Brassil basks in Nickname bonanza

IT is refreshing to note the manner in which Martin Brassil has campaigned Nickname this season.

The Cheltenham hype is about to reach a crescendo and every Tom, Dick and Harry, and even the odd Paddy (!), are now ready, willing and able to rattle on about a meeting which keeps the racing world agog for four full days.

The build-up, as usual, has been going on for months and, in the next ten to twelve days, more old rubbish will be spouted than you would get at a political party conference.

But Brassil has stood back from it all and, mindful that Nickname can’t have the ground soft enough, has basically ignored Cheltenham and, in the process, reaped a rich dividend.

Six times Nickname has run this season, winning on five occasions and finishing fourth in the other.

It is a time in Ireland when you can make a savage amount of money, if you have a really good horse like Nickname.

You only have to glance at the trainers’ table to realise just how much lolly is floating about. Noel Meade tops the list with almost €1.7m to his credit.

The other “millionaire” is Willie Mullins. He currently has a figure against his name in excess of €1.2m.

Further down the table, to fourth spot actually, Michael Hourigan appears. He wouldn’t claim to have had the best of seasons and has just a 6% strike rate and, by his standards, a humble 23 winners. But, thanks mainly to Beef Or Salmon, his stable has grossed a whopping €673,000 plus.

What was on offer clearly wasn’t lost on Brassil. He has watched Nickname enjoy a series of victories, mostly gained with plenty to spare, and rack up a huge total in prizemoney.

So how much has Nickname won so far? Well, it’s not a much off €200,000, to be precise, €193,673.

Now don’t tell me, if you owned Nickname, that you wouldn’t be absolutely ecstatic with Brassil. If you had another half-decent horse at home where would you send it?

There is no evidence Nickname has in any way suffered by being kept busy, indeed he seems to have thrived.

He can still go for the two mile Champion Chase, should connections so desire. My guess is that, as long as the ground is safe, he will end up at Cheltenham.

And why not? When you have the bones of 200,000 tucked away neatly in your Nickname account, you would be entitled to feel there wasn’t a whole lot to lose.

WHAT a performance that was by Benefit Night and Barry Cash in winning a Grade 2 at Naas on Sunday.

This was something of a rags-to-riches performance on the part of the seven-year-old and it was terrific for Cash, who must have had his own demons with which to deal, having lost the ride on Brave Inca.

Cash may not have the latent talent of some of his more high-profile colleagues, but his courage and will-to-win have never been in doubt.

Benefit Night’s run began in a modest handicap at Thurles back in the middle of December when scoring off a mark of 86.

Prior to Naas, he won off 110 at Navan on Feb.18. He did the business by five lengths, but the handicapper’s decision, to put him up 13lbs, appeared a bit of an over-reaction.

You now had a horse on 123, a whopping 37lbs above his rating that day at Thurles. Essentially, what the handicapper was saying was that Benefit Night was ready to take an enormous rise in class.

If he was correct then the gelding had a real life in the Naas Grade 2. Not too many of us believed it, however.

But the handicapper, frequently a much maligned species, was spot-on and the rest of us mere mortals were left scratching our heads.

WATCHING At The Races on Monday morning I was bemused to hear J P Magnier coming in for some criticism from punters regarding his riding of the Christy Roche-trained newcomer, Western Kid, in Sunday’s bumper at Naas.

Western Kid was 8-11 in the Racing Post and about a 6-4 shot, extended to 9-4 as the day wore on, in the offices. They couldn’t give him away and he was friendless on track as well, being returned at 15-2.

“Tenderly handled” became the buzz term on ATR, so I watched the contest again to see if I’d missed something.

Western Kid was actually given a copybook drive by Magnier. He was within about six lengths of easy winner Bootlegger turning for home, with over three furlongs to go.

He tried to close and was given at least six smacks of the whip by his pilot. By the time the line was reached, though, Western Kid was 12 lengths adrift.

Will you want to be on Western Kid next time? I doubt it. Conclusion, no wonder so many punters do their brains at this game.