THERE will soon be a new name over the door at Suirview Stables as Pat Doyle has revealed plans for his son Jack to take over the training licence at his renowned Co Tipperary base.

A most astute horseman and widely regarded as one of the finest point-to-point handlers in the business, Pat has produced any number of National Hunt stars for racing’s biggest names, including two Grand National winners (Nick Rockett in 2025 and Miinnehoma in 1994). He has also saddled a series of notable winners on the track in his own name.

The time is now right, he says, for his son to take the reins. Jack, whose last ride under National Hunt rules was a winner at Roscommon in June 2025, is already a key part of the operation and can now prepare for runners in his own name imminently.

The 36-year-old previously had a successful spell riding in Britain before moving to America and being crowned champion jockey, alongside multiple Grade 1 victories.

Speaking to The Irish Field this week, Pat Doyle said: “I’m handing over the licence to Jack. I’m not retiring by any stretch of the imagination; we’re living beside each other here and we’ll be very involved in the young horses.

“I’m looking forward to it. I probably won’t be going racing quite as much; I’m a bit of a homebird and love being here. I have grandchildren that I love being with so it suits me. I love going to point-to-pointing, I really do. I’ve had some great days and I’ve been very lucky to come across some brilliant horses.”

Elaborating on the reason behind the decision at this time, Doyle added: “Jack is 36 and has been at home with me for the last four years. He’s got a lot of experience and is very involved here – Jack is a big asset to the place.

“I tell him that I’m going to live until I’m 100 – I don’t know if people will be happy about that! But if I wait until then to hand over the licence, he’d be well on in life and I don’t think that’d be the way to do it. I think now is the right time.

Capable hands

“Jack is a very capable young man. Fingers crossed he’ll have his first runners in about a fortnight. I haven’t relinquished my licence yet but I won’t be holding onto it. I just hope he’s as lucky in the game as I was.”

The list of top-class Suirview graduates is too lengthy to even try repeating. At the Punchestown Festival alone last month, Doyle was responsible for three of the 11 winners who began their careers in point-to-points (Grade 1 scorers Bob Olinger and Le Frimeur, and wide-margin Grade 3 bumper winner Even Tho).

Other notable names in recent years include Cheltenham Festival winners such as Colreevy, Appreciate It, First Lieutenant, Shattered Love, Commander Of Fleet and Brindisi Breeze, and other Grade 1 winners like Honesty Policy, Redemption Day, Flame Bearer, Readin Tommy Wrong, Champ Kiely, Asterion Forlonge, Bacardys, Death Duty, Hardline, Fury Road and No More Heroes, to name just a few.

Notable successes

Doyle also had success on the track in his own name with the useful Lord Who, collecting at Grade 2 level in the 2004 Woodlands Park 100 Club Novice Chase at Naas, while Pro Dancer captured a pair of listed handicap chases at Cork in 2003 and 2004.

More recently, Kaiser Black was well campaigned to win the Mayo National, Connacht National and Grade 3 Naas Directors Plate Novice Chase in 2018/’19, and Flame Bearer notched back-to-back Grade 2 novice hurdle wins for the father-and-son combination in 2022.

“I feel very fortunate that we got to train a lot of nice horses,” said Doyle, who turns 70 this year. “Unfortunately I didn’t get to train a Grade 1 winner, but I did get to train Grade 2, Grade 3 and listed winners, as well as being placed in a couple of Grade 1s. The Grade 1 is one thing I’d love to have done but hopefully Jack will have good times ahead in his own name.

“We have some new owners coming in, some older owners coming back to us again. I think it’ll be a similar type of operation to how it has been, although I’d imagine he might like to train more on the track. I had to make a living so I couldn’t do that! I hope it’s all successful. I’m sure it will be.”