Paul Nolan: Outdoor life suiting progressive An Peann Darg

An Peann Dearg was travelling well under Sean O’Keeffe, fifth place and travelling, when they went into the fog and headed into the gloom to face up to the third last fence.  You couldn’t even see the third last fence as you watched on the screen, you could only hope that he jumped it well and turned left towards the second last.

You watch the screen in hope as you wait for the sound and the vision to return.  First you see the white blaze on the leader, Mr Saxobeat, then you see the others, shapes at first, shadows, the second last fence behind them, and you look for your horse.  And there he is, still with them, still fifth, Sean O’Keeffe just starting to get to work on him.

The rider moved his horse towards the near side on the run to the final fence in order to get a clear shot at it.  An Peann Dearg was still only in a share of fifth place jumping the obstacle, but he was just a length and a half behind the leader and he had momentum up.  Still three horses in front of him half-way up the run-in, but it’s a long old pull up the hill at Leopardstown and An Peann Dearg gobbled it up.  Four horses in a line 50 yards from the winning post, five horses within a half a length of each other, but Paul Nolan’s horse stuck his head out, strongest of them all, and got home by a short one.

A winner at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival.

“He got 6lb for winning by a short head!” says Paul Nolan now.  “But I loved the way that he hit the line.  If they had gone another five strides after the winning line, he’d have won by a length.”

The trainer took his horse back to Leopardstown, to the Dublin Racing Festival earlier this month, for the big Ryanair Handicap Chase.  Same course and distance as the race at Christmas, but up in grade, a 0-150 handicap chase, up in prize money and racing off a 6lb higher mark.

Paul Nolan was hopeful, not confident. You couldn’t be confident in a race as competitive as that, but he knew that his horse was in good form going into it.

An Peann Dearg can jump a little to his right, but that was not a negative on the day.  The best of the ground seemed to be towards the outside, and Sean O’Keeffe was happy to allow him go that way.  No fog this time, but same ride, mid-division and stalking and delivered late, and same result, only more emphatic.  An Peann Dearg came away from his rivals up the run-in to win by seven lengths.

It was another career-best by the horse owned in partnership by Anne Coffey, Susan Spence and Sonja Buckley.  The best performances of his career up to this point following five weeks on from the best performance of his career up to that point, and his rate of improvement may not have plateaued yet.  Nolan and his team have changed a few little things with him at home, and he is obviously thriving for the changes.

“He lives outside now, with another horse,” says the trainer.  “He’s outside in the paddock the whole time, and he seems to love that.  The only time he’s in is when we take him in to put a saddle on him.”

You rug him up well, make sure that he is warm, two or three rugs if you need to, but outside is where he wants to be.

“I’m not sure what it is” says Paul.  “He is a bit nervy, he can be free-ish in his races, but he’s an awful lot calmer now than he used to be.  He just seems to enjoy being outside.”

An Peann Dearg probably would have won his point-to-point at Ballyarthur in March 2022 had he not come down at the final fence.  Trained by Harry Kelly then, he joined Paul Nolan shortly afterwards, but he didn’t make his debut under Rules until a year and a half after that.

“He just had a little bit of a setback after we got him,” says Paul.  “So we gave him time.  We always liked him, but we didn’t delay too long over hurdles.  He ran well at Limerick on his second run over fences, and he ran well at Wexford.  He has really come into his own lately though.  His whole demeanour.  He’s just more carefree now.  Less worried.”

The Grand Annual at Cheltenham is on his trainer’s radar, although he does also have the option of the novices’ handicap chase - the Jack Richards Limited Novices' Handicap Chase.

“He’s probably going to have to improve again, but that might come with confidence in his jumping.  He’s probably going to have to get a bit faster through the air.  But he deserves his chance.”

It looks like

Feet Of A Dancer

is on track too for the Pertemps Final at Cheltenham, a race that Nolan won in 2021 with Mrs Milner.

“She’s a little bit like Mrs Milner,” says her trainer, who recorded his first Cheltenham Festival winner in 2005, when Nina Carberry drove Dabiroun home in the inaugural running of the Fred Winter Hurdle.  

“She was just a little keen last time at Leopardstown.  I probably shouldn't have run her at Limerick in October, the ground just wasn’t soft enough for her.  But she’s in really good form at home.  The softer the ground at Cheltenham, the better for her.”

It could be a busy enough Cheltenham Festival for Paul Nolan.  Park Of Kings could go for the Martin Pipe Hurdle,

Daily Present

could go back for the Kim Muir again, a race in which he finished fifth last season, Conyers Hill could go for the Grand Annual or for the novices’ handicap chase, where he could be joined by Release The Beast.  Sandor Clegane has options too.  

Rock On By, winner of her bumper at Galway in October, may wait until Punchestown, while Farfromnowhere, unbeaten after winning her point-to-point, her bumper and her maiden hurdle, may wait until later in the season too.  There’s a nice team of horses at Toberona House.

“We’re happy enough with how the season is going,” says the trainer.  “I suppose we have been a little bit unlucky, a few horses have had little setbacks, but that’s the nature of it.  We’re looking forward to the rest of the season now.”