Given the scale of domination by the bigger National Hunt trainers in recent times, you would be forgiven for thinking that the days of 12-horse stables winning Grade 1 races were dead and gone, but Jimmy Mangan never lost hope that a horse like Spillane’s Tower could return his yard to the glory days of Monty’s Pass and Conna Castle.
It is 21 years since Mangan sent Monty’s Pass out from his Conna-based yard in County Cork to win the Grand National. Not long afterwards, Conna Castle came along and propelled the trainer back into the spotlight by taking out the Powers Gold Cup at Fairyhouse in 2008.
Now, this grass roots operator is taking aim at the King George at Kempton with Spillane’s Tower, one of the highlights of the Christmas period over jumps, and the confidence is growing.
“I’m lucky that this horse has come along,” Mangan says. “It’s tough for the small man but I’ve had some great days in this game and I’m not complaining one bit. I’ve had brilliant days–Galway Plates, Thyestes Chases, Powers Gold Cups and Grand Nationals. I’ve had a pretty good career, if you want to call it that, but I am more of a seller these days. That’s the way it’s gone. The big lads are getting bigger and they have the ammunition. But we are dreaming that Spillane’s Tower can go right to the top. There’s no doubt about that.”
Like many smaller trainers, Mangan has been starved of a horse worth speaking about for too long now. The business has revolved around selling for over a decade now because keeping the bills paid became a greater priority than entering the winner’s enclosure. That’s the reality.
There have even been seasons where Mangan went without a winner. Six years ago to be precise. Those closest to the 69-year-old questioned the point of it all. His own daughter Jane, who rode with distinction during a short but glittering career as an amateur, before making her name as a top pundit with Racing TV and RTE, urged him to call it a day. But even during the barren years, retirement was never given any serious consideration.
Mangan explains, “I suppose I don’t know anything else. Even though Jane used to say to me, ‘Dad, will you ever give up the training,’ I’d be up there in the stables on an evening and I couldn’t think of anything better to do with my time.
“This is my life. Just checking the horses over in the evenings or even tipping up their beds, I’m happy doing that. And when you’re happy, it doesn’t feel like work. I was just lucky to have a horse like Monty’s Pass and Conna Castle come along when they did. I suppose, there was a long time when I wondered, ‘God, will I ever have another like them?’ But you live in hope in this game.”
Without the patronage of JP McManus, Mangan would not be heading into the Christmas period with the King George favourite under his care. Bred by McManus’s wife Noreen, Spillane’s Tower joined Mangan as a black canvas.
Now, he is rightly regarded as one of the most exciting staying chasers either side of the Irish Sea and has his talent has been brilliantly nurtured by the old school handler. A pair of Grade 1 novice chase successes were followed by a last gasp second behind the fellow McManus-owned and Willie Mullins-trained Fact To File in the John Durkan Chase at Punchestown last month.
That race almost single-handedly raised the temperature of the National Hunt season proper and Mangan is hoping to crank the thermometer up further at Kempton.
“It’s incredible, really,” he says. “Everywhere I go, people are asking, ‘how’s the horse?’ They wouldn’t ask how are you going yourself! Spillane’s Tower comes first. When you drive into Conna, there is a sign that says, ‘home of Monty’s Pass’. He was the horse of the community back 20 years ago. There’s no doubt that Spllane’s Tower has put a great buzz around the place again.”
He added, “But none of this would be possible without JP. He has an unbelievable group of staying chasers this season. Where my fella slots in, I don’t know. Maybe towards the top? Mark [Walsh, jockey] picked Fact To File in the John Durkan at Punchestown and he was proved right but he could have been proved wrong very easily as well.
“But I admire that man [McManus] so much. Even if he never had a horse here I’d say the same thing because he has always given the small man a chance. He stands out as possibly the best owner in the world because he never forgot one man, and that man is Shane Broderick. Some young people might say ‘who was Shane Broderick?’ He rode a lot of winners but paid the ultimate penalty and is in a wheelchair from injuries suffered from a bad fall. JP is keeping him going. Outstanding. JP is second to nobody.”
Mangan has yet to register a winner this season. In fact, the trainer, who is closely aided by his wife Mary in the day-to-day running of the operation, has not graced the winner’s enclosure since Spillane’s Tower landed his second Grade 1 at the Punchestown Festival earlier in the spring.
In all seriousness, Jane probably had a point. Her parents had been slugging away without getting much by way of success or adulation. But this is a place where the horse comes first and, put simply, there are few better at providing a horse with every possibility of reaching its potential. Spillane’s Tower being the case in point.
“Arra, we only like to win the big ones,” comes the typical light-hearted response to mention of the dry spell. “But to be honest, I’m as happy as Larry. If I could turn back the clock I’d do it all over again. I have my health and I’m so happy with my lot because I’ve seen tragedies and all you have to do nowadays is turn on the news to be reminded how lucky we all are.
“We’re living in heaven with a horse like Spillane’s Tower around the place and we’re getting great enjoyment out of it all. There probably hasn’t been a horse down here in Cork like Spillane’s Tower since Imperial Call. The buzz surrounding the King George is incredible.
“Pat Murphy, my head lad, and Chloe Dreaper, who knows him better than any of us, will go over with him. I’m looking forward to it and I’m hoping he can put up a massive performance because the whole of Ireland will be behind him.”
The dream is alive.
