THE sign on the door reads ‘Rottweiler on duty. Do not enter’ but, rest assured, the astute Doneraile trainer who lives there doesn’t bite and has only an appetite for winners.

John Joe Walsh, surprisingly not the most senior statesman of the training ranks at 76 – that honour belongs to John Kiely – runs a very successful family training operation a couple of miles outside the small Co Cork town and takes pride in saying: “Our aim is to win races for our owners.