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Massive blow for Mc Cain but in truth for the reported money the Rooneys have spent(rumours of 4 million of purchases the last few seasons) he has done very poorly with the horses. I remember 4 or 5 years back thinking himself and Gordon Elliott were 2 young trainers that had a big future ad while Gordon’s gone from strength to strength it seems Donald’s yard is in dreadful form and although he gets winners up North it’s only the egg and spoon races.
Is this the beginning of the end for the yard or can this galvanise them to try get to the top table again. Only time will tell.
Sad news, since Peddlers Cross was retired and the awful run of injuries for Jason Maguire the stable has been in terrible form. Really hope they bounce back but could be another nail in the coffin for Northern trainers.
I love how a softish southern race is called “a stepping stone”, or a “nice little race”, but any northern equivalent is called an “egg and spoon” race.
Bloody shandy drinkers.
BUY THE SUN
Really didn’t help matters for the yard by trying to win nearly every race from the front.
I think you have to look to the quality of the horses and profile of them. Many seem to be 50-100k purchases from store sales/HIT sales or some moderately expensive Arquana sales. You can buy a lot of up to a 100k store horses and not get a good horse in a 100 let alone 50. Perhaps he should have looked to the profile of buying that Willie Mullins/Paul Nicholls has. A horse with a good run under its belt in France is a better bet than an unknown quantity. If the Rooney’s spent 4 million on horses that is not much, 4 million spent in France would have yielded maybe only 10 or so horses of Mullins quality. Clive Smith only bought a few for 1 million. If I was Mr Rooney I would get Anthony Bromley to sort the lot out and go shopping again.
McCain has been the one selecting the horses at the sales. Some of his comments about this split seem rather deluded (though very affable), with the trainer even saying he is ‘proud’ to have left the Rooneys with a great team of horses.
With the amount spent, it’s appalling that Kruzhlinin (peak rating circa 150) is the best horse the team have produced. In response to one of the comments above, a few of the purchases have been from France. Konig D’ax, for example, beat Douvan in France before finishing out with the washing for McCain.
Even when given the right ammunition, McCain lags behind the top trainers in keeping horses sound. Apart from the rugged Cloudy Lane, you’ve got to say his top performers had very short careers at the top. Overturn had a couple of great seasons before getting crocked, Peddlers Cross likewise and the less said about Cinders And Ashes the better!
There’s something a little braindead in McCain’s race planning and targeting too. Most of his string have won two or three small field events by a distance and enter handicaps completely exposed. I’m not encouraging skullduggery, but you’ve got to know that a trickly stream of 2-3k pots isn’t going to keep a big-spending owner happy.
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