ANDY Slattery does a good job with a limited number of flat horses and he said: “We are having a good year and we’d have around a dozen or so in. Most of them have held their form well and the flat horses that we have are generally ones that failed to sell at the breeze-up sales for one reason or another, but we are delighted to get them.
“I find flat racing a bit easier than the jumping game. There are more options for the horses and there is nearly a fixture every day. If you have a good jumping horse, there are only three fixtures per week during the winter and finding opportunities for those horses isn’t easy.
“We’d be inclined to bringing a horse along by running them in point-to-points and then we’d try and move them on. We have sold some real good horses. I suppose the best of them was Faugheen, but we’ve also sold Cooldine, Monksland and Quel Esprit.’’
Asked what code he prefers he remarked: “I actually prefer flat racing. Brian and Willie (Slattery brothers) would do a lot of the breeze ups and I suppose we got into flat racing by accident as we started to race the ones that weren’t sold. We have some nice horses and they are easier to train than the National Hunt horses.
“We have a lot of four-year-olds to run and we’ll get them going in point-to-points later on in the year and we’d be busy all year.’’
A FEW DOLLARS MORE
3yo b g (54-3140)
Moss Vale - Lady Naomi
Kevin Walsh
He was disappointing the last day at Tipperary but we found a problem afterwards with his back. Five furlongs on soft ground is what he wants. He doesn’t need it bottomless but he is very good on that real bad ground. I thought he’d go very close the last day, but Wayne said that he was never going at all. Earlier in the year when he won at Cork, he gave a horse of Pat Martin’s Isherbayorgrey a stone when he won and he went to win three after that. I think there is more to come from my horse.
AN SAIGHDIUR
8yo b g (33370560681
Acclamation - Brief Sentiment
Men Of Forty Eight Syndicate
He has been a grand servant and it was great to see him win again at the Curragh last Sunday. He can go as fast on heavy ground as he can on good – it is not that he can’t handle good ground, but he is much better on soft ground. He has been around for a while, but he is at his best when it is nearly unraceable. We’ll try and get him into the Ayr Gold Cup but he might have to go for the Silver Cup as he’s rated 93. He was rated over 103 when he ran a cracker in the Ayr Gold Cup last year. He has been a good horse from day one – he was second to Sole Power as a two-year-old. If the ground is bad, he’ll go for the big six-furlong handicap at the Curragh on Irish Champions Weekend.
CREGGS PIPES
3yo ch f (3402151)
Rip Van Winkle - Sophie Germain
Delphi Six Syndicate
She is a very nice filly who has won two for us. She got away with the fast ground when she won the last day at Leopardstown but she won’t run on it again. Six or seven furlongs suits her well and she is another that likes soft ground. We’ll let her take her chance in a nice handicap on Champions Weekend and we might try and get a bit of blacktype for her in a listed race on soft ground at the end of the season. She will, I hope, remain in training next year and she could make into a lovely four-year-old.
KURAMATHI
2yo b c (1)
Paco Boy - Style Award
Mrs Lynne MacLennan & Miss Eimear E. O’Brien
He is a lovely horse. He won at Tipperary but I was surprised that he won as I thought he was a gallop short going there. He got a bit jarred up that day on the soft ground but he is fine again now and he has a nice mark of 82. The Birdcatcher is the plan for him. The second horse has since won a nursery. His owners are from Scotland and they are keen to run him at Ayr in a listed race but I don’t think he’ll be ready for that and he could go straight to Naas. He’d like a dig in the ground and I’d say he’ll get seven furlongs next year.
PLANCHART
2yo b f (2627)
Gio Ponti - Tarrip
Pat Garvey
She is a lovely filly. We have probably raced her a bit ambitiously but we gave her a break and all she has done is get stronger and grow. She has grown half a hand and she has done nothing but improve. She has a fair level of ability and I think a mile on nice ground is what she wants. I think she’ll win her maiden.
SHARJAH
5yo b g F (-1114000) NH (416/4-540)
Shamardal - Lunar Lustre
Mrs S. Slattery
He is back in good shape. The surface didn’t suit him the last day at Dundalk. The new surface hasn’t really bedded itself in yet and he needs it fast. I’d say his ground is gone now over hurdles but he’ll go back up to Dundalk for the winter. He loves it up there and he seems right back to himself again now. The surface is a lot faster up in Dundalk later in the year.
SORS
3yo b g (455771)
Acclamation - Maid of Ailsa
Men Of Forty Eight Syndicate
He is coming back to himself. He was gelded earlier in the year and it took him a long time to get over that. I think there is a good horse in him waiting to get out. He is very lazy in his work and I ran him over five the last day just to wake him up. He won well but he doesn’t work like a sprinter. He will get six furlongs and he might get seven. He was second in the Marble Hill last year. He is in a few races over Champions Weekend and he seems to handle any ground. It was very soft when he won on the grass last year and he handled the surface in Dundalk as well.
UNCANCHOOSE
9yo b g (/00006116-008140)
Choisir - Ruacana Falls
James C. Brophy
He injured himself after he ran the last day so we’ll leave him off and bring him back in January. He has been a great servant and he wins one for us every year. He has great enthusiasm for the job and there is no reason why he won’t be back for next year.
WILD ATLANTIC WAY
3yo b f (7)
Dylan Thomas - Mualafah
Brian Slattery
She ran okay the last day at Tramore but she didn’t stay the trip of a mile and a half down there. There should be a day in her on the flat.
UNRACED
TWO-YEAR-OLDS
BRIDGE BROOK
2yo b g
Acclamation - Overturned
Men Of Forty Eight Syndicate
We like him, but he is a bit off a run yet. We might get a run into him around December time as he is a big horse.
FLOWER HILL NOVA
2yo b c
Elnadim - Mac Melody
Men Of Forty Eight Syndicate
He was ready to start off in the first two-year-old maiden of the season but he met with an injury. We had to give him a bit of time but we do like him.
UNNAMED
2yo bc
Dream Ahead - Masai Queen
Lance Bloodstock
He is a half-brother to a good horse that Richard Hannon had and we like him. He is four weeks off a run. He got a bit weak, so we had to back off him for a while and is another that we’ll start off at Dundalk.
2yo b f
Jeremy - Distinguished
Kevin Walsh
She isn’t far off a run. We like her and she shows a good bit of speed and we’ll start her off over five. She should be competitive in a maiden.
2yo b c
Poet’s Secret - Wink
Mrs S. Slattery
He is two weeks off a run and we think that he is a nice horse. I’d expect him to be competitive in a maiden. I’d say he will handle most types of ground.
FACTFILE