EOIN McCarthy had a week of a lifetime when he was crowned leading trainer at last month’s Listowel Harvest Festival.

Based just over the border, in Athea, Co Limerick, winners at the September meeting are much sought after. However, having had just the solitary success a year ago, McCarthy admitted to leaving rather deflated, feeling like he had “gotten out of jail”.

Fast forward 12 months and, the former jockey enjoyed an unprecedented level of success, culminating in six winners.

With much of his season geared around the festival, hopes of visiting the winners’ enclosure at some point during the week were high. However, nothing could have prepared him for what lay in store.

“I didn’t give that side of it (leading trainer) any thought,” he said. “I knew we had a strong team going into the week. Listowel is very competitive though. You could get two winners and, it would be a very good festival. Everything just went to plan.”

With the Monday and Tuesday confined to flat racing, McCarthy was delighted to strike early with Carla’s Pet on the Wednesday. A big run had been expected from the mare, whose trainer advised connections to avail of some of the 66/1 available. Confidence was increased when the stable’s first runner of the festival, Wholelotofbusiness, finished second earlier in the afternoon.

“It took the pressure off for the week, getting on the board early on,” McCarthy added. “I hadn’t had a runner in three weeks before that.

“As the meeting gets closer, you begin to doubt yourself. Have you done enough with them? Have you done too much?

“We had two runners on the first day and, ended up with a winner and a second. A dream start.”

Tally up

A double on the Thursday quickly brought the trainer’s tally up to three. Fast Felix added to his Killarney maiden hurdle win when following up back in handicap company, while Shadow Paddy stepped up on a promising run at Bellewstown. Elusive Ogie further showcased his trainer’s talents with a third placed finish in the featured Lartigue Hurdle.

A first listed-placed horse for the yard, the latter gelding vindicated a change in buying policy for McCarthy.

“We made a big decision three years ago in terms of buying horses. At the level that we could afford at the Horses In Training sales, I found that more often than not, we were just bringing home problems.

“I noticed that all the good, old-fashioned National Hunt trainers bought young horses. It’s a slow process bringing them along and, I know it won’t suit every owner but it’s our best chance of getting a nice horse.”

With Elusive Ogie costing €4,000 as a store, Shadow Paddy sourced for €8,000 and Carla’s Pet bought out of a field for €5,000, that more patient approach is certainly paying dividends.

First treble

On the Friday of the meeting, McCarthy sent out the first treble of his career. While understandably conscious that he may have used up all his good fortune for the week, confidence was nonetheless high on the day.

Ollie La Ba Ba was first to strike in the Ladies Handicap Hurdle. McCarthy said: “Jody (Townend) rang me the week before and said; ‘I will ride for you. You will give me the winner.’ To have her on your side is a huge advantage and I don’t think we’d have won without her.”

Regards To Rose then formed the middle leg of the three-timer when gaining a first success. However, her trainer knew that he had saved the best until last: “Tropical Image would have been my banker for the week. She finished third in Killarney in August but had run in Sligo only a few days beforehand. I came away thinking that if I had skipped Sligo she might well have won. To me, she was a winner without a penalty.”

The big receptions accorded to each of McCarthy’s six winners at Listowel showed his popularity with local punters. However, for him, this particular meeting is about much more than just personal success: “Every winner is important but I suppose we have a big local following. People outside of racing don’t realise just how much we rely on other people.

“In this game, you are always on the road. You come to depend on neighbours and friends, to pick up the kids from matches and things like that. It’s lovely to see those same people, some who only go racing for a few days at Listowel every year, get such a kick out of us training winners. Without their support throughout the year, it would make our life so much harder.

“To me, they are an important part of the yard and, it’s great to be able to share our success with them.”

However, with such high expectations, McCarthy admits to feeling the pressure. Since taking out his licence in 2017, his yard has become synonymous with sending out winners at Listowel.

Walking the floors

“For weeks beforehand, lads are asking ‘what’s your horse for this year,’ he says. “I’d normally be a good sleeper but two or three weeks out from the festival, I’d be walking the floors in the early hours.”

Punters could have been forgiven for thinking that Eoin McCarthy would struggle at this year’s festival. Without a winner for over nine months, it was not until April that signs of a revival began to emerge. At a difficult period in his training career, McCarthy was very thankful to have strong support.

“Like everyone involved in sport, I am very competitive,” he said. “I want to be improving all the time. Last year, we got a bad virus and, along with that, probably didn’t have the strongest team of horses. Of course, it knocks your confidence not having winners but again, that goes back to having a loyal group of owners and staff around you. I am very fortunate to have both”

Weather the storm

Convinced that the tried and trusted system wasn’t broken, McCarthy just had to weather the storm. A lot of the horses that he ran last season were babies that needed time to develop.

With 36 horses riding out, he is fully aware that winners will come in short bursts, with leaner times in between. He points to the fact that some of the bigger National Hunt yards could have up to 36 horses in a single lot.

However, the intention going forward is to try to have two or three coming onstream each month, so more consistency can be achieved.

Currently on 12 winners for the season, his previous personal best of 13 (2022/23) is already well in his sights. “I’d hope to pass our previous best tally by Christmas,” he said. “Hopefully a few of the younger horses that ran so well at Listowel can step up. Aside from the winners, that was one thing that pleased me.

“I think we have plenty to look forward to. We had a lovely horse finish second in the winners’ bumper on the Saturday (Moon Sky). I think he could be very good. It would be nice if we could sell him to stay in the yard.”

Well backed horses winning for his stable is something punters have become accustomed to. While that is certainly not the main objective, McCarthy admits to a certain degree of satisfaction: “I’ve been going up and down the same gallop for years. To survive in this game at our level, you have to take the opportunities when they present themselves.

Decent touches

“We have landed some decent touches. I enjoy having a plan with each horse. I like to think that if I do X, Y and Z, it will lead to an end result. I think it’s important to know where you are going with each horse.

“You have to have an end game. I’m not one for running them every two or three weeks. They will never progress doing that.”

In an ideal world, McCarthy would love to improve quality, without increasing in numbers; “I’d love to develop it into a nice yard, not overly big but with a few more horses that can compete on the bigger stage. It would be great to be going to the likes of Cheltenham and Aintree every year with two or three runners. Not just there to make up the numbers but with genuine chances.

“I know that days like we had at this year’s festival don’t come around too often but it would be nice to strike a balance in between.”

Having put himself in the shop window with a sextet of Harvest Festival winners, it will be interesting to see what is next for the Athea man.