THERE are some mornings you count yourself lucky to be doing your job in this racing writing game. Wednesday was one of them. Jessica Harrington is in fit and fabulous form walking around a pristinely pruned Commonstown Stud, where 170 horses reside under her care.

The state of the land and those who work on it is all down to her. At 76 she is as busy as she has ever been and while she has never shied away from doing her own gardening and landscaping, she has had extra time in recent months, due to the greatest challenge of her career thus far.

In early February she made it known that she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer, but to all intents and purposes, it appears like she has fought that battle just as you’d have expected her to - with an unblinking positive attitude and willingness to get up and go. Needless to say, at Commonstown, business is booming and the gardens are blooming.

“Never missed a beat,” she says as a group of three-year-olds walk by and she names them one by one.

On Monday, she’ll have her 16th bout of chemotherapy. She admits that she sometimes wonders how she has got through it but also outlines that she hasn’t been feeling as well as she is now in a long time.

“I wasn’t going to let it get the better of me. At times I thought it was but I never had that attitude. If you get up with a positive mood every morning, you’re grand.

“I’m very lucky. I live in a lovely place, I look at these horses every day, when you go out there and look at that view toward the mountains, I mean what have I got to complain about?

“Everyone has been so kind, it’s unbelievable how kind. No one really knew until after Christmas. Towards the beginning of February I finally put it out there that I was on the sick list, but everyone has been brilliant.

“Kate has been amazing. She hasn’t taken a day off since she went to Australia before Christmas. She’s taking two weeks off in May so long as she thinks I’m alright. Emma and Richie, they’ve been great, and all the staff here have been fantastic. They’ve all cooperated and got on with it, never complained.

“I’ve been really good this week. This week and last week I’ve had absolutely no problems. Basically since the last treatment, they got me the medication to make me feel alright. The three weeks before were tough.

“But this time it’s been absolutely great and I feel great. Last night I went to bed and I was actually physically tired as opposed to sick tired. That was fantastic.”

Harrington is fantastic. Despite the fact she had to cancel trips to London, Australia, Egypt and to the Alps for skiing this year, anytime she was able to get up and work, she did, only missing out when she had a couple of short stints in hospital.

She has started to go racing again and later on Wednesday went to Gowran to saddle a double, her eighth and ninth winners of the season. On Thursday she made it 10 at Tipperary. Momentum is building fast.

She will have runners at Punchestown next week but her transition to the flat has been an amazing reinvention, the ratio of flat to jumps horses now at 75:25.

If there was one horse to take from the morning, it’s the three-year-old filly Eternal Silence, who finished third in the Moyglare Stud Stakes.

“A monster,” Harrington labelled her at one stage. Shane Foley called her a beast. She is just one of a host of unexposed three-year-olds, many of them still maidens, who go into the could-be-anything category.

Trevenauce leads a select squad of older horses Harrington, while there is just short of 70 two-year-olds with some sparkling pedigrees among them - by sires like Frankel, Kingman, Galileo, Siyouni and No Nay Never to name a few.

Harrington’s ambition remains insatiable. She laughs off the suggestion that she has achieved nearly everything. There are “millions of things” she still wants to achieve, most notably more classic wins, with the Derby front and centre.

One thing is for sure, you’d never bet against her.

Three-Year-Olds

Angelic Appeal

3yo b f

Siyouni - Gabrielle

Alpha Racing 2022

We have her in at Naas on Monday and if we decide to run, she will improve significantly for what will be her first start. She showed a lot last season but she kept growing so we gave her time.

Bold Discovery

3yo b c (13-2)

Bolt D’Oro - Caribbean Babe

Marc Chan

We were very happy with his run in the 2,000 Guineas Trial (second to Hans Anderson) as he was just about ready to start off. He will go to the Tetrarch at the Curragh on the May bank holiday weekend.

Curvature

3yo ch f (4-21)

Lope De Vega - Gravitee

Newtown Anner Stud Ltd

She was impressive when winning at Leopardstown and her aim is a listed race in France at the beginning of May. She likes a dig in the ground and we just thought the style of racing in France might suit her. I’m not sure she would get such a free rein in front here like she did at Leopardstown. She is a nice filly, lightly framed but she has a big heart.

