The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Total Enjoyable had unbelievable potential
Trainer Tom Cooper chats to Stephen Fernane about his famous Cheltenham winners.
ON the approach road to Tralee there’s an amazing bronze sculptor of Kerry footballers in action that stands as a fitting tribute to a unique sporting tradition. But Just a few minutes drive from here is another place with a unique story in the long list of Kerry sporting tales.
Nestled beneath the copper-coloured gradients of the Slieve Mish Mountains near Farmers Bridge is the yard of horse trainer Tom Cooper - a place where the memorable March raids on the Cotswolds in 2004 and 2009 were plotted.
“I was just very lucky to come across two very good horses, two very different types of horses,” said the three time Grade 1 winning handler.
Total Enjoyment and Forpadydeplasterer are names that will follow Tom Cooper around for the rest of his life. They’re now a part of who he is and everything he has worked to achieve in the sport he loves. Cheltenham Festival winners are a bit like All-Ireland medals: they’re not given away, but if you’re lucky enough to have one it can’t ever be taken from you.
Total Enjoyment’s story started in a quiet foaling shed in County Westmeath in May, 1999. The Kerry connection was already close at hand however as the Flemensfirth filly was bred by Noel Collins from Tralee.
The mare was bought for around €20,000 and a syndicate of 11 owners was formed using a combination of pints, late nights, coffee mornings and gentle persuasion. ‘It will never last’ they said, and so a name worthy of an epic journey was moulded. The scene was now set for one of the greatest Kerry stories ever told at Cheltenham: a Kerry owned, trained, and piloted horse was about to win the Champion Bumper in style.
“There was a very strong local aspect to the win and it was my very first runner at Cheltenham. We were really taking on the big guns of the sport at the time and what the mare achieved was just incredible. Total Enjoyment had unbelievable potential and I suppose you could call her a freak even,” said Tom.
Taking on the big boys it certainly was. In second place that day was Refinement - owned at the time by multi-millionaire bloodstock investor, Michael Tabor - while in third place was John Magnier’s Master Albert.
“That 2004 win probably gave me the most pleasure of the two. I haven’t watched the race in a while now, but it was run in record time and I don’t think that record has been broken yet in the Bumper. She was just unbelievably fast.”
Total Enjoyment’s speed is probably no surprise given her grand sire, Alleged, won the Arc in 1977 and 1978. In November ‘04, Total Enjoyment lived up to her hype again when winning her first start over hurdles in Down Royal in a time 7.22 seconds faster than the course average. Sadly, an injury put an end to her limitless potential. It still hurts Tom and there’s a noticeable dip in his voice at the mention of it. But this is a sport that would tame lions and Tom knows it only too well.
While the mare may have had all the ability, Forpady had the nobility. A grandson of Nijinsky and great-grandson of Northern Dancer, the Moscow Society gelding won the Grade 1 Deloitte Novice Hurdle in February 2008 prior to winning the prestigious Arkle Chase at Cheltenham in 2009. He also finished second in the Champion Chase of 2010 when he faced some of the most battle-hardened 2m chasers of his age.
“Forpadydeplasterer was more straightforward by a country mile. He was very laid back and a pure gent to train. He was a very big horse and he was prone to lots of niggly problems, which had to be nursed all the time. The mare was just mad in comparison to Forpady. She would have had more potential than Forpadydeplasterer and there was just a freakish aspect to her.”
Tom is also extremely proud of the fact some of the best talent to emerge from Kerry have all, at some point, cut their teeth in his yard. In essence, Cooper’s yard has functioned as a ‘Racing Academy’ in all but name.
“Ya, they all came through my hands at some stage. Guys like Sean McDermott and Niki O’Shea spring to mind. Even my own son Bryan.”
Tom also explained how the recession has hit racing hard in places like Kerry. “We’ve hit a bad patch at the moment but we might bounce out of it again soon. The recession hit us very bad here and if you don’t have the customers to buy the horses, you can’t keep going. You have to keep bringing on young horses to stay in the limelight,” he explained.
Lastly, no chat with Tom would be complete without mention of Bryan. It’s been a roller-coaster season for the Gold Cup winning star, but thankfully Bryan’s back shooting the breeze again on the early morning gallops and notching winners.
“Bryan’s attitude is just unbelievable. Considering the hits he has got and what he has went through, the mentality is just unbelievable. You asked me a question at the start which win did I enjoy more - Total Enjoyment or Forpadydeplasterer - but I got a better kick out of watching Bryan winning the Gold Cup last year.”
I guess it’s what you might call the sum total of enjoyment.
“I often think that it’s a great thing that we have racehorses in this country, otherwise we’d never win anything at all.” – The late Terry Wogan in 1966 following Arkle’s victory in the Gold Cup. “A racecourse runs through it, not a river. Aside and apart from the all-important human dimension of my life, Cheltenham, both benevolent and malevolent, has been a constant strand since childhood.” – Alastair Down, award-winning sports journalist.