Principal Jockeys: Shane Hassett, Martin Mooney
Notable Winners:
- Champion Four Year Old Hurdle: Won In The Dark 2008
- Durkan New Homes Juvenile Hurdle: Won In The Dark 2007
- Bee Bee Developments Hurdle: Bullhill Flyer 2006
Curragh-based trainer Sabrina Joan Harty was undoubtedly bred for her chosen profession being a daughter of former jockey and trainer Buster Harty, as well as being the niece of Eddie Harty Snr, himself a Grand National winning rider courtesy of Highland Wedding in 1969. She has held her training license for five years and in that time has shown herself to be a more than capable handler and she looks to have a live Cheltenham Festival prospect in the shape of the Grade 1 winning juvenile hurdler, Won In The Dark.
Harty had her first runner when Yourasaint lined up in a bumper at Thurles on 8th April 2004 and she opted to partner the five-year-old herself. While the pair failed to beat a single rival home, it was a starting point for the rookie trainer and while she didn’t have many runners in the next 18 months or so, 2006 saw an upturn in fortunes for her.
With her runners steadily improving their finishing positions as the year went on, she gained a landmark first winner with Bullhill Flyer. A son of Flemensfirth, he had shown seldom little ability in bumpers and hurdle races for Frances Crowley and he came to Harty with a handicap mark of 82 over hurdles. However, on just his second start for Harty, he sprung a 33/1 surprise in a handicap hurdle at Roscommon in August 2006 under Shane Hassett. 18 days later, the five-year-old doubled Harty’s tally of winners when prevailing in a similar event at Kilbeggan with Hassett again in the saddle. When he met with a narrow defeat seven days later, Harty shrewdly opted to give him a short break, bringing him back to the racecourse in early-December to contest a competitive looking conditions hurdle at Fairyhouse. However, despite being sent off at 33/1, he took some notable scalps when leading close home under Hassett to prevail by a length. While he has failed to win since, Bullhill Flyer played an important role in launching the career of Sabrina Harty.
Harty failed to re-enter the winners enclosure for the remainder of the 2006/7 National Hunt season, but during the 2007 Flat season she showed herself to be just as capable of training horses to run on the level as over the jumps. Bold Heta failed to make much impact in four starts for Francis Ennis in 2006, but having joined Harty in 2007, she soon began to improve. Having finished close up in three handicaps, she found good improvement for a drop back to 6f to narrowly win a handicap at Naas under Kieren Fallon.
However, there is little doubt as to the identity of the star performer in Sabrina Harty’s yard and that is Won In The Dark. Having made little impact in three two-year-old maidens for Frances Crowley in 2006, the son of Montjeu changed hands for just €1800 and soon joined the Harty team. He made an impact on his very first start for his new trainer, running a much improved race to finish third in a maiden on the Flat at Wexford in July 2007, but that race was just a sharpener for his real target, the first three-year-old hurdle of the season at Roscommon the following month. Sent off at 7/1 for that race, he led or disputed the lead throughout and eventually prevailed by a short-head under Tom Ryan. Two respectable runs on the Flat were followed by a somewhat worrying effort back over hurdles at Gowran Park where he ran out when in the lead at the very first hurdle. Four weeks later, he returned to winning ways when prevailing in a juvenile hurdle at Cork under Shane Hassett and that win was enough to convince Harty that she had a serious juvenile prospect on her hands.
His next start came in a Grade 2 juvenile hurdle at the November meeting at Cheltenham and he ran with a huge amount of credit, finishing second to the then favourite for the Triumph Hurdle, Franchoek. That effort was sufficiently promising for Harty to run him next in the Grade 1 Durkan New Homes Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas. Sent off at 8/1, he upset some highly rated rivals on his way to gaining an authoritative three lengths success, giving Harty what was easily the biggest win of her training career.
While he met with defeat on his next two starts, he lost little in defeat when a short-head second to Personal Column in the Grade 2 Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown and 4½ lengths third to Celestial Halo in the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. Back on home soil the following month, Won In The Dark returned to winning ways in no uncertain terms when positively running away with the Grade 1 Champion Four Year Old Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival, coming home no less than 10 lengths ahead of Indian Spring. Such was the impression he created on that occasion, hopes were high that he would make up into a Champion Hurdle contender in 2008/9.
Won In The Dark began his 2008/9 campaign with a creditable last of four runners to Hardy Eustace in the Grade 1 Maplewood Developments Hurdle at Punchestown, shaping as if the run would bring him on. That proved to be case and on his next start in the Grade 1 December Festival Hurdle at Leopardstown, Won In The Dark acquitted himself exceptionally well by finishing a close second to Sublimity, finishing in front of top-class horses such as Brave Inca and Hardy Eustace. That run stamped Won In The Dark as a realistic contender for the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and before then, he is likely to run in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown.
With Won In The Dark at the head of her string, Sabrina Harty has an exciting time ahead of her and the future looks bright for this up and coming trainer.
Updated: January 2009
