Follow me up to Carlow
Yet they have much in common too. Bolger has enjoyed plenty of success over jumps, as has Mullins on the level. The latter spent two years in the employ of the former – a mutually-beneficial exercise by all accounts. And it was from Bolger that Mullins purchased the highly-promising filly, Annie Power for Rich Ricci.
Imagine what pearls would emanate from a relaxed conversation between the two?
Donn McClean took up the cudgel for the Irish Racing Yearbook 2014 and here is just a sample of what they revealed.
JB: We always thought a lot of her. We had her ready to win her bumper at Galway in August and I was lucky enough that I was able to get Patrick Mullins to ride her. There was a two-fold advantage to that; I had a really good pilot on the day, and I had a customer as well afterwards.
WM: At our game, she could be anything. I was just taken by her physique and her size. We thought she would be an adequate replacement for Quevega when the time came. It’s very hard to get mares with as deep a girth as she has. Dawn Run was the same.
WM: It’s a huge help that Ruby (Walsh) is staying in Ireland now. It’s a big boost. Plus his knowledge of English tracks will be a big help if we go over there, which we may do, as long as all the horses stay sound.
JB: I think the ride that Kevin (Manning) gave New Approach to win the Derby in 2008 was one of the best rides you will ever see.
And I think what won the St James’s Palace Stakes for Dawn Approach was the speed with which Kevin reacted when he got his bump. He gathered him again immediately and he was back on an even keel whereas I think, probably with a lot of riders, when they get a bump like that, it would have taken them a little bit longer to react to it.
It was the speed of his reaction that won the race.
JB: I didn’t get one new owner after winning the Irish Derby. I suppose that happens.
Owners generally like to catch the new kid on the up. I’m fairly dependent on Jackie Bolger I suppose. We have got this far, though, we might just be able to see it out.
WM: I see too many trainers falling into the trap of thinking their main owner, for want of a better word, is a pension.
But anyone can decide at any time to pull out of a yard. If you’re too dependent on one man, that can leave a fair hole.
So I would always try and look after my old owners from way back, plus get any new owners that we can as well. But it is harder and harder to give lots of time to an individual owner. However, I think owners are big boys too and they understand that.
WM: I remember we were coming home from Galway one day, my mum and dad in the front, (my brother) Tony and me in the back. There wasn’t much talking, Tony and I hadn’t been great that day, we had given two horses rides that we wouldn’t have been writing home about. Then suddenly Paddy turns to Maureen and says ‘Your two sons are going to put me out of business!’
JB: I tell people that my son is the luckiest man in the world that he was never born.
JB: I’m probably the only trainer who thinks this, but 48-hour declarations would be a good thing for racing. I can’t sell the idea to Willie or anyone else, but if you’re sitting at home on Monday and you’re thinking you’d like to go racing on Wednesday, you have to wait until Tuesday to find out what’s going to be running.
WM: If we were going to go to 48-hour declarations, we would need to be sure that racing got something out of it. We still haven’t got a levy or the betting tax sorted in this country. And we don’t need to be embarrassed about it. We’re giving good value for money. There are 20,000 people employed in the industry in rural Ireland.
JB: Winning the Irish Derby this year with Trading Leather was the best ever. It was a combination of everything; it was a home-grown success in every sense. And sure, what man wouldn’t want to win his home Derby?
WM: The day that Florida Pearl won the King George at Kempton, (my wife) Jackie was at Leopardstown… we obviously had runners at Leopardstown as well. Anyway, shortly after we had won the King George, Jackie bumped into my mother. ‘Wasn’t it great?’ Jackie said. ‘Yes it is,’ said my mother. ‘Tony is after having a winner at Limerick.’ So that gives you an idea of the pecking order in our family!
WM: When I worked for Jim, the one thing was Jim never made the same mistake twice. I think that’s the key to his success. He remembers everything. He started with a clean sheet about racing, whereas, I think once you’re starting where I started, it’s a different ball game. It obviously has its advantages, but with Jim’s brain the clean sheet is a huge advantage.
JB: When I needed a good head lad, Willie was the first person I approached. I offered him a good financial package. I didn’t think he would come and work for us just because I was Jim Bolger. I was hoping that he would learn from me but I was also hoping that I would learn from him, which I did. Lots.
