Under The Radar: five to note in the yard of Denis Hogan

The new year has started with the same momentum as that with which the old year ended for Denis Hogan.

He sent Cousin Kateto Limerick on St Stephen’s Day for a mares’ handicap hurdle, which she duly won. The trainer himself then rode Frankie John to victory in the two-and-a-half-mile maiden hurdle on the final day of Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival, when the Walk In The Park gelding got the better of Jalon D’Oudairies, the pair of them finishing clear of their rivals.

Then he sent two horses to Cork on Saturday, Tatateo and Cousin Kate, and they both won.

That took Hogan's tally of winners for this National Hunt season to 13, almost twice as many as he has had in the entire of either of the past two seasons.

His horses are zinging on the Flat, too. Six winners at Dundalk in November, and two more in December took his total number of winners for 2025 on the level in Ireland to 34, more than he had had in any full year since 2020.

He has lots to look forward to now as we move into 2026. He told us more about five of his team

She’s a massive improver. We didn’t really see her doing what she has done earlier in the year, we thought that she might win a small race, but she has gone beyond our expectations.

She won a maiden for horses who hadn’t been placed at Tramore in early October, and she came out of that with a rating of 100. We were delighted with her win at Limerick on St Stephen’s Day, and she improved from that to Cork on Saturday, when she was impressive in winning another mares’ handicap hurdle.

The handicapper gave her 10lb for that, which I suppose was fair enough.

She’ll go for the Paddy and Maureen Mullins Mares’ Handicap Hurdle now at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown. She has a massive page, she’s out of Augusta Kate, a Grade One winner, and she’s a sister to Baby Kate and to Amen Kate, who won a Listed mares’ hurdle at Thurles just before Christmas.

We’re looking forward to seeing how she goes at Leopardstown.

Frankie John was very good in winning his maiden hurdle at Leopardstown the other day. There were good bumper horses in that race, and I was delighted with the way that he ran on.

He had run well in the Monksfield Hurdle at Navan on his previous run, and the form of his run in a maiden hurdle at Galway in October, when he finished second to Doctor Steinberg, was enhanced when the winner won the Grade Two Navan Novice Hurdle next time.

I declared him for the re-scheduled Ballymore Hurdle at Naas on Friday.

It’s a fairly quick turnaround, but he’s so well in himself that we said that we would let him take his chance. I didn’t have him over-cooked going to Leopardstown, and he could come forward from that. Friday’s race is obviously a good race, but our fellow deserves to take his chance in it. I think that he’ll be able to stay further than two and a half miles too in time.

He’s a nice horse we got from Ballydoyle. He’s a son of Wootton Bassett, from the family of Finsceal Beo, who won a two-year-old maiden for Aidan O’Brien at Punchestown in September last year.

He made his debut for us in a three-year-olds’ maiden hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas, and I liked his run. We weren’t sure if he would get the trip, and we rode him accordingly, but he stuck to his task well. It was an encouraging run. He’ll go for another maiden hurdle now, he’s entered in a maiden hurdle at Punchestown next Monday, and he could take his chance in that.

Nothing went right for him at Leopardstown on St Stephen’s Day. I ended up riding three different races on him. We were in front early, and then we were headed and then Jack got first run on us on Spinola Bay. It was a messy race.

He came out of the race well though, so we decided to let him take his chance at Cork on Saturday. He was taking on Spinola Bay again, but he was 7lb higher and we had Michael Kenneally taking 7lb off, so we were effectively a stone better off. Plus we knew that he was better than he was able to show at Leopardstown. We were delighted with his win on Saturday, under a very good ride from Michael.

He was a fairly cheaply-bought horse, we got him for 8,000 guineas at the Tattersalls Autumn Sale in October last year, and he has done well. He has been moved up to a mark of 120 now, but he could still be competitive off that mark. He could be a horse for a handicap at Leopardstown next, over two miles or two and a half miles. He wouldn’t want it too soft though. He likes a bit of nice ground.

He’s nine years old now, but he’s fairly lightly raced for his age. He had a setback after he ran in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot in 2024, and we have had to be patient with him, but it’s great to have him back.

He ran well on the Flat at Dundalk in early December when he finished third in a handicap over a mile and a half. That was a really nice comeback run. He’s rated 100 on the Flat. We had the option to go to Dubai with him this winter, but we decided to stay at home with him. 

He jumps well, and he’s a dual purpose horse, so he has loads of options. He’s built like a jumper. He’s tough, he’s well named. He made his hurdling debut in a maiden hurdle at Leopardstown on St Stephen’s Day, and he ran well to finish fourth behind Murat. He would have been fifth if El Cairos hadn’t come down at the last, but it was still a really encouraging run. He was keen early on, but he travelled well around the home turn and he stuck to his task well. He jumps well and he could do well over hurdles. He’s entered in another maiden hurdle at Punchestown on Sunday.