Tipperary Review 2009
Any review of a season’s racing at Tipperary usually highlights horses for the following season’s flat campaign, but the results in ’09 should prove a real guide for national hunt followers and especially for Cheltenham.
Pride of place must go to Noel Meade’s Go Native. When he won the Grade 2 Friends Of Tipperary Hurdle on Super Sunday so impressively, his trainer mapped out his plan of campaign. The Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle has been a lucky race for the Castletown trainer and that trend continued when Davy Condon piloted Go Native to an impressive victory over Sublimity and Solwit. Next port of call was Kempton at Christmas where Condon won another Grade 1 on Noel Meade’s Double Eclipse gelding. It’s all systems go now for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and if successful there he will earn a one million pound bonus. It all began on Super Sunday at Tipperary.
Another horse well worth watching is Blackstairmountain. Willie Mullins rates this five-year-old very highly. He won a bumper beating Hollo Ladies, who has gone on to win the prestigious Grade 1 Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival meeting. It was no surprise that he started favourite for the Stars Of Tomorrow flat race at Tipperary on June 4th and he was most impressive with Patrick Mullins in the plate, winning by sixteen lengths. To show how versatile he is, Willie Mullins ran him in a mile-and-a-half flat maiden at Galway and he once again showed his class, winning by four lengths. He is definitely worth watching out for in the lead up to Cheltenham and he is quoted at 14/1 for the Supreme Novices Hurdle after his scintillating victory at Punchestown recently.
Edward O’Grady has accumulated quite a substantial amount of prize money with the Patrick Wilmott-owned Jumbo Rio, particularly in France, where he has contested the top races. His best performance was probably at Auteuil in the Grade 1 Prix Alain Du Breil Hurdle, when he finished second to Rendons Grace. He showed no ill-effects from that run when he returned to Tipperary in July and got the better of Cuan Na Grai and Fosters Cross to win the Kevin McManus Bookmaker Grimes Hurdle. It was a great performance for a four-year-old. He showed that his Tipperary form was no fluke when he finished third to Solwit and Sublimity in the Grade1 Festival hurdle at Leopardstown. 
The two horses, which finished in second and third in the Kevin McManus race also showed ability at the Tipperary track. Cuan Na Grai was an impressive winner of the Tipperary Festival 18th and 19th July Hurdle in June, while Fosters Cross went on to win the Tipperary Supporters Club Joe Mac Novice Hurdle on Super Sunday. In second place that day was Henry De Bromhead’s Loosen My Load and he went on to win the Grade 2 Sharp Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham’s November meeting. So the Tipperary form has worked out really well.
It would be remiss not to mention the prolific winning mare For Bill. When she won the Mares Point-To-Point INH Flat Race at Tipperary on April 23rd, it was the start of a brilliant campaign. She had already won two point-to-points for trainer Michael Winters and octogenarian-owner Donie Sheehan from Killarney. Donie was a selector with the Kerry team which won the All Ireland in 1975 and he was quite emotional when For Bill obliged at Tipperary. The mare has since gone on to win four more races and has now won six races in succession. Jockey Mikey O’Connor has struck up a wonderful partnership with the classy mare.
When Paddy Pub won the Glenview and Rathbarry Studs Certified Hunters Chase at Tipperary in April, it was the start of a successful run. The Kieran Purcell trained gelding went on to win a hunters chase at Down Royal and later that month he won the Conyngham Cup at Punchestown. He was successful in a handicap chase at Limerick in November, but his best performance was reserved for the Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown when he finished fourth. It all started at Tipperary in a hunters chase.
Horses who were successful on the flat at Tipperary also prospered as the season progressed. Aidan O’Brien’s Viscount Nelson won the Coolmore Hurricane Run Listed Stakes over seven furlongs and was then touched off in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster by the highly-rated Poet’s Voice with Frankie Dettori on board.
Edward Lynam’s Duff won the Group 3 Coolmore Stud House Of Champion Stakes beating Dohassa and Three Rocks. He was also successful in the Ballycorus Stakes at Leopardstown and the Listed Sunbury Stakes at Doncaster.
On that same day local trainer David Marnane’s Santo Padre won the valuable Ladbrokes Portland Handicap. He had shown his ability at Tipperary when winning the West Tipperary Mental Health Association Handicap over five furlongs.
Jim Bolger’s Three Rocks had a very good season. He was an impressive winner of the Captain Marvelous Race over an extended seven furlongs at the track and he completed a season’s four-timer when winning theGroup3 Keeneland Minstrel Stakes at the Curragh.
So once again it pays to follow the form of horses that run at Tipperary. Could The Friends Of Tipperary Hurdle winner Go Native climax a wonderful season by winning the Champion Hurdle and the million pound bonus?
Manager Peter Roe commented that it was quite a successful year considering the climatic and economic conditions that prevailed and his wish for 2010 is to ensure that all customers will get value for money.
Brendan O’Ruairc (Chairman of Irish Racing Writers Association).