PHILIP Rothwell’s resurgence has been a notable theme in recent National Hunt seasons, and having in-form runners in both of today’s feature handicaps at Fairyhouse - as well as representation in a £100,000 pot at Haydock - is further evidence of the yard’s progress.

The Co Wicklow-based handler will be the first to say that he’s seeking to train a higher calibre of horse than he has of late, but there are greenshoots emerging. With the best part of a month left to go in the season, he’s on 35 winners for the campaign - just three shy of the total he ended with in 2024/’25 and seven behind his memorable 2023/’24 season.

“I had no Cheltenham Festival runner this year; I have aspirations of winners at that meeting, but no aspiration of just having a runner,” Rothwell told The Irish Field.

“I felt like some of the young horses we have could step up in a year’s time. We will have horses for the Punchestown Festival and there are an awful lot of positives for where we are, while we are lacking a star. We definitely have the horses who will get us back to a level that’s a little better than where we’ve been.

“I want to keep training winners, but the numbers and percentages aren’t completely massive to me right now. It’s because we’re on a different budget to everyone else [towards the top of the trainers’ championship] and you just can’t hit a strike rate that those people are on. It’s very possible to train plenty of winners, but you have to run them plenty of times to qualify for races that they can win.

“Your strike rate will never be as good when you do that, and that does bother me a little bit. The other side is that training winners definitely helps us stay in the public eye - and definitely the type of horse we’re training is getting better.

“We have horses who can hopefully run well over Easter, but I think we might have a few better winning chances in the days and weeks ahead.”

Improving Moon

David L’Estrange’s strong-staying five-year-old Chase The Moon has already won twice this season for the Tinahely team and has been shaping as though stepping up to three miles will suit in today’s Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Novice Handicap Hurdle Series Final (4.25) worth €50,000. However, Rothwell is on weather watch with his last-time-out Punchestown scorer.

“It’d be nice to have a horse like him flying the flag for us at a meeting like Fairyhouse, but I think the big worry is whether the rain will come in time,” said the trainer. “He likes to get his toe in and I won’t run him unless there’s an element of soft in it. I hope he’ll be a smashing chaser for next season.”

The Oliver Barden-owned Kotkito Bello has already rattled off a hat-trick this season and lost little in defeat when fifth in a 19-runner handicap hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival on his latest appearance. He’s right down at the bottom of the weights in today’s Listed RYBO Handicap Hurdle (5.00) worth €100,000.

Strong season

“He went a good gallop at Leopardstown and, to be fair to him, he stayed at it. The few who went by him [Bowensonfire, I Started A Joke, Kimi De Mai and Murcia] are probably just well-handicapped horses,” said Rothwell.

“Hopefully he can run a nice race again at Fairyhouse and will then be able to look forward to a bit of a holiday. When you’re going a nice gallop with a nice weight, some of the good horses have to work hard to go by you.

“He’s been a model of consistency all year and we’ve probably reached our limit with him, but it’s nice to be able to get into these good races and have a chance of picking up prize money.”

It also looks a fine target for 11-year-old Dreal Deal in this afternoon’s £100,000 Unibet Middle Distance Veterans’ Handicap Chase at Haydock. Rothwell is optimistic that a sound surface will help see his representative outrun his early odds of 33/1.

He explained: “I actually thought Dreal Deal’s last two runs were very good because the ground was probably a little too soft for him. Before that, when he went to Cheltenham, I’d say he just wasn’t right and didn’t travel great.

“We’ve sent him over a few days early this time and I think, if the ground is good, he could run a good race. If he could get into the first half-dozen, it’d be a nice run. The prize money is unbelievable [with payouts down to eighth] and this race is what we’ve been working towards for the last few months.”