I WILL BE PREPARED WHEN WE ALL COME IN FROM THE COLD
Hayes to continue red-hot form
JOCKEY Chris Hayes sums up the feelings of everyone involved in Irish racing declaring: “All I want to do is get back racing.”
The Limerick man, who started the 2020 season with a bang thanks to a big-race double on In From The Cold and Lemista at Naas just 13 days ago, admits he’s following a similar, yet very different routine during the Covid-19 crisis.
Although nobody knows when racing will resume, stables are ticking over with horses needing to be exercised on a daily basis, but with the social distancing restrictions very much to the fore.
Commitments to his ‘Boss’ Kevin Prendergast, at Friarstown on the Curragh, and Fozzy Stack, in County Tipperary, remain the priority for Hayes.
He rides out for both men on Tuesday morning, riding in Prendergast’s before heading south to Stack’s yard.
“As far as the Boss (Prendergast, inset) is concerned, the dream is still alive,” said Hayes.
“I’m in there on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and in Fozzy’s on Tuesdays and Fridays. But, in the present situation, it’s all very different.”
And he explains the riding-out routine in these vastly-changed times: “I just go in, get-up, ride out and head back to the car.
“It’s very odd, talking to everyone from a distance. And I’d say I’ve never spent as much time on the phone, getting orders and instructions ahead of riding work and then, afterwards, giving feedback.
“Over the years, I’ve always gone into the house for breakfast with the Boss (Prendergast) after riding work. But that has all changed – now, I just head straight back to the car.”
He added: “In the past, I’d get calls from out-station trainers (trainers not based on the Curragh) to ride work on Monday or Wednesday mornings, the likes of Richard O’brien, or Gordon Elliott or Ado Mcguinness, bringing horses to work on the Curragh. But that’s gone – they’re all using their own gallops to keep their horses ticking over.
“Now, on a Wednesday, I ride a couple of lots for my brother and then look after my two mares at home – they’ve both had colt foals recently, by Highland Reel and Awtaad. And I’ve never spent as much time on my tractor.
“I go for a hard run and do a gym session at home. It’s pretty tedious and hard to get motivated, not knowing when we’ll be racing again. But it has to be done.”
And reflecting on the racing industry’s present predicament, Hayes said: “Naas was a taste of what’s to come and, luckily, I got off to a flier again.
“Everyone is just keeping horses ticking over. But we’ll be ready when we get the go-ahead to race again. And we’ll gladly start behind closed doors. Everybody would take it, just to start back.
“It worked for 10 meetings and there’s no reason why it won’t work again and give everyone in the game a chance to get started. It would also give lots of people something to watch again.
“HRI has told us that we’ll have a month of flat racing when we do start back. And we should try a few different things to get as many horses moving as possible, maybe meetings confined to three-year-olds and double meetings.”