Tony Martin

Tony MartinPrincipal Jockeys: Ruby Walsh, Robbie McNally, Robbie Colgan, Philip Carberry

 

Notable Wins:

  • Paddy Power Chase: Newbay Prop 2007
  • Troytown Handicap Chase: Royal County Star 2007
  • BGC Cross Country Handicap Chase: Wonderkid 2007
  • Ulster Bank Handicap Chase: Royal County Star 2007
  • Thyestes Chase: Dun Doire 2006
  • William Hill Trophy at Cheltenham: Dun Doire 2006
  • Porterstown Handicap Chase: Newbay Prop 2006
  • Pierse Hurdle: Xenophon 2003
  • Coral Cup at Cheltenham: Xenophon 2003
  • David Austin Memorial Novice Handicap Chase: It’s Himself 2002
  • Irish Grand National: Davids Lad 2001
  • Powers Gold Label Novice Hurdle: Ross Moff 2000
  • Martell Reserve Hunters Chase at Aintree: Extra Stout 1999
  • Powers Gold Label Handicap Hurdle: She’s Our Mare 1999
  • Swinton Hurdle at Haydock: She’s Our Mare 1999
  • English Cambridgeshire: She’s Our Mare 1999
  • Ascot Stakes at Royal Ascot: Barba Papa 2000 & Leg Spinner 2005
  • Pierse Leopardstown Chase: Hollybank Buck 1999
  • Eider Chase: Hollybank Buck 1999
  • Pat Taaffe Handicap Chase: Hollybank Buck 1998

A top class amateur rider, Tony Martin has really made an indelible mark on the Irish racing scene as a trainer in the last decade or so. Martin has earned a reputation for getting the very best out of his horses, no matter how moderate. He often improves the horses that he inherits from other yards while those that leave his yard rarely manage to find improvement. Any runners from the Martin yard are treated with extreme caution by the bookmakers as his charges have landed numerous spectacular gambles over the years.

Tony shows extreme patience with his charges and is never one to rush them. Indeed, it is quite rare to see one of his charges winning first time out and he is adept at placing them to run up a sequence of victories. In the late 1990’s, She’s Our Mare was one of his charges that first brought him recognition as a trainer as she improved tremendously through the 1998/9 season. She won her first race on the Flat at Laytown in 1998 but sixteen months later, she landed the Cambridgeshire at Newmarket having notched up victories at Leopardstown, Navan and the Curragh in the meantime. Over hurdles she won races at Wexford and Sligo in 1997 before going on to win the Powers Gold Label Handicap Hurdle at the Easter Fairyhouse Meeting in 1999 and then the valuable Swinton Hurdle at Haydock the following month.

Hollybank Buck was another stable star around that time as he notched up no less than seven victories. He came into his own when racing on soft ground over extreme distances, resulting in wins in the Castlemartin Stud Pat Taaffe Handicap Chase at the 1998 Punchestown Festival, the Pierse Leopardstown Chase the following January and the Eider Chase at Newcastle a month later. The stable also hit the jackpot with Davids Lad, a horse that was as fragile as he was talented. When he got the good ground that he was so effective on, Davids Lad was an extremely smart performer, as he showed when winning a valuable handicap chase at the Punchestown Festival (held at Fairyhouse) in 2001. Despite having to shoulder a big penalty for this victory, the horse continued his rate of improvement when arriving late and fast to defeat Rathbawn Prince in the Irish Grand National in early May to give the stable another big race success.

Ross Moff was another useful sort for the stable winning good races at Punchestown and Fairyhouse as a novice hurdler while It’s Himself landed the valuable David Austin Memorial Novice Handicap Chase at the Punchestown Festival in 2002. Tony also trained the very smart Xenophon who enjoyed a fine run of success in 2003, winning the Pierse Hurdle at Leopardstown and the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival, two of the most competitive handicap hurdles in the National Hunt racing season. Unfortunately, Xenophon failed to deliver on that promise when sent over fences the following season and was killed after falling in the 2004 Irish Grand National.

Perhaps the best example of Tony’s training abilities was his handling of Dun Doire during the 2005/06 season. Having shown very little form on his first couple of outings over fences, Dun Doire improved a little when sent over hurdles winning on two occasions before he landed his first chase at Wetherby in November 2005. A quick follow up at Haydock in early December was followed by victory at Navan two weeks later. Martin decided to bypass the Christmas Festivals at Leopardstown and Limerick with him, but produced him to win the Dunboyne Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse on New Year’s Day. Aimed at the Thyestes Chase at Gowran Park three weeks later, he was only listed as first reserve on the race card but got a run when Killeaney had to be withdrawn due to an injury. He then landed some sizeable wagers (backed from 4/1 to 9/4 fav) when coming late and fast under Paul Carberry to claim a notable triumph. However, that was not to be the end of Dun Doire’s remarkable rise up the handicapping ladder as seven weeks later he gained a tremendous victory in the William Hill Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. That was the horse’s sixth consecutive victory in the five months, a run of success that saw his handicap rating rise from a lowly 79 to close on 137. He has since been campaigned with a view to running well in the Aintree Grand National and while he ran poorly in the race last season, it would be no surprise to see him run better this coming April.

Leg Spinner has been another lucrative performer for Martin, giving him a second success at Royal Ascot when winning the Ascot Stakes Handicap under Fran Berry in 2005, having sent out Barba Papa to win the same race in 2000. He picked up an injury soon after that win, but returned last year to win twice over hurdles, including at the Galway Festival, before gaining two valuable wins on the Flat in England, including the Cesarewitch at Newmarket on his latest outing. He still looks to be on the right side of the handicapper over hurdles and is sure to win more races in that sphere.

While the 2006/07 season lacked a star performer in the mould of Dun Doire, that did not stop Tony Martin registering his best season since the late 1990’s in terms of number of the winners trained, gaining a total of 30 successes. Among the most notable wins of the season were Newbay Prop’s success in the Porterstown Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse in December, Hold The Pin’s win in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Novice Handicap Chase at Navan in March and Royal County Star’s gutsy success in the valuable Ulster Bank Handicap Chase at the Punchestown Festival.

Thus far in the 2007/08 season, Tony Martin is well on his way to having his best ever season having already had 34 winners in Ireland as well as 10 winners in England. He has annexed a number of valuable handicaps and has terrorised the bookies on a regular basis at the smaller tracks. Perhaps the highlight of his season thus far has been the last-gasp win of Newbay Prop in the Paddy Power Chase at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival, but the win of Royal County Star in the Troytown Chase was also undoubtedly a sweet one.

Tony has already proved his ability to saddle winners at the Cheltenham Festival with Xenophon and Dun Doire and he looks to have his strongest ever hand for this season’s Festival. He is likely to saddle favourites in a number of the races, mostly notably Wonderkid in the Sporting Index Cross Country Chase and Leg Spinner in the Coral Cup, and the likes of Pyscho, Newbay Prop, Robin Du Bois and The Roney Man are all likely to acquit themselves well.

Updated: March 2008