Charlie Swan

Principal Jockeys: David Casey, Denis Hogan, Lenny Flynn

CharlieSwan

Notable Wins:

  • Kilbegnet EBF Novice Chase (Emmpat 2009)
  • Wilf Dooly Chase (One Cool Cookie 2009)
  • Cooley Fillies Stakes  (Jalmira 2008)
  • Irish Lincolnshire (Crooked Throw 2008)
  • Killultagh Properties Ltd Chase (One Cool Cookie 2007)
  • Hartmann Jewellers Ballybrit Novice Chase (Drunken Disorderly 2007)
  • Ben Marshall Stakes at Newmarket (Jalmira 2007)
  • Navigation Stakes (Jalmira 2007)
  • Irish Cambridgeshire (Jalmira 2007)
  • Ellier Developments Hanover Quay Champion Novice Chase (Offshore Account 2007)
  • Scottish Champion Hurdle (Emmpat 2007)
  • Menolly Homes Handicap Hurdle (Emmpat 2007, Anxious Moments 2002)
  • Powers Gold Cup (One Cool Cookie 2007)
  • Hugh McMahon Memorial Chase (Offshore Account 2007, Oodachee 2006)
  • Greenmount Park Novice Chase (One Cool Cookie 2006)
  • Pierse Leopardstown Handicap Chase (What A Native 2006)
  • Guinness Premier Handicap (High Reef 2005)
  • Dan Moore Memorial Handicap Chase (Ground Ball 2005)
  • Michael Purcell Memorial Novice Hurdle (Teeming Rain 2005)
  • Craddockstown Novice Chase (Anxious Moments 2003)
  • Denny Gold Medal Handicap Chase (Colonel Bradley 2003)
  • Clark's Brewery Handicap Hurdle (Patriot Games 2003)
  • Eider National Showcase Handicap Chase (This Is Serious 2002)
  • Thyestes Handicap Chase (This Is Serious 2002)
  • Cork Grand National Handicap Chase (This Is Serious 2001)
  • Woodlands Park 100 Johnstown Novice Hurdle (No Discount 2000)

Charlie Swan has established himself as one of Ireland’s most consistent trainers since taking over the license from his father, the former British Army Captain and racehorse trainer, Donald Swan, in 1998. Before that, Charlie made his name as one of the most talented jump jockeys of his generation, becoming one of the most popular riders of the modern era.

Early Days

Charlie rode his first winner at the age of 15 on his father’s Final Assault in a two-year-old maiden at Naas in March 1983 and after a successful spell as an apprentice on the Flat, he later turned his attention to the National Hunt scene. He won his first Irish jockeys' championship in 1988/9 and retained that title up to and including the 1997/8 season. The Cheltenham Festival was a happy hunting ground for Swan as a rider as, having ridden his first winner there on Trapper John in the Stayers Hurdle in 1990, he would go on to add another 16 wins to his tally at the Festival in the next 13 years. Four of those wins came on the legendary Istabraq and it is with him that Swan will forever be associated with. He retired from the saddle after finishing third on Like-A-Butterfly in the Aintree Hurdle in 2003 to concentrate on his burgeoning training career.

A Training Career Is Launched

While he only retired from riding in 2003, Swan had held a training licence since 1998 when he took over from his father in Cloughjordan. He trained his first winner on July 3rd of that year when Fawn Prince won a maiden hurdle at Bellewstown. While he saddled a highly-creditable 21 winners in his first season as a trainer, big-race successes did not come as quickly to Charlie in the training ranks as they did during his riding career. However, the turn of the millennium saw a noticeable upturn in the fortunes of the Swan yard in that regard, most notably with No Discount winning the Grade 3 Woodlands Park 100 Johnstown Novice Hurdle at Naas in February 2000 before going on to twice finish second at the highest level in the Royal & Sun Alliance Hurdle at Cheltenham and the Sefton Novice Hurdle at Aintree.

The 2000/1 season saw him increase his tally of winners to 34 with the likes of Strong Project, Over The First and Donadino all making significant contributions to the final tally. 2001 was also notable for Swan as it was during that period that he began to send out winners on the Flat with his most notable winner in that sphere coming with Patriot Games in the Arthur Guinness Handicap at the Curragh.

This Is Serious was undoubtedly the star in the Swan yard during the 2001/2 season. In the space of a lucrative three months, the progressive gelding won the Cork Grand National, the Thyestes Handicap Chase at Gowran Park and the Eider Handicap Chase at Newcastle. Anxious Moments also provided Swan with a notable victory that season, winning the Powers Gold Label Handicap Hurdle Series Final at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival.

Climbing The Ranks

2002/3 got off to a solid start with Donadino winning the valuable Tony O’Malley Memorial Handicap Steeplechase at the Galway Festival, but Over The First was undoubtedly the stable star during that period, winning three handicap hurdles culminating in a short-head win in the listed Proudstown Handicap Hurdle at Navan. It was also during this season that the JP McManus-owned Ground Ball began to make his presence felt over fences. Having broken his duck over the larger obstacles in December, he went on to finish in the frame in the Grade 2 Paddy Fitzpatrick Memorial Novice Chase and the Grade 1 Scilly Isles Novices' Chase at Sandown. He would go on to prove himself a versatile and prolific performer in the years to come.