Endless Sunshine

3yo b f

Churchill - Crazy Volume

Zhang Yuesheng

She was a weak filly last year so we didn’t get to see her on track. She is half sister to Silence Please who did very well for us. We’re likely to get her going around June or July, when the ground should be nice and quick for her. She is a nice filly.

Eternal Silence

3yo b f (933)

War Front - Princess Highway

Moyglare Stud Farm

She is still a maiden but she was third in the Moyglare last year. We’re really happy with how she has progressed through the winter, she looks like a monster now. We are just waiting for a bit of good ground to get her started but if we don’t get that, she will go straight for the 1000 Guineas. I’m very excited about her - I think she is coming into the season below the radar.

Foniska

3yo b f (721-)

Galileo - Bocca Baciata

Flaxman Stables Ireland Ltd

She was impressive when she won her maiden at Thurles last year and we’re starting her off in the Salsabil at Navan today (4.05). She could be an Oaks filly. We had her dam Bocca Baciata and she got 10 furlongs, but this filly is by Galileo so I’m sure she will get a mile and a half. We’re looking forward to getting her started.

Galileo’s Compass

3yo b c

Galileo - Lady Lara

Zhang Yuesheng

He is a full brother to Changingoftheguard. He didn’t run last year but his work is very good and he’s ready to start off this weekend at Navan (5.40 today). He wants good ground as he is very low mover.

Hardpoint

3yo b c

Camelot - Losjitos

Mohamed Khalid Mohamed Abdulrahim

This is a lovely son of Camelot, very stoutly bred. He had a little set back in the spring time but we are hopeful now he is on the right track and he should be ready to run around late June or early July.

Kings Time

3yo ch c (3-)

Exceed And Excel - Mrs King

Newtown Anner Stud Farm Ltd

He has done very well over the winter. Last year, he only had the one run, but put up a lovely performance at Roscommon. We think this horse could be very exciting. He will start off either six of seven furlongs and we will take it from there.

Night Blue

3yo b f (6)

Sioux Nation - Takaliyda

Zhang Yuesheng

She is a big filly that didn’t come into training with us until the back end of last season. She progressed nicely over the winter. She was very green on her racecourse debut (sixth at Leopardstown) but she has come out of that race really well and should give a better account of herself on her next start.

National Emblem

3yo b c (81-)

National Defense - Clenaghcastle Lady

Alpha Racing 2022

We are waiting for some nicer ground for him. We have him in the premier handicap at Naas on Monday. His aim for the first half of the season is the Britannia at Royal Ascot.

Ocean Quest

3yo ch f (132-)

Sioux Nation - Gold Zain

J Kirkland & Mrs J M Ryan

She runs at Navan today (Committed Stakes, 3.30). The original plan was to run her over seven furlongs in the Guineas Trial at Leopardstown to see if she stayed but the ground was just too heavy. So we’re going back to five and a half furlongs today and it will be interesting to see how she gets on. We’ve also got the Polonia Stakes as an option for her at Cork. She wants decent ground and we are very happy with her.

Pivotal Trigger

3yo ch c

Pivotal - Allegretto

Zhang Yuesheng

He did very well as a juvenile last year when we ran him a couple of times in France towards the back end. He is taking a little bit of time to come to himself this year but we imagine he will be ready to run soon. I’m not sure where he is going yet.

Quar Shamar

3yo ch c (0-1)

Shamardal - Quariana

Zhang Yuesheng

He was impressive when he won at Dundalk last week and we think he will improve from that run. He could go to a trial somewhere now, maybe in England, or we could go straight to the Guineas.

Scarlett O’Hara

3yo b f (6-)

Frankel - Dream Of Tara

Miss P F O’Kelly

She only had the one run last season when she finished sixth to our Sounds Of Heaven in what looked a good maiden at Leopardstown. We will start her off over a mile and a quarter and she could be a really nice staying type.

Snowcapped

3yo bb f (0-1)

Churchill - Snow Pixie

Anamoine Limited

It was great to see her win at Gowran on Wednesday because we felt whatever she did there that she was going to improve for the run. She only raced once last season but she got very strong over the winter so there is plenty to look forward to with her now.

