I love it when a plan comes together

Growing up back in Clane, one of the TV programmes we always watched as kids was the A-Team! Now it wasn"t very educational or even inspirational in any way and I can honestly say I have never given it a thought in the years that have passed, but on Sunday the show"s catchphrase came to my mind in no uncertain terms - 'I love it when a plan comes together!' That is exactly what happened at the Curragh when the ultra-consistent Pasar Silbano won the Goff"s Sportsman"s Sales race. Although she was winning her fourth race of the season, this was, and has been, her objective from the day she was purchased and I can tell you to make any plan with a horse that involves a period of time is a very dangerous thing to do, as invariably you will be disappointed. I walked the track and felt that the ground was not ideal, as she likes it fast. She was handed a draw of 29 of 29, which normally meant we were in trouble, so two very important boxes weren"t ticked and my confidence drained away. Dohasa had unseated Johnny Murtagh in the first race and I started to wonder if this was going to be the start of 'one of those days." Elletelle went to Ascot and I found a nice quiet place on my own to watch her on television. I felt I had her in tip- top condition and expected a big run and would have been very happy with a place against this older opposition. She has from day one, been very difficult in the stalls and it is always a very worrying time seeing her being loaded and waiting to see how much of a head start she would give the rest. On Sunday she completely misbehaved rearing up just as the gates opened hitting Keagan Latham in the face and throwing away any chance she had. Poor Keagan was carted off to hospital and will miss the rest of this week at least as his face took an awful bang. So there I am watching this unfold and wondering how bad this day is actually going to get! My runner in the big colts race ran terrible, so being superstitious I thought that"s three things, my luck will change now! My son Jack was kart racing in Kilkenny and this was his big day, if he had a top three finish the Irish championship was his, no pressure Jack! After a short time sitting feeling very sorry for myself as only trainers and jockeys can (you see we think the world revolves around us) I received a text from my wife Lynne that I was the proud sire of a Champion! Happy days! Things were on the up, our luck had changed and now it was irrelevant how the rest of my horses ran (Yea right). Anyway the sixth race at the Curragh went perfectly as the majority of the field went stand side and gave Johnny a lovely free run over on the far side where he was able to dictate and stay off the chopped up ground. Pasar Silbano"s class shone through and won going away by over two lengths beating Group 2 and Group 3 placed horses, so maybe the hack who maintained that her listed Curragh Cup win wasn"t good form will eat his words! Rockazar won last Saturday at Gowran under Emmet McNamara keeping our apprentice level at the top of the table. We both got a lot of satisfaction from this as Rockazar is the character of the yard and works better than any horse we have, but will decide himself on the track whether he will try or not! In saying that this was his seventh win so he owes us nothing and invariably pulls one out when things are going bad. Last Friday night I was talking to Noel Meade at Dundalk and he told me that he was one winner off reaching a fantastic 2000 career win. I remarked that it would be great to do it at his local track at Navan on Saturday to which he replied - 'and with PC (Paul Carbrery) it would be extra special.' I was at Gowran and normally wouldn"t give the jump card much notice, but I must say I was glued to the monitors all day watching and hoping for this piece of history to unfold. Indeed it did, according to the script, and Nina Carberry was not to be outdone either. She gave the former champion trainer a double on the day. To train this amount of winners anywhere in the world is a phenomenal achievement, but to do it in Ireland where we race three or four times a week is outstanding and puts Noel up there with the greats of the Irish game. Congratulations to Noel and all his team, the rest of us mere mortals can only dream of such an achievement. I purchased five new yearlings last week at Fairyhouse and in this time of uncertainty I do wonder if I"m not mad, but this game does not owe anyone a living and if I want to succeed I have to invest. I am off to Goff"s this week for the year"s premier sale here in Ireland. I am very apprehensive about it, but no doubt I will buy some more! English trainer Richard Hannon did a smash and grab last Sunday on our two €1,000,000 races with horses that were relatively cheap. One cost £80,000 and the other £45,000, not a bad return on that investment so with a bit of luck that"s what I will be trying to do this week. Sounds easy when you say it fast, don"t you think? Ravens Pass did on Saturday what I did not think possible when he beat Henrythenavigator in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. He had run second to him all season and no one would begrudge him his day in the sun. I have read that this performance gives him the top rating of 130 for three-year-olds this season and that it makes him the champion three-year-old! The two horses have met four times this season and Henry has beaten him three times, but our British friends want to call him champion! Get a grip lads, your team tactics are beginning to look desperate!! In my opinion Henry is the best we have seen this year and his last run on soft ground in France probably took the edge off him, which was the difference last Saturday. I don"t want to get involved in the 'politics" of the moment regarding the Ballydoyle team and the issue of team tactics except to say that I feel 'trial by media" is unfortunate. The way that whole debacle has been handled has left me in no doubt that the BHA is a very weak organisation that seems to be led by people who have been at the top of the league for knee jerk reactions over that past few years. They do not seem to be learning from their previous mistakes and continue to bring the game into disrepute by their actions. In my opinion they have done the industry a lot more harm over the past few years by their actions than most of the people they have been trying to prosecute. Thank God our authorities have not gone down that road and have looked like much more mature custodians in times of crisis? Visit the Ger Lyons website: www.gerlyons.ie