Following a restricted campaign in 2002/3, Anxious Moments made up for lost time in 2003/4 and having won a beginners chase at the Listowel Harvest Festival in September, he went on to win the Grade 2 Craddockstown Novice Chase before finishing second in the Grade 1 Denny Gold Medal Novice Chase. Over The First continued to pay his way with two victories, the highlight being his win in the listed Eadestown Handicap Chase. Ground Ball also continued his progression up the ranks with a win apiece over hurdles and fences being followed by an excellent second in the Grand Annual Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

2004/5 saw Swan unleash another promising young horse owned by JP McManus, Teeming Rain. Having won a bumper at Down Royal and a maiden hurdle at Punchestown, Swan targeted his promising six-year-old at the Grade 3 Michael Purcell Memorial Novice Hurdle at Thurles. In what was a thrilling contest, David Casey managed to get Teeming Rains head in front in the very last strides to register a short-head win. Ground Ball once again excelled himself during this period, winning the listed Horse And Jockey Hotel Hurdle at Thurles, the Powers Gold Label Championship Handicap Hurdle at Leopardstown and the valuable Dan Moore Memorial Handicap Chase at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival. Swan also achieved a notable feat when saddling the winner, Missindependence, as well as the third and fifth home in the valuable Bewleys Hotels & EBF NH Fillies Champion Bumper at the Punchestown Festival.

What A Native was undoubtedly the star of the 2005/6 season for Charlie Swan. Dogged by injury from early-2001 to 2005, expectations for him were unlikely to be too high after he won his first handicap chase at Thurles off a mark of 86 in November 2005. However, on his next start he won the valuable Porterstown Handicap Chase and he followed that up a fortnight later with another win at Thurles. A month later he stepped up significantly in class to contest the ultra-competitive Pierse Leopardstown Handicap Chase and he rose to the occasion to grind out a gutsy length win under David Casey. One More Minute, Strong Project and Master Ofthe Chase all contributed to a seasonal tally of 42 for Swan.

A Remarkable Run Of Success

2006/7 saw three horses emerge from the Swan yard that would all significantly contribute to what would prove to be the most lucrative season of Swan’s training career thus far, namely Offshore Account, One Cool Cookie and Emmpat. They all won their share of races during the campaign, but Swan had them all at their peak during one magical month in April 2007. Offshore Account got the ball rolling on the opening day of the month by winning the Grade 3 Hugh McMahon Memorial Chase at Limerick and a week later, One Cool Cookie gave Swan a momentous first win at Grade 1 level when scoring in the prestigious Powers Gold Cup at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival. Two days later at the same meeting, Emmpat landed the highly-valuable Menolly Homes Handicap Hurdle and was turned out again just 11 days later to win the Scottish Champion Hurdle at Ayr. What was a truly unbelievable month was wrapped up three days later by the win of Offshore Account in the Grade 1 Ellier Developments Hanover Quay Champion Novice Chase at the Punchestown Festival. As if all those successes weren’t enough, Swan continued his excellent run of form into the Flat season, saddling Jalmira to win the Irish Cambridgeshire as well as listed races at Cork and Newmarket, not to mention the win of Emmpat in the valuable MCR Group EBF August Premier Handicap at the first ever meeting on the all-weather at Dundalk.

Consolidating His Position

Such a remarkable run of form was always going to be hard to maintain and the 2007/8 National Hunt season was not nearly as lucrative in terms of big-race wins for Swan, though he did saddle Drunken Disorderly to win the Grade 3 Hartmann Jewellers Ballybrit Novice Chase at Galway and One Cool Cookie to win the Grade 3 Killultagh Properties Ltd Chase at Down Royal in the space of a week in late-October/early-November. The highlight of the 2008 Flat season was undoubtedly the win of Crooked Throw in the Irish Lincolnshire at the Curragh, though Jalmira again proved to be a lucrative performer, running well in a multitude of valuable contests before wrapping up her season with a win in a listed event at Dundalk.

2008/9 saw Swan maintain a highly-respectable strike-rate and his tally of winners was right up there with the best of his career, but he struggled to make a telling impact on the big-race scene. His most valuable win of the season came courtesy of One Cool Cookie’s win in the listed Wilf Dooly Chase at Tramore on New Year’s Day. He also came close to a notable success when the enigmatic Oodachee finished second in the Topham Chase at the Aintree Grand National meeting.

At the time of writing in early-February 2010, Swan is maintaining a strike-rate that is on par with his best ever and is well on target to achieving another highly-respectable tally of winners. The highlight of his campaign thus far was the win of the ever-green Emmpat in the Grade 3 Kilbegnet EBF Novice Chase at Roscommon in September. While Swan does not have a stand-out contender for the Cheltenham Festival next month, it is surely only a matter of when, and not if, this most talented trainer gets off the mark at National Hunt racings Mecca.

Updated February 2010.