CONSIDERING he was represented by just nine horses in the 2018 season when saddling six winners, it has truly been a rapid ascent through the training ranks in recent years for Paddy Twomey.

The highly-motivated and astute Co Cork native is embarking on an exciting 2024 campaign on the back of consecutive top-five finishes in the trainers’ championship, and quality is certainly on the rise at his Golden, Co Tipperary base. There is certainly classic potential among Twomey’s troops too, particularly when it comes to the three-year-old fillies. A Lilac Rolla, Purple Lily and One Look are on the Irish 1000 Guineas trail, while there are also plenty of well-bred juveniles on the scene.

“We have a nice bunch of two-year-olds, 55 to 60 of them, and hopefully we’ll add to those at the breeze-ups over the coming weeks,” Twomey says.

“That’s been a lucky avenue for us in recent years. We took a decision with the weather as it was that I wouldn’t run any two-year-olds until after Punchestown and, with that in mind, we just started working them in the last couple of weeks.

“They’re a nice bunch and have trained well all winter. I think when we start running them in May we’ll run a batch of them, rather than one or two, and with a little luck there’ll be some good ones among them.”

A Lilac Rolla

3yo b f (11-1)

Harry Angel - Mejala

I was very happy with how she did it in the Guineas Trial at Leopardstown. She had two good runs last year and backed those up. I’d say the Irish 1000 Guineas is the race she’ll go for next. She’s entered in France too but I think she’ll stay home. I feel she won in spite of the testing ground last time. Her form when beating Opera Singer last season came on pretty quick ground, so I’d say she’s pretty versatile. I think there’ll be progression from Leopardstown, she was ready to start when going there. She’s a classy filly and every time she’s gone to the races she’s done exactly what we hoped she’d do. Last time she had every chance to curl up when she got into it with Kitty Rose, who was very good on the day, and she was brave to win it. They were clear of the field.

Cill Mocheallog

3yo b g (3)

Phoenix Of Spain - Excel Yourself

He had a nice introduction at Dundalk last month. He’ll run in a seven-furlong or mile maiden in the upcoming weeks. A nice horse who should progress as the season goes along.

Clermont Ferrand

3yo b f (unraced)

Kodiac - Alsace Lorraine

A homebred filly of Craig Bennett’s. Craig has nice mares with good pedigrees. I think she’ll start in a maiden in six weeks’ time, maybe early June. She worked very well last year and has done well over the winter. We’re looking forward to campaigning her.

Countess Of Tyrone

4yo ch f (1-)

Australia - Affirmative

She won well at the Galway Festival last year and I think she’s very similar to her brother, Earl Of Tyrone. She looks a stayer. If everything goes right, the plan would be to start her next Friday night in the Noblesse Stakes at Cork. I didn’t have her that long when she won and said to Robert Moran on the night that we’d leave her until this year in the hope she’d progress plenty.

Deepone

3yo b c (11241-4)

Study Of Man - Avyanna

I think he’ll drop back to a mile and have a go at the Irish 2000 Guineas. He raced too freely on testing ground at Leopardstown on his comeback when conceding a penalty, and it all told up the straight. He’s a strong traveller who should be suited by coming back to a mile. That should point us in the direction we’ll be travelling in for the rest of the season. I think he’s pretty versatile in terms of ground; he doesn’t want it as heavy as last time but I don’t think he’s overly ground-dependent.

Elana Osario

3yo b f (unraced)

Lope De Vega - Moi Meme

A nice Lope De Vega filly we bought for Robert Moran. She will probably start in something like a 10-furlong maiden in the mid-summer. All her siblings are by Lope De Vega too and I think each of them are stakes winners who pretty much progressed from three to four.

Erosandpsyche

6yo b g (186/341122/)

Sepoy - Sciolina

He had a great year in 2022 when he joined us, finishing his season with a second to Highfield Princess in the Flying Five Stakes. Last year, he had a setback and didn’t actually come back to us but had a summer off and has been in great form. He joined us in March and we’re thrilled to have him. He’s rated 110 so it’ll be stakes races at five furlongs. It’ll be Derby weekend before he’s ready, though he’ll get an entry in the Greenlands.

Firebird

3yo b f (2-)

Lope De Vega - War And Peace

She joined us from Rebecca Menzies last autumn after a good run at Ayr over six furlongs. She’s trained well all winter and we think she’ll like a bit of nice ground. A seven-furlong or mile maiden is what I’m thinking of for her. I’d hope she’ll be ready to start next month but we’ll be on weather watch. I don’t think she’d appreciate heavy ground for the moment.

