Address: Garlow Cross, Navan, Co. Meath
Principal Jockeys: Andrew Thornton, Padraig Beggy
Notable Wins: Carlingford Stakes (Indiana Gal 2009), Salsabil Stakes (Indiana Gal 2009), Champion Hunters Chase at Punchestown (Agus A Vic 2008), Irish Stallion Farms European Breeders Fund Premier Nursery (Indiana Gal 2007), boylesports.com Premier Handicap (Rathgowney Lad 2005), Arthur Guinness Handicap (Crystal Springs 1999), Proudstown Handicap Hurdle (Mary O’Malley 1988)
60 Seconds With Pat Martin
Q: What has been your most memorable moment in racing?
A: When Indiana Gal won her first Listed race at Dundalk.
Q: If you weren’t a trainer, what would you be?
A: A good golfer!
Q: So many of your horses seem to get better and better the older they get. What is your secret to keeping them so enthusiastic and progressive as they get older and wiser?
A: Everyone has their own way of doing things, but we like to get ours out in the field as much as we can and I also like to give my horses a good gap between their races.
Q: Of all the horses you have trained, do you have a particular favourite?
A: I have a soft spot for Lucky At Last. He always gives his best and is very honest. He is also very versatile, having won on the Flat, over hurdles and over fences.
Q: What is your horse to follow for the rest of the National Hunt season?
A: Agus A Vic will hopefully be competitive in valuable handicap chases.
Pat Martin took out a trainer’s licence in 1984 and over the years has developed a reputation as being a very shrewd handler who does particularly well with the ammunition he has got. There are rarely any Group or Listed class horses in the yard, but looking back over his results, it is quite common to see a Pat Martin-trained horse winning more than one race and he is excellent at placing his charges to maximum effect which is always the sign of a good trainer.
Early Days
In the early stages of his career, Pat occupied the yard that was once owned by Sir Hugh Nugent and Jim Bolger in Clonsilla and one of the horses that helped to raise his profile was Mary O’Malley, a dual bumper winner who defeated the subsequently brilliant chaser, Carvill’s Hill, in a bumper at Leopardstown in 1987 and who also proved successful in the Proudstown Handicap Hurdle at Navan in 1988. Other decent performers around this time were Bavamour, a nine-time winner who was one of the leading fancies for the 1987 Galway Plate before going on to win at Tralee while at the same Galway Meeting that year, he saddled the useful Rocky Domain to defy the steadier of 12st 2lbs in a handicap hurdle.
There have been quite a few good servants in the yard over the years and the like of Bajan Queen is a name that springs to mind. Starting her handicap career off a mark of just 50, she was cleverly placed to win a total of eight races, two of them over hurdles and the remainder on the level. While she mainly won low grade handicaps, her handicap rating had improved to 71 in the space of a couple of seasons. Pat’s ability to improve a horse’s rating has been shown on many occasions and is one of the main reasons why he is regarded as a capable and clever trainer.
Lucrative Campaigners
Crystal Springs was another excellent servant for the yard. A seemingly modest performer in the beginning, she gradually improved and eventually won a total of eleven races over several seasons. She liked to adopt a front running role in the majority of her races and gained her most notable victory when winning the competitive Arthur Guinness Handicap at the Curragh on Derby Day in 1999. She retired to stud having amassed over €100,000 in win and place prize money and having run in her first handicap over a mark of 53, she was as high as 74 at one stage. Pat also placed her to win five races over hurdles and saw her handicap hurdle mark rise from as low as 89 to a high of 121.
Very often, trying to win races in the lower grades is extremely difficult for trainers. The lower grade races under both codes nearly always attract huge entries, which causes mass balloting and trying to get a horse into the right race is an art in itself. Pat has shown great skill in this department and another good example of this is the fact that he saddled Breffni Flyer to win a total of eleven races. Even at the age of 10, which would be considered veteran status in flat racing, the horse won an amateur handicap at Fairyhouse in good style. Other lucrative performers for the yard have been Peru Girl (4 wins), Persian Return (5 wins), Desert Kite (3 wins), Dee-One-O-One (6 wins), Queen Sarabi (4 wins), Detatch (5 wins), Monalee Lass (3 wins), Indian Pace (3 wins), Magic Annemarie (3 wins), Goose Island (7 wins), Buddy Man (6 wins) and Rathgowney Lad (6 wins). Rathgowney Lad was perhaps the pick of those performers, improving from a mark of 62 when winning at Killarney in July 2004 to a high of 99 at Gowran Park less than twelve months later, with his biggest victory coming in the Boylesports Handicap at the Curragh on Guineas weekend in 2005.
More Recent Seasons
Without question, the star performer on the Flat for Martin in recent seasons has been Indiana Gal. A talented performer from the outset of her career, she won a maiden and two nurseries (including a valuable contest at Tralee) as a juvenile. She has gone on to be a highly-consistent and lucrative performer in Listed and Group 3 contests, winning two of the former events in 2009. She currently has six wins to her name and has accumulated over €200,000 in prize money. Over jumps, perhaps his most high-profile performer in recent seasons has been the highly-rated hunter chaser Agus A Vic, with him gaining six wins in those contests, including in the Champion Hunters Chase at the Punchestown Festival in 2008. Lucky At Last has also been a tremendously lucrative performer for the yard, winning six hurdle races, a Flat race and two chases. Better still looks to be forthcoming from that horse over fences and he should continue to add to his tally in the months and years ahead.
With Martin continuing on at the same rate of consistent success that he has done for over 25 years, he looks sure to remain a regular visitor to the winner’s enclosure for many years to come.
Updated October 2010.
