Leading Ladies Living the Dream

If ever a horse should be the poster boy for the rewards of racehorse ownership, then Clondaw Warrior (Ire) (Overbury {Ire}) should be that star. This 9-year-old gelding has brought untold excitement, joy and adventure to his owners, the four-strong 'Act D Wagg' syndicate, and as an added bonus, he has more than paid for the unforgettable experiences during the few years these racing warriors have been together as owners. The journey began exactly two years ago when Clondaw Warrior made his debut for his new connections by winning a modest flat handicap at Tramore when rated a mere 52. The most recent instalment saw the Willie Mullins trainee finish a gallant second to Da Big Hoss (Lemon Drop Kid) in the GIII American St Leger at Arlington. However, in between he has proved himself a versatile winning machine that has danced many dances at some of Europe's best known racing stages.

The name of the syndicate gives no hint to the identity of the four ladies involved rather to what they have in common. They are all directly connected to the racing industry in most part through the exploits of their husbands. Tamso Doyle is the unofficial spokesperson for the syndicate, not surprising really, given she was PR manager for Horse Racing Ireland for many years. Her co-owners in the horse are Gillian Walsh, Aine Casey and Aisling Gannon. Gillian is the wife of Ruby, the flawless jumps jockey who deployed one of his many magical rides when sneaking home Clondaw Warrior in the G1 Guinness Galway Hurdle last month. Aine, who manages Burberry Ireland in Brown Thomas, is the wife of David Casey, who retired last year from a highly successful career as a jumps jockey that saw him bag dozens of Grade 1 winners, many for his long time boss Willie Mullins, for whom he now works as an assistant trainer. Aisling, an interior designer, is married to well-known ubiquitous racegoer Michael 'Chips' Gannon, while Tamso, still adopting her unmarried moniker due to her burgeoning PR agency, is married to David Cox , the 'Baroda' from the major sales consignor 'Baroda & Colbinstown'.

So, rewind back a few years and the ladies are enjoying a glass or two in the owners' and trainers' carpark at Royal Ascot thinking, how much fun would it be to have a runner here. The seed was sown; Tamso takes up the story, “Yes, the idea was at Royal Ascot. We love going there so much and thought it would be fabulous to have a runner. Little did we know that he would go on to win there on the opening day and turn into the most incredible horse, he's one in a million.”

Clondaw Warrior did indeed fulfil his owners' dream of a Royal Ascot win, when landing the Ascot S. under Ryan Moore in 2015. But how did they come upon the horse and what did they see that others didn't?

“Mags O'Toole bought Clondaw Warrior for us for relatively small money,” explained Doyle. “He was well handicapped when we bought him and we hoped he could recapture some of the form he showed in his bumpers, but we never imagined he could scale the heights he has.”

Formerly trained by John 'Shark' Hanlon, Clondaw Warrior actually began life in point-to-points, not managing to win in two attempts, but showing ability nonetheless. He quickly made up into a smart sort for Hanlon, winning three bumpers and a hurdle and he looked to have a bright career ahead of him before losing his form.

As a result, the owners and Willie Mullins did indeed begin with a well-handicapped horse. However, before a Royal Ascot plan could be hatched, Mullins needed to sort out that overly low handicap mark so he would be guaranteed a run. His cakewalk at Tramore signalled a 22lb rise in the handicap to 74, but somehow he got beaten a couple of days later at Roscommon with a 5lb penalty, which technically left him 17lb well in. He resumed winning ways at Galway the following month, the first of his three victories there, and a late-season win in the November H. at Leopardstown saw him finish the season rated 89. Royal Ascot was in sight. Rather than give him the winter off after a busy summer and autumn, Mullins resumed his hurdling career and despite not getting his head in front, he was placed in valuable hurdles at Cheltenham in November, Fairyhouse at Easter and at the Punchestown Festival. He arrived at Royal Ascot for the 2 1/2-mile marathon a fit horse with an unexposed handicap mark and a world-class jockey aboard and it all went pretty much to script. He bagged another big pot when winning the Guinness Premier H. at Galway a month later, confirming his love of that venue, and indeed, of the sponsors. That victory saw his handicap mark rise to 107 and Mullins decided it was time to let him take his chance in pattern company.

