Ferguson is thrust into the spotlight for Festival glory
Ballymena trainer saddles Novices Chase favourite in twist of fate following infamous Elliott photograph
IT will be a Cheltenham Festival like no other for Ian Ferguson, the Ballymena-based trainer unexpectedly heading to the Cotswolds with one of the showpiece’s hotpots while bracing himself for top class action in front of empty stands due to Covid restrictions.
Ferguson is steeped in National Hunt racing – he gave a young AP Mccoy one of his early winners at Down Royal back in May 1994 – and 10 years ago this week enjoyed his sole Cheltenham Festival moment in the sun, Zemsky powering to victory in the Foxhunters as a 33-1 outsider.
Tomorrow he will watch on in a deserted venue – usually packed to the rafters with close to 70,000 punters and famed for its unique atmosphere with England and Ireland going head to head – as Galvin goes for glory in the £100,000 National Hunt Novices Chase.
The bookies have Galvin, with Jack Kennedy aboard, as the 2-1 favourite. Little more than a few days ago you would have been offered very long odds indeed about the experienced Ferguson being in any way involved in the shake-up.
But that all changed in the wake of the now infamous Gordon Elliott photograph, the top trainer pictured astride a dead horse on the gallops.
Outrage followed. Elliott was banned for six months – with a further six suspended – by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board. Owners began withdrawing their precious cargo from his Meath yard. Ferguson received a call.
It was from his long-time pal Ronnie Bartlett, owner of Galvin. It basically amounted to, ‘can you do the needful?’
“I’m doing a favour for an old mate. It’s a situation I didn’t expect to find myself in, but there you go,” said the straight-talking Ferguson.
“I’m looking after Galvin. The horse is in great form. If he’s sound and well he has every chance. Hopefully we will get a clear kick at the goal.
“It will be a strange Cheltenham Festival. I have been going over to the Festival for over 30 years and it will be an atmosphere like no other year. An empty Cheltenham is hard to imagine.
“Covid has had a massive impact on horse racing. Horse sales have plummeted, down something like 30 per cent.
“Businesspeople who, in more normal times, would have been involved in the sport are taking a step back. People have to put their businesses before their passion for horseracing in these uncertain times.
“For example, a lot of hoteliers have traditionally been involved in the sport but given the state of their industry it’s understandable that they can’t put money into racing in the current climate. Their priority is getting their businesses back up and running.”
Zemsky’s triumph a decade ago feels like it took place in a different world – and given what
‘It’s a situation I didn’t expect to find myself in’
has unfolded in the past year, in many ways it did.
“It was a special day,” recalled Ferguson. “As someone who travels to the Festival every year, it meant so much.”
Ferguson modestly deflects credit for his role in preparing Bartlett’s brilliant dual Festival scorer Simonsig, the Ballymena handler bagging the cham
pion point-to-point bumper at Fairyhouse before the young star moved to Nicky Henderson’s high-powered Berkshire yard.
Galvin has spent most of the winter at the head of the betting for the National Hunt Chase following his easy seven-length success in a Grade Two contest at Cheltenham in October and will be bidding to win his fifth consecutive race. Galvin is no stranger to Ferguson, who explained: “I bought him, I broke him and I pre-trained him. He didn’t get a chance to run in a point-to-point so that’s why he was sent to Gordon from here.
“He has actually spent a lot of time here over the last few years too as, like a lot of Ronnie’s horses, he comes here for breaks. He’s been here in my place recently and he’s getting regular work. He’s seems in great form.”
Galvin has been successful on nine of his 15 starts and Ferguson is hoping his winning streak can continue on the stage that matters most.
He said: “Galvin is learning his trade all the time. I thought he gave an exhibition of jumping last time at Cheltenham and, but for a fall at Galway, he has generally been very good over his fences. The more experience he gets, the better he is becoming. He’s a lovely horse.
“He appreciates good ground so it should be perfect for him at Cheltenham. He’s not the biggest horse in the world, he’s not your giant usual stamp of a chaser, but he’s taken really well to fences and I was very impressed by what he did at Cheltenham last year.”
So tomorrow – when Honeysuckle, with Rachael Blackmore in the saddle, heads the betting for the £450,00 feature Champion Hurdle – will be a very big day in the long career of Ian Ferguson. But whatever happened to that young lad Mccoy who rode Ferguson’s Hutcheon Chance to victory at Down Royal nearly 30 years ago?
Ferguson laughs: “Aye, he turned out to be a decent wee jockey, didn’t he? You always knew he was the real deal. He started out with the late Billy Rock in Cullybackey so I knew all about ‘Wee Anthony’.”
And despite 20 champion jockey titles and 4,358 winners the great Sir AP Mccoy still cherishes that early winner for Ferguson.
“I still remember it like it was yesterday – Huncheon Chance at Down Royal. I was a seven pound claimer so I was probably a liability on a horse – fair play to Ian for putting me on it,” joked 46-yearold Mccoy, who had just turned 20 at the time.
Mccoy went on to conquer at Cheltenham – tomorrow provides a rare opportunity for the unassuming Ferguson to do the same.
A GAME to encapsulate the compelling chaos of the Six Nations championship.
If the previous day’s clash between England and France was vintage by any metric, here was a contest that was all the more gripping for the sense that the victors would be whoever managed to get out of their own way.
When Iain Henderson won the late penalty stroked over by his skipper Johnny Sexton to claim the imperative win, Ireland’s overwhelming emotion will have been one of relief not joy, the end result ensuring that the blowing of a 14-point lead would make a footnote and not headlines.
