Jarlath Fahey: trainer in form with Royal Ascot dreams

Boher Road went to Killarney last Tuesday and Jarlath Fahey was optimistic. The Vadamos gelding had been good in winning at Navan almost three weeks earlier, and his trainer knew that he had him in good form. Up in trip, up in the handicap, softer ground, Fahey was happy that his horse would handle all of it.

“The handicapper raised him by 7lb for his Navan win,” the trainer says.  “You complain about your horse going up in the handicap, but if you’re not going up in the handicap, you’re not winning, you’re not running well. We were hopeful all right that he would cope with the higher mark.”

At Navan, Ronan Whelan had bounced Boher Road out of the gate and quickly allowed him settle into his racing rhythm in front. He had stretched his field out down the back straight before allowing the field concertina up around him as they raced around the home turn.  He hadn’t really asked his horse for his effort until they raced inside the two-furlong marker and, when he did, Boher Road picked up well and stretched away to win nicely.

On Tuesday at Killarney, it was as-you-were at Navan. Longer trip, softer ground, it didn’t matter. Boher Road enjoyed himself again bowling along in front. And again, Ronan Whelan remained motionless until they reached the two-furlong pole, by which stage all of his rivals were rowing away in behind. Then he stretched away inside the final furlong. He was even more impressive at Killarney than he had been at Navan.

“We have always thought a lot of this fellow,” says Fahey.  “But our horses just weren’t firing last year.”

They are firing now all right. A double at Cork on Friday evening – Grand City Hall in the six-furlong maiden and Granite Bay in the three-year-olds’ 10-furlong handicap – means that three of Jarlath Fahey’s last five runners have won.  

“We were delighted with both horses at Cork. Grand City Hall had the form to run a good race, and he’s from a good family.  There’s a three-year-olds’ handicap at The Curragh on Irish Guineas weekend and he could go for that. Granite Bay is entered at Roscommon on Monday and he will go there all being well. He will be going up in trip to 12 furlongs, but that should be fine for him. He’s strengthening up all the time.”

Bred by his owner Pat McCarthy, the five-year-old gelding won his maiden over a mile at The Curragh as a three-year-old on just his third run.

“Pat decided to keep this fellow,” says Jarlath.  “He decided that he wanted to have a good horse.  We’d love to ride him in behind, use his turn of foot, but he seems to be happier settling in front.”

They thought that jumping hurdles might help him settle a little better through his races, but they had the opposite effect. He does it all with enthusiasm, so they just allow him.  In his last four wins, his maiden hurdle at Wexford and his three handicap wins on the Flat, Boher Road has made all the running.

There was that blip at Fairyhouse at Easter when, bowling along happily in front as usual in a novices’ handicap hurdle, he ducked out to his right at the third last flight.

“We still don’t know why he did that,” says Jarlath.  “He can go to his right over his hurdles, but he had never done anything like that before. And even going to the hurdle, he wasn’t weaving around or anything. It was just one of those things.”

It could be for luck. Of course, we don’t know how Boher Road would have fared in that novices’ hurdle had he jumped the third last flight well and gone to the home turn with a significant lead but, given the strength with which he has gone to the line in his two flat handicaps since, there is every chance that he would have at least gone close to winning.  And if he had, he probably would have stayed over hurdles.

Strange the way things work out. Now, he has won his last two on the Flat, improving from a handicap rating of 81 to a handicap rating of 97, and his trainer is looking at the Ascot Stakes.

Jarlath Fahey has previous in the Ascot Stakes.  It was in 2016 that he sent Jennies Jewel to Ascot and, under a perfectly-judged ride from Ronan Whelan, she made all the running to win the Ascot Stakes.

“That was brilliant,” recalls the trainer.  “Royal Ascot is unique.  It’s a fantastic week, even if we don’t have a runner there.  The occasion, the pageantry, the quality of the racing.  To have a horse going there with a chance was great.  To win was unbelievable.”

It’s not easy to make all the running on Ascot’s round course, but Jennies Jewel had a similar racing style to Boher Road’s, and Ronan Whelan got the fractions spot on in the 2016 Ascot Stakes.  

“The step up to two and a half miles won’t be a problem for Boher Road,” says his trainer.  “He can set a good tempo and he sees out his races well. We’d be hoping that he would be going there with his chance.”