DENIS Hogan should be looking forward to another big flat season right about now but like everyone else, all plans are on hold until Irish racing can start moving again.

The Tipperary trainer had easily his best ever season last term, sending out 33 winners in Ireland, which helped to leave him just outside the top 10 in the trainers’ championship.

His season was largely highlighted by the exploits of Make A Challenge who won a remarkable seven times, progressing from a mark of 68 to 112, a sequence that culminated with a fine fifth in the British Champions Sprint on Champions Day at Ascot.

But right now, Hogan is just trying to stay afloat like the majority of trainers in this country. He said this week: “We’re taking it week by week. We won’t know much for another while at least it seems.

“We’ve let all the summer jumpers out and we just have the flat horses ticking over at the moment, in the hope that it might start back again sometime in May. We’ve about 25 riding out at the moment. We’re just doing a routine canter, just keeping them ticking over.

Lay-offs

Unfortunately Hogan has had to follow many other trainers and let go a significant portion of his staff but the hope is to be able to take people back on once things get back moving again.

“It’s such a tricky situation – no one really knows what the right way to go about it is. We just hope the situation improves, not just for racing, we’ll survive without racing, but no one wants this close to their door.”

Hogan was well represented at the 10 meetings that were held behind closed doors and sees that as the way forward if it can allow racing to come back quicker.

He said: “I thought behind doors worked very well. Everyone did their bit, we were all just happy to be able to keep the industry going and I don’t think it needed to be policed. It was very well handled by the Turf Club.

This was a point up picked up by today’s Big Interview subject Davy Russell who added that were huge positives to take from the 10 days which offers a good practice run for a return bedding-in period. He said: “If we do have to start off behind closed doors, we have the experience of it and we know what needs to be done. We know what we can and can’t do and what we can and can’t achieve so I think that’s a huge plus in that regard.”

When racing does return, Hogan has plenty to look forward to with Make A Challenge and the very exciting and unexposed Sceptical, who won very easily at Dundalk early last month.

“Make A Challenge was meant to go this weekend to Cork – that listed race would have been the plan for him but we’re just keeping ticking over now. He’s in good nick. Ideally he wants a cut in the ground. He’s ready to go whenever we do get the go-ahead.

“Sceptical is very exciting. He has been keeping us all dreaming through all this. He won so well the last day and we were looking at running him at Lingfield yesterday for the All-Weather Finals day. There is a lot of water to go under the bridge but he could be one for Royal Ascot.

“I bought two Shamardals there in the autumn that could be okay – it’s early days for them but they could be okay. James McAuley also has some nice new stock. He bought an exciting horse by Dansili called Dalvey, who we like. We’re working away with the new ones, just finding out about them.”