Heart Of Darkness

3yo b f (41)

Mehmas - One Kiss

It was an important winner for us when she won last weekend at Dundalk given it was for the late Lady O’Reilly. She asked me to buy her a yearling and we went to Tattersalls Book 2 together, looked at a bunch of fillies and this was the one she liked, so we bought her. She was nearly ready to run last year and just had a minor setback. It looked an ideal race for her when it came up at Dundalk. Her half-sister in Britain [Just A Spark] has won seven races, six of them coming on the all-weather - she doesn’t like soft ground. The surface would have been a help to our filly the other evening and I think she has plenty of boot. Hopefully she’ll progress plenty and something like the Polonia Stakes at Cork is what I have in mind for her, that’s why I wanted to get her out and win her maiden last weekend.

King Cuan

3yo b c (4111-)

Tasleet - Rutherford

He was a revelation when he got going in the autumn of last year. In a five-week window, he won an auction race at Cork, the Goffs Sportsman’s Challenge and the Irish EBF Auction Series Race Final. Even though he won on heavy ground over seven furlongs, I must admit that I worried beforehand it would be a big ask for him. To be fair to him, he’s tough, hardy and pulled it out. I think six furlongs on quicker ground, staying to the three-year-old-only programme to start, will be the idea. I see him as a sprinter. He has a ready acceleration off a strong pace and any race he’s won, he’s won it without much fuss. He’s not a huge horse but has plenty of scope and I’d hope we’ll have a good summer with him. There’s a good programme there for him if he’s the horse I hope he is.

La Isla Mujeres

4yo b f (4-31135)

Lope De Vega - Honor Bound

She came to us [after being bought for 330,000gns] from the Tattersalls December Mares Sale and belongs to Moyglare Stud. She had nice form for Ralph Beckett and was fifth in the Listed John Musker Fillies’ Stakes on her last start. She looked progressive and 10 to 12 furlongs should suit. I’d imagine she’s one for the second half of the year, though she’s settled in well. The idea would be to win a stakes race with her and then maybe move on into next year if she’s good enough. We like what we see of her and we’ll take our time.

Lady Tilbury

4yo b f (335171759-)

Bated Breath - Cats Eyes

She joined us from David Marnane last year. She has good form and tended to run well every day. Five furlongs on a flat track seemed to really be her jazz. We’re delighted to have her and I think you’ll see her in those fillies’ stakes races and general sprints once we have a bit of better ground mid-summer. I think she’ll get six but she looked effective at five for David so we’ll see how it goes.

Mysticmoon

3yo b f (unraced)

Lope De Vega - Onthemoonagain

An unraced filly of Eddie Walsh’s by Lope De Vega. A bit like Elana Osario, I think it’ll be the mid-summer before she gets going. She looks very much a mile-and-a-half type and I think she’ll win her maiden. Whatever she does at three, she’ll be better at four.

Noche Magica

3yo br c (120-)

Night Of Thunder - Pious Alexander

The plan at the minute is to go to the Lacken Stakes at Naas. He had a very bright start to his two-year-old season and then got a setback when he went to Royal Ascot, which sort of cost him the rest of the year. He’s trained well over the winter and the plan would be the Lacken, followed by the Commonwealth Cup, in an ideal world. We’ll get him back and started first.

One Look

3yo b f (1-1)

Gleneagles - Holy Salt

She won the Goffs Million first-time-out last season and I didn’t feel like running her again after that. To go to the races at the end of September and win a race as impressively as she did, once you give her a month afterwards you’re into November and there’s not really anywhere to go. I just ran out of road with the programme at that stage. I was keen to run her in a winners’ race to start her season this time around as it all happened very quickly when she won well on debut. I wanted her to have some more education. We took her to Cork, ready to run, and the ground wasn’t what she’d be looking for. She did what we hoped she’d do - though when she was sent off 1/20, you just want it to be over with! It was a good educational day out for her. I’d say she won’t go to Newmarket. I think she’ll stay in Ireland and go for the Athasi Stakes, or more likely the Cornelscourt Stakes, with a view to going to the Irish Guineas. I’d like to educate her a bit more along the way and don’t want to land her into an English Guineas just now. I know it wasn’t quick ground when she won the Goffs Million, but the way she accelerated, I think fast ground will be a big plus for her. I see her getting a mile and further. She’s light on her feet and athletic. She’s one I hope will progress all year.

