Stable tours
SEAN Kane has travelled many miles in harness racing for one so young as 30. He has worked with pacers in New Zealand and trotters in France and Sweden. These days he and his father Ger concentrate on trotters at Mooreside Stud at The Naul.
Ger preferred trotters long before the influx of Trotteurs Français. Since the tie up with France, he has been the busiest stallion master in this country. Breeders here should be thankful for Ger’s persistence in covering French mares. His efforts go beyond the bare service fees.
He advises first-time breeders then ensures the progeny are properly registered and started by a professional trainer, come what may.
Sean has driven winners in Spain, France and New Zealand and has represented Ireland twice in the Arctic Ice Challenge in chilly Lapland. He balances harness racing with a job as a fireman/paramedic at Dublin Airport.
Sean said that it was a close call for his highlight of 2024 between “Winning the Paddy Connolly Final at Ballabuidhe with my sister Mary’s Hot To Trot or winning Trotter Of The Year with Jeremiah O’Mahony’s Lieutenant Dan”.
Officially, there were ‘joint’ Trotters Of The Year in 2024, the other holder being Harry Knows owned by Ger’s brother Paddy.
Sean continued: “No-one deserves success more than Mary. She put up with some hassle with that mare, so it’s nice to see her getting results. We didn’t really fancy Hot To Trot that day, so that made it sweeter.”
The Kanes of The Naul have “around 10” in work with the season due to commence on May 4th. Sean told The Irish Field about six horses including three new recruits.
HAPPY ONE (Fr)
8yo g Ouragan de Celland –
Russange
He is a good-looking chesnut. He came in last year and we ran him twice, we probably shouldn’t have. He is lovely to do. He goes with a low head carriage and trots very level. I don’t think he’ll set the world on fire, but he’ll make a nice racehorse.
KONDOR DE VANDEL (Fr)
5yo g Fabulous Wood – Maelia de Vandel
He came in in the same draft as Happy One, but we chose not to race him. He’s the tallest horse we’ve had in a long time.
He was a €30,000 yearling, so we may have got lucky getting him in the scheme. He is friendly in the stable, but is inclined to do too much once he’s yoked. He has been working well.
LIEUTENANT DAN (Ire)
4yo g Apprenti Sourcier – Brise Ludoise
Jeremiah O’Mahony owns him and has given him his slow foundation this year. He was Trotter Of The Year last year and trotted 2.07.8 which is a record for a three-year-old French Trotter bred in Ireland, as such.
He has filled out well. He was taking a strong hold at three, so we might make some equipment changes.
LITTLE MISS SARAH (Ire)
4yo m Apprenti Sourcier – Ella Lou Lou
Alex Cuffe owns her and he got her started this year himself. She has also filled out well. We might put an O’Mara bit on this year to keep her head up.
She was only a little bit behind Lieutenant Dan in 2024. She had a spell of galloping early in the year and then just started improving.
HOT TO TROT (Ire)
8yo m Hulk des Champs – Auby de Champigny
She won the Paddy Connolly Memorial at Ballabuidhe even though we didn’t think she was a true grasser. With a bit of age and maturity, she seems to be handling a grass track which gives us options. She also won a good mares’ race driven by Mary.
Her biggest attribute is that she is so hard to get past. Several times this mare has beaten animals which are probably better than her!
MADE FOR MONZA (Ire)
3yo g So Lovely Girl – Venusia
All the three-year-olds this year are by So Lovely Girl, believe it or not, a stallion. He grew like a weed over the winter. He trots very level. He is my only three-year-old, so I will be able to concentrate on him. The dam threw Impress Moi already.
DRIVER Jonny Cowden comes across as the type who is so competitive he would even race his mum doing the dishes. The 25-year-old Glengormley man has developed into one of this country’s top reinsmen as is evidenced by the fact that he was runner-up in the national drivers’ championship in both 2023 and 2024.
Hopefully, he will not have to wait 17 years to achieve his big target, like the other northerner in the sporting news this week.
Any disappointment at coming second in the drivers’ table was offset when Jonny claimed a unique milestone in Paris in November 2024.
Representing Ireland in an international race for leading drivers from their respective countries, Jonny became the first Irish driver of the modern era to win a race at ‘The Temple of Trotting’, the glamorous Vincennes.
“The win in Paris was possibly my highlight of last season. Although I drove a winner at The Vincent Delaney Memorial, Sweet Dreams for Neville Martin, and I also won at The Breeders’ Crown with Always Skye for Lawrence Stewart.”
Catch driver
Jonny has only two horses in work at the moment. The Cowdens’ useful six-year-old Just Look At Me is on an enforced rest. Jonny is a true ‘catch driver’ in the American mould. He juggles commitments to several trainers.
“In some ways having these outside drives makes it simpler. I don’t have to worry about keeping my own horses in different grades. I am grateful for the support from Neville Martin, Joe Sheridan, Lawrence Stewart and the Galways amongst others.
“At home, don’t forget to mention my dad (Noel), who does so much ferrying horses to the track, helping with slow and fast work. I am only the stable hand.
“We owe a big thank you to Kevin and Marguerite Corey, who let us use their fine facilities at Mallusk.”
Jonny has been employed as a rider at Stuart Crawford’s National Hunt yard in Larne for some years now, and has interesting observations on the differences between thoroughbreds and standardbreds.
Jonny was forthcoming with information about two older racehorses.
BEAT THE CLOCK (Ire)
11yo g Kikicolt - Gee and Tee
He had niggly problems last season, so we kept him in all winter with lots of slow walking. I ride him about the place and my dad has been driving him for fast work. We’ve entered him for the Liam Wallace Future Stars series, I have a couple of young drivers in mind. If we could get him back to the form of a few years back, we’d have something. He wears a device to stop him choking down and we had to get it reinforced.
EMIL PACO (Fr)
11yo g Ouragan de Celland – Reine De La Ville
I suppose you’d call him a journeyman trotter now. He’s no superstar, yet he always pays his way. He beat Helska de Fetu and Elysium d’Ostal late last season, when I was hoping he would go down a grade.
He has won first time out in the past, which always gives you hope. He doesn’t wear any fancy equipment, but if you stop him in the minutes before a race, he won’t budge!