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One of Ireland’s best flat jockeys, Christy Roche enjoyed a near thirty year career in the saddle winning races like the Budweiser Irish Derby (3 times) while he also partnered the David O’Brien trained Secreto to a memorable short head success over El Gran Senor in the 1984 Epsom Derby. Roche retired from the saddle in August 1998 having taken out a licence to train a couple of years earlier and his first winner as a licensed trainer came with Ask The Butler at Fairyhouse in December 1996. Over the last decade or so, Christy has enjoyed great success as a trainer and when one of his runners is fancied to run a big race, the bookmakers are always wary as he is well capable of bringing off some big gambles, a feat he has achieved on many occasions.
Christy’s main patron is J.P. McManus and has been since he started training. In the early days of his training career, he did particularly well with Grimes, a horse who won nine races for the stable including the Galway Plate in 2001. Having been a top class hurdler, Grimes was very lightly raced over fences and when winning the Galway Plate became the first maiden over fences to do so for nearly a hundred years. Christy has a fine record with his bumper horses and the very talented Joe Mac started a very strong favourite for the 1998 Cheltenham Festival Bumper. Having looked set to score when looming up to challenge early in the straight, Joe Mac was eventually defeated by the top class Alexander Banquet and Ruby Walsh, a result which saved the bookmakers a fortune after a huge public gamble on Roche’s charge before the off. Joe Mac subsequently became a top class novice hurdler the following season but again found the Cheltenham Hill against him when runner up to subsequent Champion Hurdle winner, Hors La Loi, in the Supreme Novices Hurdle but he then went on to win well at the Aintree Festival where the flatter track was very much in his favour.
Roche enjoyed his first success at the Cheltenham Festival when saddling Khayrawani to land the 1999 Coral Cup in the hands of Fran Berry as they just got the better of fellow Irish raiders Miltonfield and Generosa in a tremendously exciting finish. The following year the stable had high hopes for the very promising Youlneverwalkalone who had stayed unbeaten in three hurdle races during the season including a facile success in the Deloitte And Touche Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown five weeks before but this heavily backed favourite had to settle for third place behind Sausalito Bay much to the relief of the bookmakers. Youlneverwalkalone went on to be a great servant to the stable in landing 10 races in total including the Grade One Hatton’s Grace Hurdle in the year 2000 where he defeated Moscow Flyer and he finally gained a Cheltenham victory when taking the 2003 William Hill Handicap Chase under Barry Geraghty.
In early 2001, Christy unleashed a seven year old mare to win her first bumper at Naas in great style and this mare, named Like-A-Butterfly, was to become probably the best horse he has put through his hands to date as she recorded a total of 12 wins in a glorious career. Having remained undefeated in three bumper events including the Paddy Power Champion Bumper at Punchestown (run at Leopardstown that season), the mare remained unbeaten through the early stages of her novice hurdle campaign with victories in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse and the Deloitte and Touche Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown the highlights. Starting a strong 7/4 favourite for the 2002 Supreme Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham, she stayed on bravely up the hill under Charlie Swan to gain the day by a neck and one will never forget the tremendous scenes of joy and elation that this victory evoked in the huge Irish contingent on that afternoon. While she was subsequently defeated at the Punchestown Festival, Like-A-Butterfly regained the winning thread in January 2003 when just getting the better of a titanic struggle with the brilliant Limestone Lad in a wonderfully exciting race for the AIG Europe Champion Hurdle. She subsequently disappointed in the Smurfit Champion Hurdle behind Rooster Booster and then had to spend a season on the sidelines after suffering a serious leg injury. When returning to the track in November 2004, she easily got off the mark over fences with a comfortable victory at Naas before rounding off a fine career with victory in the Grade One Powers Gold Cup at Fairyhouse in late March and although now 11 years of age she signed off with another win at the highest level when taking the John Smith’s Mildmay Novice Chase at the Aintree Festival.
Christy has enjoyed other fine successes with the likes of Bannow Bay (9 races), Risk Accessor (8 races), Calladine (9 races), Wouldn’t You Agree (6 races), Le Coudray (5 races) and Far From Trouble (5 wins including the 2006 William Hill Galway Plate). While mainly a national hunt trainer, Christy has also had his fair share of success on the flat, doing particularly well with the likes of Desert Fantasy (3 races) and saddling Calladine to land the Leopardstown November Handicap in 2001.
Info supplied by Horse Racing Ireland – Updated February 2007
