Solerina still an enigma despite her strike-rate
WITH just a handful of horses in the yard, Michael Bowe is responsible for one of the most fruitful strike-rates in National Hunt racing.
With his eight-year-old mare Solerina taking her chance in tomorrow's AIG Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown, that strike rate could be about to go stratospheric.
Despite a record that would leave many full-time trainers blushing, Michael is not going to lose the run of himself and the man who looks after the horses for his permit-holding father James plays down the chances of Solerina pulling off a stunning victory.
"I wouldn't be going with any great confidence, to be honest with you," he says. "Her last run in the Bewleys Hotels December Festival Hurdle (when she finished eight lengths fourth behind Macs Joy, Brave Inca and Hardy Eustace) at Leopardstown was a bit of a blip on her record this season. Before that she'd won four straight wins, but they used the inside track that day and it definitely did not play to her strengths.
"I'm hoping they'll run it on a track a bit wider I believe it will be the middle track but anything is better than the inside track, and hopefully that will play to her strengths more. She's in good form, she's healthy, she's well. I'm happy with her and she worked on Monday morning away from home and came out of the piece of work well. We have nothing to lose by running her, so there's no pressure on."
But in all honesty, if she never wins another race, we won't be disappointed with her. If she finishes last on Sunday, we won't be disappointed. As long as we have her coming home in the horse box we won't be too put out."
For all her success 19 race wins and counting Solerina remains something of an enigma to her handler.
"The thing about her is that she shows us absolutely nothing at home, she's no interest in her work and she actually gets bored with it. But when she gets to the racetrack everything changes. That's why she's fooled me on more than one occasion."
"Hopefully she'll surprise me on Sunday again, although I think it is going to be a very hot race as hot an AIG as has been run with the depth of quality that has been entered, what with Brave Inca, Macs Joy, Hardy Eustace and Foreman all taking their chance."
The main problem for Michael is a shortage of suitable races for the mare.
"The thing is that if I don't run her in the AIG, then what's left. It is not as though I can run her in handicaps, or send her novice chasing, or go back to the flat with her although that is a possibility maybe next autumn but apart from that I don't have many options. The AIG is the only race left for her in Ireland this season and after that it's a case of shut up shop, unless I'm prepared to go to Cheltenham, which she won't do unless she puts up an exceptionally good show in the AIG.
"There's no point taking her over to do pacemaker in the Champion Hurdle and see her make the running until the second last or the last and then the rest of them wave you goodbye and say 'thanks very much.' There's generosity and there's generosity."
It has been debated all season in the specialist racing press as to what, if any, other race than the Champion Hurdle Solerina could race in at Cheltenham. But her handler is adamant that the target remains the Champion Hurdle.
"It would be absolute madness," he says, "to run her in one of the handicaps over there. She's only fifteen hands one or two a slight little build of a mare and she'd end up running with top weight in the handicaps, giving weight to horses twice here strength and weight. It would be ludicrous.
"As for the Stayers' Hurdle, she doesn't stay three miles, so there's no point in that. There is no two and a half mile championship race and that would be her ideal trip. But that race doesn't exist!"
Limestone Lad and Solerina apart, Michael's reputation as a handler has been underlined in recent times by a small but growing string of successful horses.
He scored a two-timer at Fairyhouse recently with another mare called Sweet Kiln and a young horse called You Sir (who is out of a sister to Limestone Lad), and he says that as happy as he was for the mare to win, he was even more excited about the horse. However, even with these successes Michael is quite sanguine about the fact the yard is going so well.
"It's funny really, because people want to know what you are doing that's different what sort of food are they getting, or what's the secret, so I tell them I have a little laboratory out the back of the barn and I'm cooking up all sorts of concoctions and that there's bubbling jars with steam coming out of them. People would almost believe you, but the truth is far from that.
"The horses are simply on a healthy diet good oats and good horse nuts and at the end of the day a healthy diet and good exercise is all that's involved. But I like to keep them happy and I think you train them mentally as well as physically. As long as they keep enjoying their work and their lifestyle they'll keep improving."
Limestone Lad, may be retired now, but he is still very much "part of the posse" at Gathabawn.
"He's 13 now and like a lot of oul' lads, he's simmered down a lot. The only time I fell out with him was when he kicked me in the jaw and broke it and another time when he kicked me in the head while I was clipping him, but apart from that he always gave 110% and had such a great attitude.
"In many ways everything I have now I owe to Limestone Lad because you must remember when I started off I was hunting, show jumping and point-to-pointing and I knew very little about racing."
Unfortunately Limestone Lad never won at Cheltenham and Michael thinks the same will be true of Solerina because he thinks the horses are so happy at Gathabawn, they get edgy when they have to travel away.
"When Solerina was there last year, she never stopped chewing the top of the stable door with the tension. She was like a cranky little madam and wouldn't eat her feed or anything. It was the same with Limestone and it annoys me that, that happens. I just wish Cheltenham could come to me rather than me going to Cheltenham."
For the moment Solerina is hale and hearty and Michael says that whatever happens will happen and he won't be upset either way.
"When you have a mare like that, you know her future is in the paddock breeding. Hopefully she'll be able to breed a foal as good as herself someday who knows, maybe she'll breed one better. Sometimes she gives us a fright because she stands way too far off some of the hurdles for her own good and you'd just be hoping she makes the far side of it.
"At this stage we don't want anything to happen to her, but the risk is always there.
"You always have to keep it in mind that you might be coming home from racing with an empty horsebox and that's the worst thought of the whole lot and it happens people when they least expect it.
"I always tell people not to be disappointed if their horse runs badly at least you're bringing them home in the horsebox and you'll have them for another day.
"That's the most important thing."
