TRUE racing fans love nothing more than a veteran jumper who rolls back the years with a win over younger rivals.

We saw it with Peregrine Run at Chepstow, Darver Star at Punchestown, and don’t forget Hurricane Darwin at Fairyhouse last Saturday.

Trained in Bunclody, Co Wexford, by Cormac Farrell, the 12-year-old Hurricane Darwin has found a new lease of life. He was won all three of his starts since joining Cormac earlier this year and those wins have come in a cross-country chase, a handicap hurdle and handicap chase.

Next up for this half-brother to Colreevy is the Cheltenham November meeting. This week we caught up with Cormac to ask him how he has managed to transform the old campaigner into a winning machine.

“If I knew that I would go out and buy every 12-year-old in the country!” he laughed. Cormac was speaking to us from the sales in Newmarket, where he said he was “getting blown out of the water” in his bid to recruit some breeze-up horses at the yearling sales.

“I focus primarily on point-to-pointers and breezers,” he said. “I only train what is left over for a bit of sport, for a laugh. We sold Wide Receiver [for £410,000] to Gigginstown and we sold Ottoman Empire out of a Dundalk barrier trial. He won a Group 3 at Glorious Goodwood for Johnny Murtagh and ran in the St Leger last year.

“I had three horses this year and won with them all. Il Courra won a couple of chases and now we have Hurricane Darwin, the most amazing horse.”

Fun horse

The Hurricane Darwin story is truly remarkable. A half-brother to Colreevy, he was a promising bumper horse for Mags Mullins who was snapped up by Barry Connell as a four-year-old. He developed into a smart chaser, winning four times over jumps without ever making the top grade, and eventually he was passed on to cross-country specialist Peter Maher, presumably as a fun horse for banks races.

Cormac takes up the story. “A few years ago I got to know [owner-breeder] Douglas Taylor. It was when Dougie was trying to establish Jet Away as a National Hunt sire and he was looking for a few point-to-point handlers to take shares in horses. The venture was successful and Dougie is now a good friend as well.”

Douglas is also a keen hunting man and was looking for a horse to ride in the Golden Button Challenge, which is a day’s hunting with the Ledbury in Herefordshire followed by a cross-country race the following day.

“Rory Cleary is a huge part of our team – he rides for me on the flat – and it was Rory who recommended Hurricane Darwin to Dougie as a horse he could ride in the Golden Button,” Cormac explained.

A deal was done around the end of January this year and soon Cormac and Douglas went out for a spin cross-country. “Dougie was still recovering from a hunting fall and he was blowing hard, struggling to keep up with me. I said ‘There’s no way you are fit enough to ride in the Golden Button this year’ and we agreed to put the horse back in training, get him ready for the Punchestown Festival.”

Loves the life

Pretty soon it became obvious to Cormac that his new recruit was simply loving the Wexford routine. “He doesn’t take much galloping. He just loves the life. He lives out in the field and goes to the beach.

“It’s nothing special that I am doing. He is just a happy horse. I probably wouldn’t even have him as fit as other lads would. I’m obsessed with keeping horses healthy. We steam the hay and have the stables fogged regularly. It’s health first, then fitness.”

Whatever they’re doing, it’s working. On his first run for his new connections, Hurricane Darwin easily won a banks race at the Punchestown Festival under course specialist Benny Walsh. Realising they had a well-handicapped horse on their hands, Cormac and Douglas decided to give the horse a summer break and plans were hatched.

A handicap hurdle over two and a half miles at the Listowel Festival was targeted and, racing off a mark of 102 and with 7lb amateur Simon Cavanagh on board, another cosy success ensued.

Roll on to Fairyhouse last Saturday where the rejuvenated warrior took on conventional fences in a three-mile handicap chase off a mark of 105. Paddy O’Hanlon was on board this time and the partnership again won tidily, holding off a well-backed J.P. McManus-owned challenger who would have been a 13-length winner but for the legend that is Hurricane Darwin.

Cormac will not entertain any notions that he is a genius and is quick to credit Peter Maher for his role. “It’s only because Peter minded this horse so well that he has this longevity. Peter won the La Touche with a 14-year-old this year and promptly retired the horse on the spot! He half-expected that horse to win – he is an amazing guy, I speak to him all the time.”

So what next? “I could run him again before Cheltenham in November and win another little handicap but I don’t think we will. We’re going to go for the cross-country handicap at Cheltenham where he will have near bottom weight. He will think he’s loose although I have no idea if he will stay three miles and six furlongs.”

Douglas Taylor will probably bring a few pals and there are always plenty of point-to-point people at that November meeting for the sales, so it could be a mighty weekend.