Jane’s career
It’s funny, I didn’t want her to get a jockey’s licence at the start but herself and Mary went away behind my back and did it anyway. She was pretty handy in the saddle in fairness. When she told me she was giving up riding, I pleaded with her not to. So, I didn’t want her to start and I didn’t want her to finish either! But she knew what she wanted in life and she’s living down in Cashel now and seems to be enjoying herself. She’s built up her own career and lots of people tell me they love listening to Jane on the television. My answer to that is, ‘Jesus, I’ve been listening to her all my life!’ But she always knew what she was talking about. And she was an incredible help around here as well. I do miss her, I have to say, but equally, we’re delighted she’s made such a success of it. There was a time she’d be doing a podcast here in the sitting room with Nick Luck or whoever and she’d be shouting at me to turn off the television or to leave the room.
His role as a seller
If I wasn’t a seller I wouldn’t survive. The way the game is gone, if the small man doesn’t manage to sell at least one horse every year, they won’t stay in business. No hope. The overheads are cruel. Fridays come fast and, if you were to add up everything, you might say to yourself, ‘am I mad?’ But it’s either in you or it isn’t. Lord have mercy on my father, he always had a racehorse around the place. Back in those days, when fellas had nothing, they still had horses. Funny. Nowadays, if it wasn’t for the big boys in the point-to-points, there’d be no point-to-points because the ordinary man isn’t keeping a horse like he used to. It’s a shame, really, but the point-to-point game has changed so much even in the recent past. I suppose it’s become more of a business now than anything else. We’ve had a lot of good horses through this place. Tom Costello bought Bindaree off me. He won the Grand National in 2002. I can remember I gave 2,200 for him as a yearling. Then of course we had Monty’s Pass ourselves and we also had Amberleigh House here as well. So the Grand National winners of 2002, 2003 and 2004 passed through our yard.
Taking on the big boys
The John Durkan brought life back into National Hunt racing. It really was some race. You had Willie Mullins there with all of his top horses and next thing I came along and nearly beat the whole lot of them! Willie, Gordon [Elliott] and Henry [de Bromhead] have the best horses and more power to them. They are brilliant people and I take my hat off to them. They are still the same people as they always were at the races. If I can beat them, I will, and they are the first to congratulate you when you do. I have known Willie all my life and I’d often wind him up if he wasn’t happy with a ride one of his horses might have gotten at the races. I’d tell him, ‘you can’t be talking, I’ve seen you fall twice in the one race.’ And he did. He took a fall in a point-to-point, remounted and then what happened? He fell again! I rate him one of the best trainers in the world. Flat or National Hunt. He has some team behind him.
National Hunt breeding
The reality is that the middle market is gone. There was a time when you would get away with murder but not anymore. It’s either the top end or nothing in National Hunt breeding. The same as the Flat, really. A lot of people are going to be lost to the game, unfortunately, as they just won’t be able to pay the bills any more. At the end of the day, things are not adding up. The younger people seem to be getting involved with the Flat rather than the jumps. They can see the light. You’d have to be worried about the small man. I never saw as many foals being led out unsold as I did this year. No bid, no bid, no bid despite the auctioneer trying hard. The minimum bid used to always be 600 quid, and there used to be a fella, Johnny Six Hundred, who’d be at the sales and would give the minimum bid. Well, Johnny Six Hundred is gone.
Conna Castle
He was some horse. I can remember the morning after he won the Listed Chase at Rosommon in October 2007, he was lame behind. He had a hairline fracture down his cannon bone. All my hopes were dashed that morning. So we gave him a few months off and scanned him again. We couldn’t believe it but he scanned perfectly after Christmas. I can remember ringing Davy [Russell] in February to tell him that the horse was back in great form and that he was being aimed for the Powers Gold Cup at Fairyhouse. Davy says, ‘that’s grand, I’ll ride him for you.’ I remember meeting Davy at the races again and telling him how well the horse is going at home. ‘One hundred per cent Jimmy, I’ll ride him for you.’ The morning of declarations for Fairyhouse, Kieran O’Toole [agent] rings me, ‘do you want Paul Carberry for Conna Castle?’ Davy chose to ride Big Zeb instead. Of course, Davy wouldn’t answer his phone at this stage, either. I can remember telling Paul, ‘if ever a horse was made for you, this fella is it–keep that arse of yours cocked up in the air until you’re going down to the last.’ Sure enough, Carberry delivered Conna Castle after the last and we beat Big Zeb half a length. We got great satisfaction out of that and Davy didn’t say anything in the parade ring afterwards. He had a big sour puss on his face! Davy started off with me. I’d say it was his first job here. He was brilliant. I can remember going to a point-to-point with Davy one day and there were five sets of colours waiting for him. He was after promising five different people that he’d ride for them in the one race! That would be Davy.
How do Monty’s Pass and Spillane’s Tower compare
Oh there’s no comparison. Monty’s was a handicapper but this fella is top class. He’s the best I’ve ever trained and he’s proved that already. He’s got stamina, class and that extra gear that a lot of horses don’t have. If he’s near them at the last at Kempton, he’ll take beating as he has that acceleration that a lot of horses don’t have. I knew fitness would catch him at Punchestown. The bloody year that’s in it, we missed a schooling day in Tipperary because of the dry weather and that was the winning and losing of the John Durkan in my mind. He’s in a completely different place now. I wouldn’t be going to Kempton unless he was one hundred per cent right and he is.
