CORK trainer Jonathan Sweeney has only been training for a few years but he already has two Grade 3 success to his credit and is really starting to make a name for himself as someone well able to deliver results.

Based in Kildinan, not far from Rathcormac and within 10 minutes reach of the motorway, Jonathan and his wife Keara put alot of time and effort into setting up their new racing club and the Jonathan Sweeney Racing Club is now up and running with between 16-20 members and Battling Spirit the first horse to carry its colours.

The trainer explained: “We started looking at the idea at the end of last year and got chatting to Battling Spirit’s owner Kevin Dunlea who was involved in Macra Na Feirme’s racing club which had a lot of members.

“Between Kevin and Eugene O’Shaughnessy who is involved in Lighthouse Warrier, we put things together and are always on the look-out for more members. It took a lot of work to set it up right and Kevin’s partner Sarah was very good on the website.”

PLENTY OF HORSES

Sweeney was involved in the construction business in Australia for four years, driving different machines before returning home and buying some land.

He said of the racing club: “There’s a lot more to it than people think and it could have taken six months to set it up, between getting advice and putting it together but it’s done very well.

“We have plenty of horses and just need more members. Battling Spirit has some good form and I’m just getting the basics done with another one. I only have a small number of horses but I don’t panic about things and like to get it right.”

Jonathan had stints along the way with James Burns on the Curragh, Andrew McNamara snr. and Paddy Moakley in Kilworth, learning as much as he could about the art of training racehorses and was obviously a good student.

He has applied the knowledge he gleaned to the way he does business but admitted: “If you’d asked me 12 years ago if I would be training horses, I would have said you were mad! It chose me, rather than me choosing it but I love it and am good at what I do.

“I get great satisfaction out of training. I won a Grade 3 hurdle race in Limerick with Barnahash Rose who had a few niggly setbacks but there’s no point going to the races, just for the sake of keeping people happy.

“Sometimes you have to say ‘He’s a lovely horse who needs a bit of time and you’ll just have to wait.’ I know what I’ve got in the yard and it’s up to me to get the best out of them. With a lesser horse, you need to be fitter and healthier than the opposition to stand a chance of winning.”

FESTIVAL FOCUSED

The trainer has his sights set on developing the racing club over time and outlined his vision for the future.

“The whole thing would be about leasing good quality mares and getting horses for the festivals.

“A lot of lads now want to go racing and they want to get on that podium but if the horses aren’t good enough to win or be competitive, there’s no point in going to the races or having them in the club.”

Sweeney added: “I can offer as much as anyone else – I know what I have and have a fair idea of where I can go. I’ve had success with small numbers and had a good strike rate last season, despite it being a funny year with the ground.”

The trainer is also intent on building up the social side of the racing club and is looking at including a days racing at other racecourses and other activities as part of the subscription package.

He currently has 11 horses in the yard, with some due to go out for their summer’s grass and others due to come in.

They include a half-sister to Lighthouse Warrier, the J.P. McManus-owned Roseys Hollow who is on her holidays after winning a bumper at Cork and described as “a nice prospect going forward,” Ten Alainn and Golan Pivot who will also go down the bumper route.

Jonathan added: “I also have some very nice youngsters for next season, including a big Mahler horse.”