NOT content with just riding winners between the flags on most weekends, two of the sport’s leading riders, Harley Dunne and Rob James, have taken the plunge and joined the training ranks as they look to carve out their share of the rich spoils that many of their compatriots have enjoyed with pointers in the sales ring.

The 27-year-old Dunne, the 2013 champion under-21 rider, has not wasted any time to make an impact in his new role, with the success of Paloma Dove at Monksgrange on Sunday his first as a handler and coming just eight days after he sent out his first runner in that role. The daughter of Valirann is one of 30 horses under his care that he also owns, with his expansive ownership portfolio one of the driving forces behind his swift move into the training ranks.