HELIOS De Lara’s win in the featured Maven Trot at Lyre, Co Cork, last weekend was well received because the connections are a true small stable.

Such ownerships were once common but the cost of keeping a horse and the emergence of professional yards has made them an endangered species.

Everyone on the Caffrey team holds down a ‘proper’ job outside of trotting.

Aidan (Richardson) Caffrey, part-owner, is a son of the late Peter Richardson, the hard-working racing manager of the much lamented Portmarnock Raceway.

The other partner Craig Pidgeon helps in the evenings and was the only one who believed in the much improved It’s A Deal – who has also been running well for the barn.

Driver Joseph Caffrey is a yet another connection to the Richardson/Portmarnock story as his mum is Catherine Caffrey (née Richardson) and daughter of Hughie and who ran the office at the successful track in its heyday.

Joseph’s dad Joe “does a lot of the work with Helios” according to Aidan.

Delight to interview

“We are lucky enough to be working out of the late Hughie Richardson’s place at The Ward,” said Aidan who is a delight to interview as he is full of tidbits about the seven-year-old.

Aidan takes up the story: “Helios came as a five-year-old late in 2022. He showed ability right from the start but he had been very lightly raced in France.

“John Richardson was driving him and the horse was running well in workouts but not in the heat of a race. We then put Joseph Caffrey on him, as John had too many in the same grade. We thought he was choking down and tried various devices until a Crit Davis overcheck bit lifted his head and allowed him to breathe more freely. In late 2022 he started to run better and obtained a win and a second in the RJM.”

The following year, with the loss of Portmarnock, the owners placed Helios De Lara with the Murphys in Baltimore but even these great horsemen were unable to get inside his head.

Aidan says the horse is hard to train as he is warm-blooded and wants to jog too fast. So back to Ashbourne it was and the horse won two races in late 2023.

“This year we managed to win enough races to get into the higher grade for the Phelan and Red John meetings. Even though he was winning he was making a noise so we got a wind operation at Lisadell Equine Hospital. He was a bit short of work for the Richard Phelan so we decided to concentrate on the Red John.”

He continued: “Joseph is the ideal man for a buzzy horse like him, he can calm Helios. The horse worked so well at Annaghmore the week before the race that we were actually pretty confident.

“We spoke about tactics before the final and we thought even if he made a break that he has the speed to catch up. We made a conscious decision to stay out wide for the better ground.

“The whole weekend was a dream come true. It’s the biggest thing Joseph has ever won. I think I might be the youngest trainer (Aidan is 25) to win the Maven Trot to date.”

Winning breeder

Speaking from Rouen in Normandy during the week, the breeder of Helios De Lara, Mademoiselle Lara Lefebvre, said: “He was always a genuine and intelligent horse. He was still immature when I sold him. He likes a left-handed grass track, so Ireland is the place for him. Well done to the owners, they have improved him.”

Helios De Lara is a harness retailer’s dream come true: he wears all sorts of equipment to counteract his quirks. The equipment list includes a titanium ear-hood, full ear plugs, pull-up blinds (operated by a cord to the driver), a Crescendo bit, a Crit Davis check-bit and a figure-of-eight noseband, over-reaching boots, tendon boots, knee boots, hind boots and a reinpole on his near side.

In short, Helios De Lara is a complicated customer and the boys deserve great credit for the training performance.

THE Irish raiders had a successful night at The Breeders’ Crown, Tir Prince, North Wales, on Tuesday, August 20th. The meeting missed last week’s report so here is a recap.

Six out of 10 races went to Ireland. A seventh winner, Stateside Lockdown, although trained by Sally Teebon in Derbyshire is owned by Derry McCarthy of Drimoleague.

Jonny Cowden showed the Tir Prince crowd the panache that he has been displaying in Armagh. He drove a double – Sweet Dreams for Neville Martin and Always Skye for Lawrence Stewart.

No Small Talk looks to be one of the hottest three-year-olds of the decade. He won a heat and the final of the three-year-old colts for Eoin Joyce, breaking 1.58 twice in the same night.

Oakwood Mick, so often the bridesmaid, finally got another win on his record for Gavin Murdock and owner Ruari McNulty.

The apple of Billy Roche’s eye Churchview Meow beat the best that England could field in the two-year-old fillies.

The meeting was shrouded in tragedy and controversy as leading British trainer Alexis Laidler had one runner break a pedal bone while another had to be euthanised. The Laidlers then withdrew all their runners from the later races, several of them favourites.

Sources at the track reported a split in opinions as to whether the track was too hard or if the injuries were just a cruel coincidence. Adam Williams runs a fine facility and former leading driver Jim McNally is also involved. Hopefully lessons will be learned. The Breeders’ Crown was devised by David Wilson of Edinburgh and ranks second only to the Vincent Delaney Memorial in terms of prestige.

GWENAN Thomas from Lampeter, runs a breeding operation and is also an experienced midwife (for humans).

She is now an author with the launch of Tregaron – A Welsh Classic 1984 to 2024.

In Gwenan’s own words: “The book documents the success of all that have raced and won at Tregaron, including the Irish, who have featured strongly and always enjoyed the craic at the Welsh Festival.”

It is a book full of results, facts, backstories, and hearsay of the characters (human and equine) who have entertained us at Tregaron. It will remind you of past winners and trigger your own memories. There really is something for everyone.

Grab yourself a copy, and you can find out who was the first Irish winner at Tregaron. Which horse held the track record for just two hours? Who left his wife on the ferry in Fishguard?

Which Welsh classic winner raced at Tregaron for 13 seasons, and which leading Irish driver got a Tregaron divot to his crown jewels? Which member of the House of Lords raced at the venue?

The hardback book runs to 200 pages and is full of high-quality photographs.

Copies are priced at £25/€30 and can be ordered from the IHRA office.

Tel: 01-5310365

Email: info@irishharnessracing.com

Leading drivers

(up to August 29th)

Driver Wins

Patrick Kane Jnr, Trim, 17

Jonny Cowden, Glengormley 14

Troy McAleer, St Margarets 13

Eoin Murphy, Baltimore 12

John Richardson, Ballyboughal 10

Jamie Hurley, Reenascreena 8

Michael O’Mahony, Schull 7

Oisin Quill, Kenmare 7

Patrick Hill, Leap 6