Our Friends in Ireland: Denis Hogan Stable Tour featuring Make A Challenge and Sceptical

We had a good year last year, both on the Flat and over jumps. I have always tried to look for value when I have been buying horses, ever since I started training. We have managed to do well with horses that were not too expensive since we started, and we were able to step that up again last year.

I understand how serious the current situation is, people’s health is obviously the priority. From a training perspective, it will be good when we get to see a date for the resumption of racing. For now, our main objective is to keep the horses fresh and interested.

Our Friends in Ireland - Denis Hogan

• Stable star: Make A Challenge
• Horse to follow: Sceptical
• Handicapper to follow: Conversant

Allegio

He was very good for us two years ago, he won a couple of handicaps at Cork, and he was only just beaten in Listed races at Leopardstown and The Curragh. He missed a lot of last year through injury, but we’re looking forward to getting him out now this year.

Atlas

He’s been knocking around a while now. If he ever brought his homework to the track, he could be very good. He’s a bit of a monkey, he needs a list of things to fall right. He needs a good gallop over seven furlongs or a mile, he needs to be held up and he needs the race to come back to him.

Bahlwan

He’s a pure sprinter. Five furlongs on a flat track is what he wants, Cork or Tipperary or The Curragh. I think that he can be competitive off his rating. It looks like he has got stronger over the winter.

Big Baby Bull

We bought him at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale in August. He won twice as a two-year-old for Richard Hannon. We had him entered in the Irish Lincoln, so we are looking forward to getting him out. He is for a new syndicate, so hopefully he’ll be lucky for them.

Conversant

He loves an ease in the ground. He won well at The Curragh in October, and he ran well again six days later at Galway. He might not get his ground again now until the autumn, but he could still be relatively well handicapped, and Joey Sheridan gets a good tune out of him. He could be one for Listowel.

Cyrus Dallin

He won well at Listowel in September on soft ground. I had thought about going hurdling with him, but he is probably borderline to stay. He was entered in the Irish Lincoln, and he should be able to be competitive in some of those premier handicaps.

Dalvey

The lads bought him at Newmarket in January and we think that he could be good. He is a big horse, by Dansili from a good Juddmonte family, and he has been doing everything very easily since we got him. We’re looking forward to getting him going.

Farnese

I didn’t think he had enough experience to win his handicap at Dundalk in September, but he kept on well. He has had a wind operation and we’re looking forward to getting him back.

Hathiq

I have been a bit disappointed with him lately. He won a couple of handicaps early last season, he won at The Curragh on Guineas weekend, then he went to Epsom Dash, but he had a couple of issues afterwards.

He has had a wind operation, he has had some joint issues, he hasn’t been easy to train, but he is a solid premier handicap horse, maybe a Listed horse. Hopefully we can get him back. He’s on a bit of a break, but he has a big engine if we can get him right.

Major Reward

We claimed him after he beat Yuften at Dundalk in October. We think a lot of him, we don’t thing we’ve seen the best of him yet since we’ve got him. I’m looking forward to getting him out again.

Make A Challenge

He was a revelation last year. This time last year, he was rated 68. He failed to load at Navan and then again at Leopardstown. We did a lot of work with him at the stalls, getting him in very early. We got him in at Limerick and he completely missed the start, they were gone 30 lengths before he got into his stride, but he actually got involved, he passed a lot of them before weakening again close home. He showed me enough that day to think that he could be an 85-rated horse at least.

He won at Fairyhouse two runs later, from the front. Then he won twice at Galway. We were still probably too low in the handicap after Galway to get into the Premier Handicap on Irish Champions Weekend, so we ran at The Curragh in August over six furlongs, and he won there. Then he ran a super race back at The Curragh on Irish Champions Weekend to finish second to a good horse of Ger Lyons’.

He won the Joe McGrath Handicap back at The Curragh after that, and he bolted up in a Listed race back there, and he didn’t run badly in the Group 1 British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot on his final run of the season. It was only six days after he had won at The Curragh and it was at the end of a long season.

We had intended starting him back in a Listed race at Cork at Easter, so he is ready to go now. He is good over six furlongs, but five furlongs on soft ground is probably ideal for him. The Flying Five on Irish Champions Weekend is an obvious target for him this season and, depending on how the season pans out, we would have to have a look at the Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp.

Narynkol

He has been busy enough, but he has been consistent. He is hard to win with, but he has been placed a lot, and he could win again if the handicapper could give him a bit of a chance. He could go hurdling too. He stays well.

Sceptical

For us to come across a horse like Sceptical at the end of the season was unreal. He is one that James and Stephen McAuley had earmarked at the sales at Doncaster in August, he had a very nice pedigree and he was a good-looking horse. He is a big horse who probably wanted plenty of time.

He made an encouraging debut at Dundalk at the end of October, and he won his next three. He just kept on improving. He’s so uncomplicated, you can ride him anywhere. He just goes to sleep, he grubs up well, nothing fazes him. He is a joy to train.

We were looking at Lingfield for All-Weather Championships, and now we’re looking at Royal Ascot. He’ll be entered in the King’s Stand Stakes and the Diamond Jubilee. He could be that good. He has the speed for five furlongs all day, but he’s very versatile, because he switches off so well.

He has never raced on turf, his four races have all been at Dundalk, but I believe he could be better on turf.

Tony The Gent

The lads opted to claim him last August, and he has struggled a little in handicaps, but he won a claimer in February and he won another last month, when he beat Yuften. He could be competitive in handicaps now off his mark, maybe with a claiming rider on him.

Turbine

It’s good to have him back. He was due to run last month, so we’re just waiting to get him out now. He was competitive in some of those good premier handicaps over seven furlongs and a mile two years ago, and he seems to have retained all his ability.

Yuften

He has been a huge servant. The lads tried to claim him on a couple of occasions, and they got him last October. (And they got him back again after losing him for a race!)

He has his issues, he is not easy to train, and he ideally wants good gaps between his runs. He got beaten by Tony The Gent last month, but he came back with a fracture, he didn’t travel, he laboured early in the straight.

He is rated 92, and he can disappoint in handicaps off that mark, while he can dominate in claimers. You risk losing him if you run him in a claimer, so we’ll see where we’ll go with him when we get back.

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