Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports, recently retired jockey a Aidan Coleman has given his tip for the Charlie Hall race and hails "Genius" Willie Mullins impact on horse racing calling him one of the all-time sporting greats!
The newly turned trainer also named his horse-to-watch ahead of the Cheltenham November meeting, highlights his training goals for the season and gives his perspective on some of Ireland's leading jockeys.
Elsewhere, he praises the work of the Racing Blogger and his impact on the sport. Aidan has hinted at his own next steps in the sport arguing he has plenty to offer, but you won't be seeing him on reality TV anytime soon!
Charlie Hall
My Charlie Hall Tip
Wetherby is a track that will really suit Pic D’orhy. I'd worry about Protektorat, which is owned by Sir Alex! He’s getting older. I'd worry about him a little bit, first run. I think Paul Nicholls will have Pic D’orhy ready for this. Another horse you can’t ignore is Hewick. He will love good ground. He will turn up.
Willie Mullins
“Genius” Willie Mullins
His start is usually around the Hatton’s Grace meeting at Fairyhouse at the end of November or early December. I had a few rides for him, a few for JP. He is a very nice man to ride for. I never had a winner for him, though! The word might be thrown around a bit too much, but I think the best way to describe Wille is ‘genius.’
He's literally a genius. I think you could go there and shadow him for 20 years and then start off by yourself, and you wouldn't be able to replicate his success or anything like that. His mind is absolutely fantastic. It's how he thinks. It's just amazing. No one could put their finger on what actually makes Willie Mullins, Willie Mullins.
Is He An Irish Sporting Great?
Yeah, I suppose he is. Along with Aidan O'Brien, especially because Ireland's a lot smaller, horse racing's a lot more in everybody's homes in Ireland. Ireland is also more rural.
It's a big sport in Ireland. Everybody in Ireland would know who Willie Mullins is, and Aidan O’Brien too. In the UK, because it's a bigger country, it's just not as ingrained in the culture as in Ireland. In Ireland, these guys would be household names.
Horse-To-Watch
Horse-To-Watch
If I had to bring people racing for the first time, I think the November meeting would be my first place to bring them, followed by Aintree. The November meeting is one of the best meetings of the year. It's just good racing, really good racing.
It’s the start of the National Hunt year proper, so there's a lot of anticipation. There is always a great buzz. It's a great meeting; it's a great meeting to ride at. I've been there twice now since I've retired, and I've enjoyed it both times, which isn't easy for me. I don't really enjoy going racing a lot.
I was speaking to jockey Johnny Burke about this last week. We have a horse in Fergal’s yard. He was one of the first horses I sat on when I started going back there. I was like, ‘Jesus, this is nice.’ It was Chicker who won the bumper on Saturday. I was saying to Johnny that I couldn’t find a hole in the horse; his work is exceptional, his mind is, he's great temperament, he's only four, he has a fantastic temperament.
He was very impressive the other day, and his last furlong was his best. I don't know where he's going to go for now, whether he's going to have another run in the break or else a break and then start getting ready for one of them spring festivals, be it Cheltenham or Aintree. He’s only four, but he is a very talented horse.
Season Target
100 Winner Goal
I suppose every yard wants to get to 100 winners. And then obviously the trainers' championship is done on prize money, so get as high up that as possible. The horses are really well, they're all fit and healthy, and then when the ground comes around, hopefully the ones that are waiting for a bit of softer ground can keep the form up and come out and start winning.
Irish Jockeys
Irish Champion Jockey: Dylan Brown McMonagle “No Surprise”
I spent a lot of time with Dylan during the Covid year. I went back to Ireland, and I spent a couple of months at Joseph O’Brien’s. Dylan was there then. It wouldn't have taken a very intelligent person to figure out he was going to be a champion jockey or very successful, to be honest.
He was never really not going to do this. He's always been a brilliant rider, and he always had an old head and young shoulders.
The pony racing in Ireland would be the main reason behind unearthing all these talented riders. Most of us came through it. Any one jockey that's from Ireland would have pony raced. It’s not like pony racing over here. It does stand you in good stead for what to expect when you start race riding up under the rules proper.
Jack Kennedy’s Impressive Mindset
I don't think that will stop his riding ability. I don't think Jack Kennedy, now with six broken legs, is a worse jockey than he was before he broke his legs, even though he started breaking his legs very young. But obviously, the worry with Jack is suffering more injuries. You would just love to see him get a couple of years of no injury, and then his body can properly heal.
He does give it the time these days, but at the same time, it's one injury after another. What a talent he is. It’s just incredible what he has achieved with all that time on the sidelines. His mindset is more impressive than anything else.
The Racing Blogger
The Racing Blogger
You have to respect the Blogger. France Galop employ him, and I see Australia embracing him around the Melbourne Cup, and they're reaping the rewards of his enthusiasm.
He's real. That’s his strength. I've done a few things with him. You can't help but be a little bit infected by his passion for it. I'm all for him and think fair play. It's great to see him getting a bit of recognition at these places. He's living his dream basically, which is great to see, and I think it's important. But on the flip side, everybody knows horse racing exists in the UK. They'll have watched the Grand National or they've heard of the Derby or the Gold Cup.
They know it exists. Like, I know bowls exists. You can get every influencer, put it on mainstream TV, but I still won't watch it. It's just not my sport. It's just not for me. So, people know racing exists. But they don't watch it.
There's only so much you can do. Ramming it down people’s throats kind of annoys the people who do follow the sport and like it. You're pushing away the people who follow the sport and are fans of it, for people who probably never will like it or never will be a fan or never will be in the sport or a supporter of it. I think racing goes a bit far trying to pander to the people who ultimately don't really care about the sport, and they forget about the people in the sport.
It's not saying don't try and get new people into the sport. But maybe a bit more education on welfare and regulatory issues would probably be more effective than paying some influencer a lot of money just to send a tweet out.
Career Prospects
Next Move “I’ve Plenty To Offer”
I'd love to know the answer to that, but I don't. I just know through dealing with Fergal, and the experience I have of the racing calendar and how things work and how horses work. I think I have a lot to offer through my experience. I know horses, and I can still ride them.
I still have plenty to offer. But channelling that into a specific title or role, I don't actually know. But there's something there, advisory work maybe. I want to be within racing. It's where I've been for the last 20 years, and it's been good for me. It owes me nothing.
No To Reality TV!
No, that wouldn't be for me at all. I'd be no good at anything like that. I couldn't imagine it. Anyway, you need to be famous to be on these things. I think if you were getting someone like me on one of those shows, that would be beginning at the end of the show!
That goes back to what I said earlier about jockeys and people in racing being household names in Ireland. The horse racing is so much bigger over there than this here. That's kind of a good example of it.
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