by Kalanisi so he should be better suited by a bit of nicer ground and he will do well. He is bred by his owner Tadhg O’Leary from Roscrea and The Punisher’s dam won twice over hurdles in Tadhg’s colours and his half-brother Sid Seven won a maiden at Nenagh last season for me.
VOICES ON HIGH (IRE)
5yo ch g (P)
Stowaway - L’Harmonie
(Bering)
Peter Curling
He is a big horse who had just the one run in the autumn. We were caught out by how heavy the ground was at Ballindenisk in Novemeber so we have given him a break. He will come back in and be aimed at races later in the season for some nicer ground. I bought him out of the Derby Sale at Tattersalls in 2014.
OLDER HORSES
B L SWAGGER (IRE)
8yo b g (3O12F-116)
Saddler’s Hall - Designer Lady
(Buckskin)
Tessa Foreman
I bought him at Doncaster in 2014 out of Mags Mullins’ yard and he has won three open lightweights between the flags since then, including twice this season. You can draw a line through his run in the hunter chase at Leopardstown when he was sixth as he scoped wrong after the race. We have him back ready to go now and he is entered this weekend. We will keep him point-to-pointing this season as he is a very good open horse, and then we may go back for hunter chases next season.
KLASSY (IRE)
14yo br g (1211-1F22)
Kahyasi - Edelora
(Doyoun)
Sam Curling
Klassy is a great old horse who has won eight open lightweights for us and he ran twice at the start of the autumn campaign, finishing second in both of those races at Rathcannon and Lisronagh. He is back in now after his winter break and he loves the quicker ground. He leads the younger horses and he is great for that. If he is still showing the same enthusiasm when the ground turns in his favour we will give him another go in opens but this will be his last season racing as he owes us nothing.
MANWELL (IRE)
6yo b g (U32)
Gold Well - Roborette
(Robore)
Sam Curling
He has had the three runs for us so far and he finished second at Durrow on his latest outing two weeks ago which I was very happy with. He is progressing nicely and has stepped-up with every run. He wants nicer ground, particularly compared to the heavy ground that he raced on at Durrow, so he will do well when he gets that bit of better ground later in the spring. His dam won two bumpers and is closely related to a number of multiple winners in France.