PAT DOYLE

SYDNEY PAGET

11yo b g (2311111111-)

Flemensfirth - Shuil Aoibhinn

Roger O’Byrne

We will go the same route as last year with him. The ground is a factor so we won’t be rushing to get him out on quick ground. I would imagine he will be ready to go to somewhere like Mainstown at that time of the season.

If the big hunter chase was to go back to Leopardstown, we might look at it, but his owners are great supporters of point-to-points, so that is the main plan with him.

If he was to show any sign of not enjoying himself, we will retire him as he owes us nothing. But at the minute he is in fabulous shape and is like a two-year-old at home.

SAMANNTOM

10yo ch g (212P123235-)

Portrait Gallery – Native Ocean

Mary Doyle

I am going to mainly keep Samanntom to ladies’ races this year for my daughter Susie to ride. I know he won at Tinahely last year, but I think he is better around a flat track, so we will campaign him around suitable tracks.

PETER FLOOD

OURMANMASSINI

10yo b g (2P-533261)

Dr Massini - Aunty Dawn

Teresa Flood

He has come out of the race really well and we might go to Loughrea on tomorrow with him. He loves the ground as it is at the minute, so we will make the most of it and then give him a nice break over the winter.

He is a real fun horse to have in the yard and leads all the young horses up the gallop and is still showing plenty of enthusiasm.

He is a very easy ride and has won novice rider and ladies races, so we will have plenty of options in those for him. The ground at the moment is very similar to two years ago and it will take plenty of rain to soften it up and then we will look at the drier tracks like Grennan and Lingstown.

We won’t be going hunter chasing with him this season.

EUGENE O’SULLIVAN

WILCOSDIANA

8yo ch m (112PP1332-)

Flemensfirth – Loch Lomond

Tony Wilson

The plan is to go for the first mares open up at Loughbrickland with her. That is at the end of this month and then we will look to go to Mallow in November for the hunter chase.

After Mallow there is a big gap until the next mares’ open so there are not a lot options for her in that division.

Long term, we would love to get some blacktype for her, for breeding purposes. What happens in Loughbrickland and Mallow will probably determine where we go with that for the rest of the season.

A Decent Excuse and Maxine O'Sullivan jumping to win last season. HEALY RACING.

A DECENT EXCUSE

11yo b g (1115P511PP-3)

Fruits Of Love – Brave Thistle

Eugene M. O’Sullivan

I was very happy with how he ran at Castletown-Geoghegan on Sunday. That was his first run since Kinsale in June and he always needs his first run back, whereas Ourmanmassini had been on the go during the summer just like our lad had been when he won the race last year.

He is a gent of a horse that can run quite often so we would be looking at the champion pointer title with him. He is a horse that doesn’t like the ground too soft, so that cost us last year. We ran him at Killeagh in soft ground to get him fit but it was so heavy that it ended up doing us more harm.

He will go for races on good ground this season. We have a couple of other horses for opens like Drawn N Drank, Futuramic and Shantou Bob is a new horse to the yard, so we will be trying to keep them all apart.

VINCENT HALLEY

ARCTIC SKIPPER

9yo b g (3310/409-)

Flemensfirth – Coco Opera

Laurence V. Halley

He is an older horse now and has had a couple of issues so we decided to start him back in point-to-points. It has been hard to get him fully fit with his problems, but obviously he was very good in his day. He is in great form at home at the minute and we have given him an entry at Loughrea tomorrow, but we would need a bit of rain to fall to end up going there.

If it wasn’t to be on Sunday, he would go somewhere in the next couple of weeks and then we will take it race by race with him. He is a horse that does need his first run back, but if he was to show a bit of his old spark, then we would stick to opens for the time being and maybe then take a look at a hunter chase.

If he could come back to something like his form from two years ago, you would like to think that he could be competitive in some of those good hunter chases.

DECLAN QUEALLY

FENNO’S STORM

7yo br g (PF211211-)

September Storm – Sword Lady

Maurice Walsh

We had a brilliant year with him last season, he just kept improving all the time and ended up winning three open’s and the Tetretema Hunter Chase at Gowran Park which was a brilliant race to win. He went out on his holidays for a month and a half early in the summer, but he is a big strong horse so we brought him back in during July.

That means we have been able to get a nice bit of work into him, but he is still on the big side three months later so will we need his first run or two back to get him 100%.

We won’t be running him until the ground really turns. He needs it absolutely bottomless. The plan is to keep him to opens and then heavy ground hunter chases, like Thurles, Punchestown in February and back to Gowran for the Tetretema.

He wouldn’t be going to Punchestown for the festival as the ground will probably be gone for him then. Depending on how the year is going, we might look at a staying handicap chase for him if it came up very deep, as he is able to handle it like no other horse. But he is in great form and we are looking forward to a great campaign with him.