Harrington looking forward to Galway Festival
Jessica Harrington plans to have 12 runners at this week's Galway Festival Photo: ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
Having saddled over 35 winners at Galway, Co Kildare-based Jessica Harrington is an expert on the Festival, which gets underway next week, and she spoke to BOYLE Sports in a brand new interview ahead of the meeting.
She said:
• I will have about twelve runners at Galway - you need luck because the track is so unique
• Being the first woman to win the Galway Hurdle is my favourite memory
• Racing in Ireland is dominated by the O'Briens, which can be frustrating
• As a trainer, you get better with experience - the main thing is not to repeat mistakes
• We couldn't believe it when Barnavara sold for €4.8m
I should have about 12 there this year. They will be mainly on the Flat, although I’ll have maybe a couple of jumpers if the races fill; Jirash is one and Anna Run for Queens.
Iron Fist and Norwalk Havoc are in the Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap on Tuesday. But Norwalk Havoc won’t run unless it is very soft. We seem to be having this weather for all of this week, then the heavens could open. You just don’t know.
Iron Fist will probably run. He was very good until he went to York and ran away with Oisin Orr. Up until then, he had been running very well in two very good handicaps and had gone up to 95. Each time, the draw killed him. I can’t say how he'll go because you need a lot of luck around Galway.
I have had a lot of fun there and we've won some good races there. I love going there, but you have got to have the right horse because the track is so unique. You've really got to know that.
Oh So Grumpy winning the Galway Hurdle probably back in 1994 with Mark Dwyer on board; it was a bit of a breakthrough, and I was the first woman to win the race from memory. Also, Modem winning the Amateur race with Kate, my daughter, riding in 2015. Those are the two with the greatest memories.
It's dominated by the O’Briens; first, second, and third in practically every race, which can be frustrating for the rest of us. But actually, we mustn't complain. We have just got to get better horses.
As a trainer, you get better with experience - the main thing is not to repeat mistakes As your career progresses, you get better as a trainer because you're more experienced. You still make mistakes, but you hopefully learn from them. The one thing you try to learn from is your mistakes. That's the main thing, and try not to repeat them. But, of course, we do!
We do the same things again and again and I say afterwards, "I shouldn't have done that." We're always saying we shouldn't have done that and we shouldn't have done this. You try and learn from it, but you know, it is what it is, and you can't undo what's done.
That was just amazing because after she won the Group 1, she was always going to get sold. We thought she might make €2.5m - €3m. We just couldn't believe it when she made €4.8m. And she had only cost us €70,000. And she won a bit of prize money too.
That is the one you want and the reason we set up the Alpha Syndicate. We said one day we'll hit the jackpot. And we did. You won’t do it every year, but when you get lucky it is amazing.
