'I've never seen a horse go so quickly over fences' McConnell chuffed with Galway winners

Meath trainers had 14 winners at the recent Galway Festival, and John McConnell was responsible for two of those victories.

Stamullen-based trainer, John McConnell, has very quickly become one of the most astute trainers in the country. This year at the recent Galway Festival, despite not having a huge amount of runners, McConnell did manage to reach the winners' enclosure at Ballybritt on two occasions.

Intense Approach won the Guinness Beginners Chase on Friday, and on the last day, Sunday, McConnell won the second race, a handicap hurdle, with Ballystone. Both winners were ridden by Alex Harvey.

"We were over the moon. The two winners had been targeted at Galway for a while, so for it to come off is great. We were unlucky on Saturday, we were only beaten a half a length for a third winner. We didn't have many runners down there, but they all ran well, so we were delighted." said McConnell to the Meath Chronicle.

"It is a very difficult place to get winners, and it is targeted by a lot of trainers and owners. We may not have won really big races but a beginner's chase in Galway means a lot more than a beginner's chase somewhere else. It's really good for keeping us in people's minds."

Meath-based trainers had 14 winners across the week and McConnell recognises how strong racing is in the county right now.

"We are very strong in Meath in terms of training horses. It's rare that a race meeting goes by where one of us doesn't have a winner. There are so many guys going well, it's like a mini Tipperary."

Intense Approach is something of a yard favourite at McConnell's base and he is a very talented horse. McConnell had been very impressed with the horse's jumping in the lead-up and is now plotting his next move with the six-year-old.

"Intense Approach is the type of horse that, even though he has won seven races already, you are nearly disappointed that he hasn't won more. His work is just fabulous. He came back sick from Cheltenham and I was happy enough to just disregard that run and the one after. We freshened him up and once we started schooling him, he was electric. We schooled him the week before Galway, and I've never seen a horse go so quickly over fences. He was excellent. We knew we had a chance going alright and it worked out well." said McConnell

"To win that beginner's chase on his first run over fences was very nice. We will have to have a think about what we do next with him and what route we take. I'd be tempted with the Galway form to target him back there for 12 months' time but that is a long plan and sometimes if a long plan like that doesn't work out, it can be very painful. I said after the race that we could end up at Cheltenham in October. It looks like he is going to be better over fences than over hurdles, so if that's the case, the world's our oyster.

Ballystone was McConnell's second winner of the week, and connections took a slight risk by running him over that distance but it was a risk that paid off.

"Ballystone had won his point-to-point and a lot of his form had been at two and two and a half miles. I felt the step up in trip would bring about improvement and thank god it did. He travelled beautifully and on nicer ground, he probably would have run even better. He is a horse that works well, so it was nice to get the job done on the day and get a nice pot as well."

McConnell finished off by looking ahead to the season and he is excited about what some of his young horses might be able to achieve.

"We have a lot of horses that aren't superstars, but we have a nice bunch of young horses for the winter and if they can, for the most part, stay in one piece, we have a few good days to look forward to."