Ireland had started the game excellently and appeared to take decisive control when scoring the first ten points of the second-half. But this was a game where unpredictability was the stock and trade, where side-stepping props went hand in hand with fumbled possession and defensive lapses; where one side couldn’t buy a successful lineout and one was markedly lacking the precision that used to be their calling card.
Had the game ended at 24-24 apiece it would have felt more fitting of a game neither team deserved to win but one neither deserved to lose.
And yet, as Grand Slam-chasing Wales have shown, there is much to be said for simply developing the winning habit.
Perhaps one day Andy Farrell will look back on this first galvanising victory of his tenure, look back on the memory of a rampaging Ryan Baird setting up the key turnover as time ticked away, and think of it as the start of something.
“I suppose my overriding feeling is one of pride, really,” he said of a win that lifts his side to second in the table ahead of Saturday’s concluding fixture with England.
“Thing were not quite going our way at the business end of the game, in those last 10 minutes where it could have been won and lost, (we had) to come back from a few slip-ups, errors from the restart, off the line-out and defensively letting things slip a little bit, to then defend your own line like we did, time and time again just knocking them back and getting up off the floor, then obviously for them to get the seven points to draw the game, it would take down a few teams mentally.
“They stayed together, they re-focused, they re-grouped, great kick-off, good chase, good pressure and they stayed next-moment-focused.
“We got the turnover and big players, that’s what they do, they take responsibility. Johnny put over the points.
“We’ll pick it apart like we always do and there’s plenty to work on as always.
“Everyone knows Scotland are a good side, nobody finds it easy coming here and getting away with a victory, never mind with the form that they’ve been in.
“So really proud to get the win, really proud of how we started the game and how we ended the game but obviously there’s
things to work on.”
Farrell’s try-scorers Robbie Henshaw and Tadhg Beirne were again among his very best performers, while it was another strong showing from Henderson, and Tadhg Furlong looked more like himself as he builds back from a year out.
Will Connors only strengthened his grip on the seven jersey and Keith Earls responded in typical fashion to doubts over his longevity and James Ryan was utterly destructive to the Scottish set-piece.
But if Ireland are to end a campaign that started so disappointingly on a high note, they can ill afford any repeat the lack of attention in defence that let Scotland claw their way back from 2410 to 24-24.
Again a finger will be pointed at James Lowe who endured a day to forget with his errors ruthlessly exposed.
“We’ll sit down with James and obviously there’s others we need to sit down with and keep educating them regarding what international football is all about,” added Farrell. “There are guys in there that are very young as far as their experience is concerned but for anyone to come over here and experience a win in Murrayfield is something they’ll be proud of. As far as progressing James’ game, I suppose we’ll help him like we’ll help everyone else as well.
“I thought we defended pretty well throughout the game apart from one or two slip-ups that gave them big access and I suppose that’s the international game. You miss a tackle and you’re giving up seven points under the posts.”
At this level, such things seldom go unpunished. After this most timely of victories, Ireland will appreciate the rarity.
SCOTLAND IRELAND 24 27
IRELAND skipper Johnny Sexton wants his side to step up to another level against England in Dublin this weekend and finish their Six Nations campaign on a high note.
Sexton’s late kick ensured Ireland left Murrayfield with victory yesterday after Scotland had fought back from 14-points down to tie things at 24-24 going into the final moments.
It secured a second win ina-row after losing the first two games of their campaign but Sexton warned more will be required against an England side confident after overcoming
France in Twickenham on Saturday evening.
“We feel that we have been building, that we were a bit unlucky in the first couple of games,” he said. “But even though they have had a couple of bad results England are a team that was in the World Cup final and won the Six Nations last year. They won the Autumn Nations Cup, so they are a top, top team and we have to prove that we can match them and put in a performance that can beat one of the top teams because we haven’t done that as of yet.”
Of concern to Ireland, with only a six-day turnaround to face Eddie Jones’ men, will be the fact that James Ryan left yesterday’s victory for an HIA and did not return.
Ryan would be a loss to any side and he, along with Iain Henderson and Tadhg Beirne, played such a huge role in destroying the Scottish line-out.
It was Ryan’s replacement, though, that played the key part in ensuring Ireland escaped with a victory as Ryan Baird galloped upfield to charge down a kick and allow Henderson to pounce for the turnover.
If not for the young Leinster lock, making only his second Test appearance, Sexton may never have had the chance to win the game for his side.
“It was brilliant by Ryan Baird to get the charge down,” the skipper said.
“He’s so explosive for the first couple of steps and then to make the tackle that he does. Iain Henderson [on the poach] was outstanding as well.
“And obviously then you have to kick it. I kicked pretty well all game but that wasn’t my best of the day.
“My best of the day probably hit the post (after the first of Ireland’s two tries) but it was enough.
“I was trying to keep it a little bit lower. It was quite blustery in the stadium and it was a good enough strike to get over and thankfully we get the four points which is very important and we’re up to second now and into a big end to the tournament.”
While that kick ensured the scrutiny on what went before may be less than had victory slipped from their grasp, Sexton assured that, even with attention quickly switching to England, Ireland would look at what went both right and wrong.
“There is never one tone to the review,” he stressed. “There is always things that you want to get better at and sometimes the frustrating thing is that you are making the same mistakes you highlighted over the first few weeks.
“We will look at the good things and the bad things and what we can do better when we were 14 points up.”
Tony Ward on Ireland’s nail-biting win over Scotland