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THEY say time flies when you are having fun but I think the same can also be said for when you are working hard!
It doesn't feel like nearly a year since I was last writing one of these columns but here we are, just over two weeks until the start of the 2017 Randox Grand National.
We are keeping our fingers crossed that all goes well between now and then with Maggio and that we can get him to the starting tape in the same form as he went to Aintree last year. I think hoping for a similar 12-length romp again may be a little bit fanciful but a half length would do me this time!
Since his win in the listed Chase at Aintree on Grand National day last year it was agreed with the owners that his season would be geared towards a run in the National and that is why he has had a couple of runs over hurdles and one over fences, albeit on unsuitable heavy ground.
The other reason for his hurdle runs is because of the programme book. He was rated 148 in the autumn and so would have been close to top weight in races like the Troytown and Paddy Power Chases. Your alternatives are Grade 1 and Grade 2 chases where he is a stone off the top ones.
Thankfully Maggio's owners are Aintree-mad so they were happy to bide their time during the winter.
JOCKEY SEARCH
James Reveley stepped in on the day last year to replace an injured Brian Hughes and this year we naturally offered James the mount again but, as he is now the reigning champion jump jockey in France, he is required in Auteuil on Saturday week, so we turned to Brian.
However, Brian is having a fantastic season in Britain (currently chasing Richard Johnson in the championship) and may be offered other mounts in the National and cannot commit to Maggio at this time.
This led us to contact Conor O'Farrell, who is on standby. Conor travelled here on Wednesday morning to school Maggio over the Aintree-style fences on the Curragh, alongside Heist who is entered in the Topham.
Maggio also had his final long gallop and both Conor and myself were delighted with him. That leaves him with just one more bit to do. He is still full of character and he knows he rules the roost in the yard.
Heist hasn't run since he won for the fourth time in six runs last October, only because he wants good ground, but he is ready to start again, ground-permitting. He is in the Irish National but has no chance of getting in off his rating of 125.
SQUEEZED OUT
Last year the Irish National didn't fill and yet it has seen its prize money increased to €500,000 this year. As a result the entries have flooded in and they are dominated by the larger owners and trainers. Those in the middle and at the bottom end have been squeezed out of this race.
Ireland has the best National Hunt horses but this is not a new phenomenon. We have reared and raced the best for many decades and that includes when there were recessions and economic slow-downs.
I don't understand how lining the pockets of the top owners and trainers with prize money supported by taxpayers can help the cause of Horse Racing Ireland when it puts is case annually to the Government for extra funding.
Without the breeder and the single-figure owner who has their horse in training with a handler who has 20 horses or less, the competition dwindles. More worryingly, who will produce these horses for the big guys to buy?
You don't make hay without sowing grass seed and good farmers look after their grassland.
With that rant out of my system, I am pleased to report that we have a couple of new heads looking over the stable doors and we have grown (a little bit) on the back of Maggio winning in Aintree and Heist flying the flag during the summer.
Sadly the winter was quieter then we'd have liked but Aminabad and Portrait King kept us in the spotlight. We had very few runners as everything we have in training wants nice ground, so hopefully Aintree will be the first stop on the road to further glory.
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