National treasure
IT'S day one of the Cheltenham Festival and Conor O'Dwyer has three rides on the card: War of Attrition in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, Hardy Eustace in the Champion Hurdle and Back on Top in the Pertemps Hurdle.
Even an optimist like O'Dwyer could not have predicted what was about to unfold. The 33/1 shot War of Attrition is pipped by a neck by Irish banker Brave Inca in the first and then Hardy Eustace also a 33/1 shot wins the Champion Hurdle, beating reigning champion and favourite Rooster Booster in a heart-stopping battle up the famous hill.
For the 38-year-old it was one of those unexpected, joyous days when just everything falls into place and if War of Attrition's second place was a huge shot in the arm, then Hardy Eustace's victory was simple fairytale stuff.
The winners' enclosure at Cheltenham can actually be a very lonely place if you've just ridden an outsider to beat a firm favourite. There can be a sense of antipathy from the massed ranks of punters, however, the crowd immediately picked up on the poignancy behind Hardy Eustace and the terrible tragedy which befell Kieran Kelly, the jockey who'd ridden the horse to victory in the Sun Alliance Hurdle just 12 months previously.
O'Dwyer was expecting to be aboard the horse in the final race of the festival, the County Hurdle on the Thursday.
However, a late change of strategy by trainer Dessie Hughes and owner Lar Byrne, saw them gamble on running the gelding in the Champion proper. The logic was that the horse had won well coming up the hill and, running with blinkers for the first time was expected to sharpen up his jumping against an elite field.
The Irish combination made the pace and, when Rooster Booster made his move, O'Dwyer's horse still had enough gas to fight off the champion's sustained challenge to come home four lengths to the good.
Everyone agreed the horse got an inspired ride from O'Dwyer, but the newspaper angle the following day focused on the tributes paid by connections to Kieran Kelly, who had died after a fall at Kilbeggan five months after his own Cheltenham win.
Today, O'Dwyer is in Thurles, a million miles from the heaving Cheltenham parade ring. His feet, he admits, "have only touched the ground an odd time since Cheltenham, and I'm having trouble getting them to stay there".
"To come home on such a high and then go to Tramore on the Saturday and Downpatrick on Sunday, got the perspective back a little, but we've been having a few parties in between and generally having a ball."
O'Dwyer reckons that there was every reason for the connections to have felt good about their horse's chances, even if thinking about a win was a little too optimistic: "I genuinely thought that if Hardy Eustace got fourth place it would have been a great run from him, but he surprised me. When Rooster Booster came at me at the home turn, it all looked like it was done and dusted, but my fellow found more.
"I knew the way the race had worked out for us that I had enough in the tank to definitely give him a fight. We had gone a nice pace and he jumped super and the blinkers sharpened him up a bit as well. I knew we'd have a battle in the end, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
"I never thought I was going to have a Champion Hurdle to go with Imperial Call's Gold Cup on my CV because it is terribly hard to find a Champion Hurdle horse and especially for someone like me in the twilight of my career. It is even harder to get on those horses, because you need to be on them from when they are young and that's why Hardy Eustace was very much Kieran Kelly's horse and that's why it should have been Kieran's Champion Hurdle. He made the horse and was aboard for his runs over hurdles and made him what he is. All I had to do was sit up and steer."
O'Dwyer is being modest, which is entirely in character for this most agreeable man because no Champion Hurdle is a simple steering job. His was an inspired ride and one which will stand scrutiny against any decent Champion Hurdle victory.
But he admits that the feelgood factor inspired by War of Attrition's performance in the opener was something which helped him get the most from Hardy Eustace.
"War of Attrition was only beaten by a neck by an experienced horse who'd won handicaps. He jumped superbly and fought to the line for me and did his level best, but he just came up against a better one on the day. He'll be a smashing horse next year.
"Going to Cheltenham is always a buzz no matter what horses you're riding. But if you have a couple of live chances it is always better. I went this year with War of Attrition and Hardy Eustace and I was thinking that if either of them were in the first three or four then that would have been great and I'd have come home very, very happy. The way it worked out was just fantastic."
But the focus now shifts to Aintree and O'Dwyer, while not thinking out loud, is certainly considering his prospects.
"Aintree will be intriguing because I have Native Upmanship going for a three-timer in the Martell Cup, the two-and-a-half miler on Friday, and I also ride Le Coudray for Christy Roche in the Grand National. Le Coudray has plenty of weight, but he is a classy animal and he's been schooling very well.
"Native Upmanship has been a magnificent servant, two wins at Aintree and second twice in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham. He never quite got the three miles for us, but he's done us proud.
"Going back to Aintree looking to win for the third time in-a-row is exciting and two-and-a-half miles is his distance. He loves Aintree, he loves the time of the year and everything seems to come right for him, so touch wood, he'll win a third time.
"The preparation has been OK, he won well at Thurles and while he was subsequently beaten in a two mile chase at Naas, which was a little disappointing, he wasn't beaten too far and the distance and the ground were against him. On top of that we have come to the conclusion that he doesn't actually like Naas, so we're not writing too much into that race. We brought him to Naas for a schooling session after that and he didn't like it then either, so we think it is the track and not him.
"He's missed Cheltenham and he will go to Aintree fresh and well. He absolutely loves the place."
As for his National hopes, O'Dwyer once more is not counting any chickens, but he reckons a little luck will go a long way.
"I'd love to win a National, I've always wanted to win one and that would absolutely be the icing on the cake for me. You need a huge amount of luck though."
Despite his long and successful association with Arthur Moore and many other trainers, O'Dwyer is phlegmatic about how much longer his riding career has left to run.
"At this stage of my career I take whatever comes along and had I not taken the ride on Hardy Eustace, someone else would have and that is just the type of game it is. I was just lucky enough it fell to me.
"My association with Arthur Moore came about because Franny Woods was involved in a car crash and he lost the use of his right arm. I'd been riding a few for Arthur and he just said to me that if Franny was not able to come back, then the horses were there to be ridden. Again it was luck. I've been lucky with various jobs throughout my career, just being in the right place at the right time.
"It has been a fantastic career and I wouldn't change a day of it. I'm still enjoying it and I've no thoughts of retiring at the minute. I work with Arthur mainly, but Christy Roche gives me a couple of nice horses to ride and I've a couple of nice ones I ride for Mouse Morris as well. Throw in Hardy Eustace now and it would be very hard for me to walk away from all of that.
"It would be difficult if I only had poor horses and I was only struggling with no-hopers. If that was the case, I'd have given it up by now. The fact that I work with the people I do and the fact that I still get to ride good horses means that it is very easy for me to have the necessary enthusiasm."
Aintree does not enjoy the same adrenalin-fuelled madness that characterises the Cheltenham meeting, but that does not bother O'Dwyer.
"No, Aintree is not as hyper as Cheltenham where it is very business-like right from the off. Aintree is a lot more relaxed and more easy-going, even though the racing itself is very competitive. I've been lucky there and have had six festival winners there over the years. It is very important because there is a lot of money at stake and just because it does not have the same intensity as Cheltenham doesn't mean that people are any less focused.
"Obviously, we're hopeful about our chances in the National and also for Native Upmanship. It would be nice to win those races, but after the Cheltenham I've just had, I'm not even thinking about it."
No, but plenty of others are.