Sprewell

3yo b c (42-1)

Churchill - Lahaleeb

Mohammed Khalid Mohamed Abdulrahim

He did it very well at Naas first time out and the form of that race is working out. He’ll go for one of the trials, probably the Derby Trial at Leopardstown. He’s a straightforward horse. You’d never notice him in the string because he’s just there, he doesn’t make a song and dance about anything.

Sounds Of Heaven

3yo b f (41-)

Kingman - Ring The Bell

Craig Bernick and J Camilleri

The maiden she won at Leopardstown has turned out to be quite good and she did it impressively. She has gotten very strong over the winter. We had a tiny setback with her in January time but she is 100% now and we’ll go to the 1,000 Guineas Trail back at Leopardstown.

Starry Heavens

3yo gr f (35416-)

Mastercraftsman - Etoile Filante

Healthy Wood Co Limited

She’s out of a sister to Alpha Centauri. She won her maiden at the Curragh in good style last year but then didn’t run so well when we tried her in a Group 3, she had started growing again. We’ll see how she gets on at Cork (yesterday evening). I have her in the Oaks and I think she could make up into a nice stayer.

Village Voice

3yo b f (13-)

Zarak - Sensible Way

Mrs P K Cooper

We’re going to start her and Foniska out in the Salsabil at Navan today (4.05). She has wintered well. She also won her maiden at Thurles before finishing third against the boys in the Eyrefield Stakes over nine furlongs at Leopardstown. Hopefully she can get her season off to a good start today.

Older Horses

Irish Lullaby

4yo gr f (0/51711290-)

Nathaniel - Victor Regina

Mrs S Kelly

She was very progressive last year over middle distance to staying trips and we’re hopeful she can step up again this season. She has done well from three to four and ran really well at Cork yesterday. She’ll come on from that.

Trevaunance

4yo ch f (15118-)

Muhaarar - Liber Nauticas

Moyglare Stud Farm

She had a fine season last year, winning a Group 2 and Group 3 in Deauville, and then she wasn’t disgraced at all in the Prix de l’Opera. We’ll start her in the Mooresbridge and her main aim will be the Pretty Polly. I’d be pretty hopeful she has improved again from three to four.

Villanova Queen

4yo ch f (01/38)

Mastercraftsman - Quads

William Crager

She got a little setback after the Guineas last year so we decided to leave her off. It was great to see her win at Tipperary on Thursday and hopefully it’s a case of onwards and upwards now. She’ll come on plenty for that run and we’ll be looking to step back into Group company with her now.

Yashin

4yo b g (411064-)

Tom and Gerry Met Mickey Syndicate

Churchill - Mirdhak

I’m hoping he can make up into a good quality stayer this year and we’re starting him today in the Vintage Crop (4.35). He is a big beautiful horse at 17hh and I’m hopeful he can progress again this year, especially over the longer trips like today’s.

Two-Year-Olds

We’ve two No Nay Nevers, one called Matter Of Fact and one called With Style and they are very nice. The Bear Trap is one to look forward to as well. He is by Kodi Bear and he goes well. I love the name!

Glamorously is a Mehmas filly owned by the Glamour Girl and she could be nice. We have Jack Naylor’s half sister, What A Squeeze, and she could be nice as well. We have a couple of nice Frankels, one of them is a filly called Comic Book and her work seems to be above average. You’ll see her around July.

Earth is the second foal out of Alpha Centauri – you’ll see her towards the back end. If you thought Alpha Centauri was big, you should see her. The half sister to Lucky Vega is called Lucky Melody and she is by Phoenix Of Spain and could be very nice.

I love that filly that ran at the Curragh last weekend, Blame Thechampagne, she will come on a lot for that run.

There is a Kingman filly not named yet (out of Starfish) who is a lovely half sister to Astadash. She will be a mid season type. Emerald Banner is a full sister to Millisle, and probably stronger than she was as a two-year-old. She did a lot of growing in the spring and has come on a tonne lately.

We have two lovely fillies by Camelot – Camelot Alexander and Riviera Queen. Camelot Alexander is gorgeous and is out of a Group 3 winner for us Remember Alexander.

She will be a middle to back end type. Riviera Queen is big filly out of a mare who won over hurdles for Willie Mullins and has blacktype on the flat (Pakora). She will be out towards the back end – August/September time.