Pagan Sun

3yo b c (6-)

Waldgeist - Sous Le Soleil

He was sort of ready to run towards the back-end of last season and had a good run at Dundalk in October. He’s by Waldgeist, whose stock look likely to stay well, and as soon as the ground dries up he’ll be ready to run in a mile-and-a-half maiden. He’s an honest type who will be seen to best effect when getting up in distance, and on good ground. In an ideal world, he’d start at Tipperary in the next 10 days but I’d say ground could stop that. He stays well.

Peggy O’Neil

3yo b f (57-)

Zoffany - Livia Galilei

She joined us over the winter from Joe Murphy and had a very good run on debut last year at the Curragh, followed by a more disappointing second run afterwards. She’s trained nicely but I think it’ll be mid-season before she starts, June onwards. She’s a big filly for a mile, a mile and a quarter. Hopefully she’ll win her maiden and go on to attain blacktype. Her sister [Callisto Star] has already bred a Group 1 winner [American Oaks heroine Rhea Moon] and is out of a Galileo mare. It’s important for her to be a winner and get blacktype. Whatever she does at three, she’s so big that I think she’ll be better at four.

Porters Place

3yo gr f (1-)

Make Believe - Shreyas

She was very exciting when she won what looked like a good maiden at the Curragh last season. Unfortunately, she had a minor setback in the spring training and will not be in the Guineas or the Oaks. I would say it’ll be the autumn by the time she’s ready to start. I do expect her to be back, but I’d imagine we’re looking at September onwards with a couple of runs at three before looking forward to her four-year-old campaign. She showed ready acceleration on debut, is 16.1 hands and has lots of class. You never like to have one ruled out at this time of the year when looking at the classics but I have full faith in her and it’s not a major setback, just enough to knock her out of the equation for the moment.

Procrastinate

3yo b c (1)

Siyouni - Walk In Beauty

He won well on debut at the Curragh after coming to us from the breeze-ups at Fairyhouse last season, a sale that turned out to be quite lucky for us. Norman Williamson breezed him for Merriebelle Farm. He’s a nicely bred horse, a brother to Walk In Marrakesh, who was placed in a Grade 1 at two. We went to the Curragh with this horse on the first day of the season and didn’t think we had a whole pile done, just a couple of breezes, so we were very happy with the way he won. I think he’s one with a bit of class. A race like the Tetrarch Stakes could suit him in the coming weeks. If he won that, he’d have plenty of options. Seven furlongs or a mile would be a good trip for him. He’s a light-framed horse who will probably be helped by nice ground.

Purple Lily

3yo b f (1-1)

Calyx - Boca Raton

An exciting filly. She was ready to run when going to Galway and won impressively. I thought she did everything back to front on the day and still won. Like One Look, I was keen to run her back this season in a winners’ race after one run at two. She came from the breeze-ups and is a big, strong type so I wasn’t in a hurry to run her again last season. I didn’t think she needed it. We decided to take on the colts at Naas as we felt she’d be fit to do it, and you’d have to be very happy with the performance on testing ground against highly-rated types. She won’t go to Newmarket next. I think she will go for the Irish Guineas. I expect her to stay 10 furlongs in time, she’s exciting. I’d like another run into her before the Curragh but she wouldn’t have to do that either.

Super Sox

3yo b f (3)

Showcasing - Minoria

A nice filly who had a good run on debut the other night at Dundalk in what looked a good maiden. She was ready to start and I was keen to get her out when that new meeting was put on; the ground has been testing pretty much everywhere. I think she’ll progress plenty from it and she’s another to look forward to for the year. I feel she’ll improve for going up to a mile and hopefully she can win her maiden before going through the ranks.

Vain Gloria

4yo br f (11-)

Kodi Bear - Vadsa Glory

She hasn’t done anything wrong, winning a maiden on debut at Killarney before backing up pretty quick in a nice winners’ race at Cork. She’s one we decided to leave then until this year as she was a tall, light-framed filly who we didn’t want to over-race at three. She’s filled that frame and is training well. I suppose we might start her in the next couple of weeks, possibly in a winners’ race at Tipperary. The Victor McCalmont Memorial Stakes at Gowran could suit her but I’d imagine her main early-season target will probably be the Ridgewood Pearl Stakes at the Curragh on Guineas weekend. I’d say she’s pretty versatile as regards to ground. I feel eight or 10 furlongs looks well within her compass. She’s a talented filly I’m looking forward to this year with her.