Ian Donoghue: five to note this Jumps season

At the start of this season, Ian Donogue set himself a target of 20 winners for the 2025/26 National Hunt season.  It was a big ask.  He had eight winners in Ireland last season and one in Britain.  Twenty winners would be an increase of over 100 per cent.

Having just moved into December, he has already saddled 16 winners in Ireland so far this season.  On Wednesday, he took three horses to Britain, two of them won and one of them, Dunboyne – the rejuvenated Dunboyne, winner of the Ulster National last season as well as fourth in the Irish National and third in the Troytown Chase this season – finished second.

When Small Town Hero won the three-mile handicap hurdle at Haydock on Wednesday, he was recording his fifth win from six runs since he joined Ian Donoghue.  When Hitthehayson won the two and a half mile handicap chase, he brought his record to four from five since joining his current trainer.

That’s 18 winners this season so far for the County Meath trainer.  He says that his new goal for the year is 30.  He will probably reach that too.

She didn’t do badly in Graded races for us last season and it was nice that she got off the mark on her chasing debut at Gowran on her first run this season.  We were delighted with her that day, Keith (Donoghue, brother, rider) said that she had plenty left.

She’s a really nice mare and it looks like fences have made her even faster.  She goes to Cork on Sunday for the Grade Two mares’ novice chase and she goes there in good form. 

She hasn’t done much galloping since Gowran, we’re letting the races bring her forward.  We’re hoping that she’ll be an Arkle horse and we won’t be afraid to take on the geldings.

He has been a really good horse for us.  He won a novices’ handicap chase at the Cheltenham October meeting last year and he finished fifth in the Ryanair Handicap Chase at Leopardstown in February at the Dublin Racing Festival.

Then we took him to Aintree for the Topham Chase and he ran a big race there to finish second to Gentleman De Mee, only headed on the run-in after being hampered by a loose horse.

He fell in a handicap hurdle on his debut this season at Cheltenham's October meeting, but he is in good form now.  The Topham will be his main aim again this year.  He’s at his best on good ground.  He might go for the 2m1f handicap chase at Leopardstown over Christmas next if the ground isn’t too soft.

We have always liked this fellow.  We hoped that he would run well on his racecourse debut in a bumper at Navan on Troytown Chase weekend, and he did.  He was only headed inside the final furlong, but he kept on well to finish second.

We’ll go jumping with him now and we’re looking forward to seeing how he goes over hurdles.  He could have his first run over obstacles in a maiden hurdle at Leopardstown at Christmas, possibly over two and a half miles.

He has been great for us since we got him.  He has won five of his six races for us, four handicap hurdles and one handicap chase, and we don’t know where his ceiling is.  

He just keeps on galloping.  When he won the conditional jockeys’ handicap hurdle at Haydock on Wednesday, Conor (Stone-Walsh) said that he could have gone around again.  But he quickened and lengthened up the straight too.  He hit 34mph on the run to the second last flight.

We might look at a Pertemps qualifier for him now.  He’s a point-to-point winner and he has a fair level of ability.  We might have to go across the water again for a Pertemps qualifier, but we wouldn't mind that.

We were very happy with her victory in the mares’ handicap chase at Fairyhouse at the weekend.  She jumped well and she travelled well and she stayed on strongly to win nicely.

She was beaten at Cheltenham in October, but we got the tactics wrong there, we rode her too far forward, they went very hard early on and she just faded from the second last.  We decided that we’d be more patient with her on Saturday and it worked out well.

She should continue to progress now over fences and her rating over hurdles is lower than her rating over fences, so she could go over hurdles again soon. 

The Paddy and Maureen Mullins Mares’ Handicap Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown is a possible target.