Under The Radar: five to follow from Sarah Connell

It’s about 400 kilometres from Tallow in County Waterford to Down Royal racecourse in County Down. Through Fermoy if you want, up the M8 to the M7 and onto the M50, before hooking up with the M1 and making your way north from there.  Or you can go via the M9 if you prefer, up by Gowran and Leighlinbridge. That way is five kilometres shorter, but it takes ten minutes longer. Either way, you still have to travel nearly the full length of the island.

But there was a race at Down Royal that Sarah Connell thought was tailor-made for Claude, so she decided that she would make the trip.

“There wasn’t really anything else for him anywhere for a while,” says the trainer.  “To watch him running over two miles, you’d say that he’d stay two and a half, but he doesn't.  And we thought that the track would suit him well, that an extended two miles at Down Royal could be ideal.”

Claude has his own way of doing things. He ran well at Ballinrobe in September to finish fourth in a handicap chase, outrunning his odds by a fair way.  They thought that he would go well again at Killarney in early October, but he missed the break and never got involved.  They went to Cork a week later.

“We were wondering what he would do next!” says his trainer.

 He was very good in Cork.  He jumped off nicely, travelled well into the home straight, and stayed on strongly from the second last fence to win well. 

Connell greets Claude after victory at Down Royal (Photo HEALY RACING)

 A 9lb hike for that win took him up to a mark of 109 and into a better race.

 He jumped off smartly at Down Royal, he was in front after they had gone ten yards but, by the time they landed over the first fence, he was eighth of the nine runners.  Aidan Kelly had to give him a squeeze as they raced up past the stands with a circuit to go.

 “I was thinking that it was going to be a long drive home,” Connell said.

Last as they raced down the back straight, it was only when they turned and started to race up the side of the track that things began to shape a little more promisingly.

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Claude passed one of his rivals, and closed on the main body of the field. Kelly took him to the outside and, in a heartbeat, he was back on the bridle and making ground.  

He jumped into sixth place over the third last and continued to close on the leaders. He passed four more rivals on the run down the hill and picked up at the second last in a share of the lead.  From there, he dug deep.  He jumped the final fence a half a length in front of Costacurta, and he maintained that advantage all the way to the winning line.

“Aidan gave him a lovely ride,” says Connell.  “We’ve always known that he has ability.  He won his maiden hurdle for Joseph O’Brien, he was rated 116 or 117 when he came to me.  We were delighted when Michael (Ryan) asked us if we would take him.  He’s such a well-bred horse.”

Gary O'Brien spoke with Connell after Promontory had provided her with a first success

A son of Caravaggio, a grandson of the top-class mare Finsceal Beo out of An Cailin Orga, a winner over ten furlongs and rated 90 on the Flat at her peak, Claude is not obviously bred for chasing, but his schooling has always been good.  He has now won two of his four chases, and is on an upward trajectory.

Connell is on a good upward trajectory herself. Only a licensed trainer since 2024, her first winner was Promontory, who won a maiden hurdle at Limerick in April 2025.  Less than a year later, she sent out Malcolm Denmark’s horse to win the Dublin National at Leopardstown.

“There were always horses around at home,” she says.  “Mainly broodmares.  I started to ride out a bit for Liam Burke and I got into it that way.  I took out my licence initially so that I could train a few of our own, and it just went from there.”

The Connell family have produced plenty of horses who have gone on to big things on the track, with Getabird, Search For Glory, Ballyadam among them.

They looked after horses for Denmark before they would go to their trainers.  Promontory had his issues, he was eight when he got to a point at which he was ready to race, and his owner was happy to allow Sarah have a go at running him herself.

The Connell family produced the top-class Ballyadam (focusonracing.com)

“It was a big day obviously, when Promontory won the Dublin National,” she says.  He ran a fine race too in the Scottish National at Ayr after that last April.  The ground was far softer than ideal for him, and he was right there with the leaders at the third last fence.  He’ll be much better on better ground.”

Two weeks after Promontory won the Dublin National at Leopardstown, she sent out Catchabird, a sister to Getabird, to win her maiden hurdle at Wexford and, four days after that, she sent the Getaway mare to Navan to win a handicap hurdle.  Three winners in the space of three weeks, which took her total number of winners in her career to four.

“It’s going well all right, and we enjoy it,” she says. “That’s the main thing.  We don’t have many horses, we just keep a small number, but they’re going well now and we have a few young horses coming along.  We do most of the work at home here ourselves, I ride them out, and then, when we go away, Aidan (Kelly) or Finny Maguire would meet us there, wherever we are.  They’re a great help.”

She’s on a good road.  And the road back from Down Royal to Tallow wasn’t that long at all.

FIVE TO NOTE

Connell has big targets in mind for Promontory (Healy Racing)

Claude

He was good in winning at Cork, and we were obviously delighted with his win at Down Royal last week.  The handicapper gave him 7lb for that, he’s up to a mark of 116.  He will get into better races off that mark, he might get into the two-mile handicap chase at Leopardstown over Christmas and, if he does, we could go there.

Catchabird

She was a star for us last year, winning at Wexford and Navan.  She’s eight now, but we said that we’d give her another year racing.  She’s really well.  She’s not overly big, so she’s better in better races with lower weights than in a lesser race with a big weight.  She could start off in Navan next weekend.

Promontory

He was great last season. He won the Dublin National and ran well for a long way in the Scottish Grand National on ground that was too soft for him.  He’s not easily trained, but he’s talented.  He should be out again now in the next two or three weeks, all going well. We’ll aim to go back to the Scottish National with him again.  He could go for other staying chases in the spring, a race like the Kim Muir could suit him.  He likes nice ground.

Sandshells

She’s a nice filly, by Moises Has, a half-sister to Sceau Royal, winner of the Game Spirit Chase and the Shloer Chase and third in the Champion Chase.  She’ll probably start off in a bumper in the new year.

Circus Boy

 He’s another nice young horse, a five-year-old by Walk In The Park out of Lounaos, who won the Grade Two juvenile hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas and who finished fourth behind Sizing Europe, Hardy Eustace and Al Eile in the Irish Champion Hurdle.  He’ll hopefully run in a bumper around Christmas time.

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