The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
A bittersweet year in the life of Bryan
FOR many people it’s the sight of a triumphant Bryan Cooper crossing the finish line on Gold Cup day that stands out as the moment Bryan’s ascension into racing adulthood was complete. For me though the initiation came a few days earlier as Bryan jostled with the decision over who to ride in the race.
The announcement came live on air during Channel 4’s The Morning Line just as Bryan finished riding out the day’s string of hopefuls. It was the kind of private dilemma that had suddenly become a public one and everyone seemed to know how to solve Bryan’s headache: Don Cossack? Yes. Don Poli? Yes. Easy decision? No.
The stone in Bryan’s shoe is that he won the RSA Chase with Don Poli in 2015, but Don Cossack was now considered the more progressive. Plus the rain never came and with it drifted Don Poli’s chances of having Bryan for company. But what many won’t know is Bryan’s decision had started to sway in the direction of Don Cossack following the traditional Leopardstown schooling session a fortnight before the Festival. Bryan sensed the positive vibes from Don Cossack in a piece of work upsides Elliott’s other charge, No More Heroes.
“We always knew he had the natural ability it’s just he was so big and raw he took a while to find himself. We knew there was a big day in him and to be fair, the credit for that has to go to Gordon as he did such a tremendous job of placing him in the right races and not rushing him in his career,” said Bryan.
Bryan’s facial expression when finally uttering the words ‘Don Cossack’ live on TV is a memory that stands out. You almost felt for Bryan seeing the pressure lift from his face at the precise moment he made the announcement as it ended days of public and private speculation.
No sooner had Bryan revealed his choice when the TV presenter started listing the merits of why Don Poli might be a shrewder option. But Bryan - with all the acumen of a seasoned pro - immediately shut the conversation closed faster than a swinging door in the breeze. “Look, the decision is made now and that’s it. We’ll just have to wait and see if it’s the right one,” he answered. The perfect example of an old head guiding young shoulders in a sport that smirks at the thought of giving second chances.
For those of us outside Bryan’s world it’s difficult to imagine what it was like as the decision tossed around in his head like a ship at sea in the days before final declarations. Get it right and you’re a step closer to the Gold Cup dream; get it wrong and you could end up regretting a missed opportunity for the rest of your life. What if Ruby Walsh hadn’t the cushion of Kauto Star when he called it wrong with Denman in 2008?
This was the moment of real pressure for Bryan as once he got the leg up on Don Cossack and reached the starting tape, he did what all good riders do - shut things out and ride their own race.
Bryan’s joyous return to Blennerville days later was a million miles from the explosive atmosphere of Cheltenham. But crossing that famous bridge was just the sort of occasion Bryan and his family deserved given all they had endured at his side after that horrific injury in 2014.
In July, Kerry County Council honoured Bryan’s achievements with a Civic Reception. “Winning the Gold Cup for me is a lifetime dream,” he said that evening. “Some say they’d love to win the Grand National, but I’d pick the Gold Cup over it any day.
If I have a few bad days racing, I can look back and think that I’ve won a Gold Cup and if I never again won anything, I can say that I’ve achieved that.”
But while it’s been a year in which Bryan fulfilled his dream of winning the Gold Cup - in a career scarcely 6 seasons old - it’s also been a frustrating one because of injury.
He suffered a lacerated liver and partially collapsed lung at Galway in July; a fractured arm at Fairyhouse in October and, more recently, a fractured pelvis in a fall at Punchestown in late December, all of which would have tested the patience of Job. But aside from the obvious physical discomfort he endured and the endless hours in rehab, collectively the setbacks have cost Bryan roughly 20 weeks work this season and with it the loss of some big races.
If you ever doubted the old adage it ‘never rains but it pours’, ask a jump jockey. In January broke the news of Don Cossack’s retirement and it couldn’t have come at a worse time for Bryan. But jump jockeys are natural born stoics - they need to be. “It was very disappointing getting the phone call to hear he’d been retired. Obviously it’s not the nicest feeling on a January morning. But to win a Gold Cup at the age of 23 is something I’ll never forget and it’s thanks to Don Cossack. He owes us nothing.”
As the retained rider for Gigginstown and Michael O’Leary, Bryan knows there’s little motivation needed in returning to work after injury with so many top horses ready and waiting.
He returned to action in style last month winning the Red Mills Hurdle with Tombstone and few deserved it more given his tangle with injuries this season.
Bryan will be without his old pal Don Cossack next week but more opportunities await, especially with the likes of Empire of Dirt, Apple’s Jade, Death Duty, and Outlander. Petit Mouchoir is another exciting type and expect Bryan to take full advantage of Faugheen’s absence in the Champion Hurdle. And who knows, if the going should suddenly turn up softer than soft on Gold Cup day, perhaps Don Poli might make Bryan an offer he can’t refuse! It’s been a bittersweet year in the life of Bryan but a win at Cheltenham next week would certainly set the benchmark for another year. “Cheltenham has this intoxicating effect, unlike anything else I have experienced in sport, and it lends itself to words and books.” - The late Alan Lee writing in 2006.