The G2 Doncaster Cup was the chosen event and he showed he belonged in that grade finishing second, beaten three- quarters of a length by the giant Pallasator (GB) (Motivator {GB}). Just to keep the syndicate from thinking this was an easy game, Clondaw Warrior finished off 2015 with two underwhelming performances, albeit in good company and on great occasions, in the G1 Qatar Prix du Cadran on Arc Day and in the G2 QIPCO Long Distance Cup on British Champions Day.

So team Clondaw could have been forgiven for thinking their star could be difficult to place in 2016. Not a bit of it. After a winter break, Mullins produced him in great shape for a G2 Hurdle at Fairyhouse over Easter and reunited with Ruby Walsh, he benefitted from another masterclass from the jockey who gave the inside to no-one and utilised the horse's flat speed for an easy win. The plan was in place for the €300,000 Galway Hurdle, but not before another pit stop along the way at Royal Ascot. This time Doyle, Walsh, Gannon and Casey and their supporters had to endure the whole week of racing before watching their star compete in the final race on the final day, the Queen Alexandra S. where he finished a gallant third. That gave Mullins six weeks to put the finishing touches to him for Galway's feature event. Clondaw Warrior read the script–he had already made no secret of his affinity for winning at the track–and the only fear the trainer had was that he was racing off his highest ever handicap mark. Then again, Ruby Walsh is worth at least 7lbs to any horse, but even so, he had to use all his guile to come from an unpromising early position to grab the spoils and send the horse's prizemoney haul to almost €500,000. It was easy to see post race that this latest win meant a lot to connections and Tamso Doyle agrees.

“Galway this summer was the ultimate highlight for me as we were all there together, the buzz was incredible, I knew the sponsors from my old days in HRI and then to share the win with Gillian, Aine and Aisling and celebrate together with our other halves was amazing.

She continued, “For me, having Ruby on board made it the best win, he gave the horse a sensational ride, but I think Gillian would say she loved the Royal Ascot win more and found it a lot less nerve-wracking having Ryan Moore on board rather than her husband!”

Doyle is keen to give credit to the undoubted training skills of Willie Mullins and the whole team behind the success of the horse.

“Willie Mullins has to be a genius, to be able to switch the horse from flat to national hunt and back to the flat again. Ruby and David Casey have great vision and come up with these great plans with Willie, it's been amazing, so much credit goes to the Closutton team including Willie's wife Jackie.”

The vision Doyle mentions was evident when Mullins and the team decided Chicago would be next port of call for Clondaw Warrior after Galway. Arlington Million Day and the GIII American St. Leger was the challenge and their gumption almost paid off with another brilliant display from the horse. However one thing was missing from Chicago; most of the ownership team.

Doyle explains,” As you could see from the Galway photos Aisling was heavily pregnant and she actually had a baby boy the weekend of Arlington, so she had a good excuse not to be there. David [Cox] and I were in Deauville for racing and the yearling sales and we had booked that a long time ago so couldn't really change plans. David Casey went over with Willie and he was brilliant at sending us pictures and between our WhatsApp group and Twitter we had lots of updates.”

The horse's performance at Arlington now has the team thinking about an even more audacious plan, the G1 Melbourne Cup in November. However trainer Willie Mullins feels he still has to try and eek out some more improvement in Clondaw Warrior just to guarantee a start in the race, easier said than done with a 9-year-old facing his 40th start. When quizzed about the horse's Melbourne credentials after Chicago, Mullins said, “I'm hoping he's good enough. When he's closing on the Belmont Gold Cup winner [Da Big Hoss], that has to mean he's good enough to go to Melbourne. He might have one more run in England or Ireland. We'll see. He'll have to improve a little in the weights to get into the race, but we'd love to go if we can.”

And if the horse lines up in Flemington Nov. 1 you can be sure he won't be lacking in supporters.

“Melbourne would be quite amazing, said Doyle. “We all have young families so it would take some organising, but I don't think you could miss an opportunity of a lifetime if he did run. I have been there a couple of times travelling with Government Ministers for business and David Casey was there last year with Max Dynamite, but the horse still has to get in to the race. Then there is the huge travel expenses to get him out there, but we will do whatever Willie decides, it has worked very well so far!