Suprise Package turns out again at Ballinrobe tomorrow; comments are the same as at Leopardstown the last day: he is working well and seems happy and will benefit from a race more than a gallop at home. It’s not the strongest race and he could well still win, but this should get him fully ready for the long season in front of him.
I only just realized that he has finished 6th in his last three races and that tomorrow he is carrying the number 6 cloth. Six is the symbol for completeness so hopefully this will complete his fitness program.
The two main dangers tomorrow are Banned and Wasthatok but both would prefer better ground in my opinion; that gives us a bit of a chance. Derek O’Connor who rode him last time, jumped off and said dropping to 1m 4f and softer ground would benefit him significantly. Well, he’s got both tomorrow, so we’ll see.
As an aside Jane Mangan, who I have always thought astute and discerning, before the Leopardstown race commented that Suprise Package, typical of a Peter Fahey horse, was looking a million dollars and was in the colours of owner, Paul Leech. A friend of mine bizarrely commented that she was making me sound as famous as JP. If only I knew who this JP is…..
In a blog where I am struggling to reach my self-imposed 800-1000 word number, Peter has not helped by putting up Ben Coen to ride him. This is nothing against Ben who is a good rider and is 5th in the jockey’s championship; it’s just that a jockey like Dylan Browne McMonagle uses up so many more characters. You can get three Ben’s for one Dylan!
Some of you may also be wondering, given the cost of ownership, why we should be trekking all the way to Ballinrobe (256 mile round trip) when we could have entered him at the Curragh today (22 mile round trip). While I would love to claim that we have prescient weather forecasting skills (racing at the Curragh has been abandoned) the real answer is that we thought the Ballinrobe race would be weaker. If you have never been to Ballinrobe you really should go. Everybody goes on and on about Killarney racecourse but I, despite loving that part of Ireland, was pretty disappointed and felt it did not live up to the hype. Ballinrobe, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise on my first visit and that feeling has never changed on many subsequent visits. It is a well-run and scenic course.
Once again, I won’t be there tomorrow. I have Audit and Board meetings this week and have to be around for them. The good news, if you can call it that, is that missing two consecutive races has hardened my desire to retire soon so that I do not have any unnecessary conflicts. Of course, there is no pressure on Peter to do anything to make it more affordable to retire; on the contrary, he is the one who has caused me to delay it this long!!
All that said, I will definitely be at his next race (wink)
There’s been a lot of publicity and controversy regarding HRI (horse Racing Ireland) and the IHRB (Irish Horseracing and Regulatory Board) in recent weeks. I am not going to comment on the issues but will recite my HRI story; you will be the judge as to whether things could have been a whole lot worse (or better) if things had worked out differently:
Back in 2015/2016, HRI posted the CFO position on their website; it stated that strong commercial and financial experience were required and that a passion for horse racing would be beneficial. Without wishing to sound in any way bitter (and failing miserably) I would have thought that my years as a CFO/COO of international companies with revenues ranging from €6 - €14bn and store locations of up to 15000 would stand me in good stead against candidates who did not display any prior interest in racing, had only worked in Ireland/UK and whose company had less that 100 locations.
In the event, I was left swiped unceremoniously while my cover letter was still wet. In retrospect I was naïve: the mistake I made was to offer to pay for my own relocation from America when, I have come to learn, I should have said “I will not only hide any excessive relocation costs you offer, but will refuse to answer any legitimate questions”
Then again, I also mentioned I had a horse in training with Peter and Ber so……..??
OK – so 774 words in (sorry, that should have read seven hundred and seventy four words) I am almost there, so time to provide a Freedom to Dream update. The great news is that he scoped well the other day and it appears that the treatment has worked. We will continue with the medication but will wean him off it over the next couple of weeks; the withdrawal period is 72 hours so we will time it right up to three days before the race which, right now, could be as early as the 2nd week of August.
I will provide an update on plans for both horses after tomorrow’s run; we just want Suprise Package to enjoy himself and come back safe and sound. Let’s get tomorrow out of the way. It’s been a frustrating 15 months or so, but I am back to feeling really positive about the coming year. Fingers crossed we get a clear run now.