Dreaper closes door on 52 year career as son takes over

HORSE RACING

Legendary Meath trainer, Jim Dreaper, has announced his retirement after 52 years of holding a trainers licence. It will now be the turn of Jim's son Thomas to carry on the Dreaper legacy. Speaking to the Meath Chronicle, Jim explained why he is deciding at this stage to pass the mantle onto Thomas, writes Tom Gannon.

"Well, I am 73 now and my son Thomas is in his forties. All it is is a change of name on the license. We work very closely together but Thomas is entitled to his chance as well. I have had the license for a long time so it is time Thomas had his chance. Other than that there will be no real change. That is unless Thomas gives me a P45!"

Just as Jim is passing on the license to his son Thomas, Jim himself took over the license from his father Tom. Tom is widely known in the industry for training some of the greatest horses that were ever seen at a racetrack including Flyingbolt, Fortria, and of course the legendary Arkle.

"I didn't make nearly as good a fist of it as my father did. Most people interested in racing know of the fantastic horses that my father had. I had a few good ones as well over the years. Please god, Thomas will have even better ones."

Over the years, Jim has become well known for giving young jockeys a start in their career. Many local talents such as Andrew Lynch and Keith Donoghue would have ridden out at Jim's yard from a young age. However, Jim explains that it wasn't always easy to give young talents the opportunity they deserve.

"Everyone is entitled to their chance. Way back, you would have young lads riding out in the yard but you also had Tommy Carberry. The owner would want to know why this young lad was riding his horse and Tommy Carberry in the stand watching. So it was never easy but we always done our best to give young jockeys their chance."

Over the years Jim had a few fantastic staying chasers in the yard. Two names that stand out are Merry Gale, who had plenty of success in the early 90s, and Punchestown Gold Cup winner, Notre Pere.

"Merry Gale was a good horse who was very nearly a great horse. He had a condition that these days is very well known in horses, gastric ulcers. There were days when he just didn't thrive as much as he should have and that was down to the condition he had of which there wasn't as much awareness of ulcers in horses at the time. He would have been an exceptional horse if we had an awareness of it like we would have today.

"Notre Pere was a very good horse. Honest to God and a fantastic stayer. He was just short of a gear from being a Cheltenham Gold Cup horse. He was a very good horse in his own right. He won a Welsh National and the Punchestown Gold Cup. He got a bad fall one day in Down Royal and he was just never the same after."

However, one achievement stands out in Jim's opinion as being the highlight of his career.

"The 1975 Cheltenham Gold Cup was definitely a highlight. We won it with Ten Up. The Gold Cup is the race that most national hunt people in the industry want to win. That was a fantastic day and a standout moment for me in my training career."

Finally, when asked if he had any plans to take up any classic retirement recreational activities, Jim had a very firm answer.

"No, God no, I am a brutal golfer and anyway I doubt that Thomas would give me the time off for it. No, I am quite happy to root around the farm and keep myself busy here. There is always something to be done around here."