owned by Healycoyle and partnersKILCOMMON PRIDE
7 year old brown gelding: Catcher In The Rye - Ballyhookeen Lass
owned by Healycoyle and partners
Follow this link to see Kilcommon Pride's career in the Racing Post form database: RACING POST FORM
On the open day, Kilcommon Pride is keen not to miss out on any juicy gossip about his neighbours in the yard
Dec11: Win number two arrived very quickly, this time over three and a quarter miles at Hereford. Hadden was very pleased with the professionalism shown by Kilcommon Pride in the race - settled well, jumped soundly, picked up well when asked to go and win the race. The downside was that the main oppo did not see out the distance so well, which meant that the margin of victory widened quickly at the end of the race, without him working at all hard to do it. Cue another hike up the handicap - now at 102.
Nov11: Opened his account by winning his first chase, a two and a half miler in the mud at Ffos Las. The margin of victory was enormous as the opposition did not cope with the conditions in the way that Kilcommon Pride did. He jumped well, and given that he will, in time, be at his best over even further, it was a job well done. Fearing a massive ratings rise, we went back over the same course and distance a week later, but the plan did not work out. The combination of a quick reappearance and even deeper ground scuppered him, but there will be other days.
Oct11: Got a bit flustered on his comeback run for the autumn, getting unsighted in a big field at the first hurdle. It took another, problem-free run to get his confidence back, and the next race is likely to be over fences.
Nov10: Made his hurdles debut and had a very enlightening experience about racing, taking on some battle hardened and nippy refugees from the flat in a two miler. He did well, only dropping out at the second last, and he now knows there is more to jumping than a pop over three up on the Lambourn Downs.
Sep10: Ran much better second time up, but it was a stronger race and he was sixth. Since the race he has schooled over hurdles, and to the surprise of some, showed a great deal of dexterity and flexibility, whereas horses of his size can often turn out to be a bit awkward, over-confident and clumsy in their early tries.
Aug10: Made his debut and ran a rather disappointing race, but somehow still ended up third. Perhaps one or two of the oppo got a crick in their neck trying to make eye contact? The race was at Hereford, and with a lap to go, it looked like he would be tailed off, but he proved strong and durable and rallied past most of the opposition. So there were positives, but we would not want him thinking that he ought to run like that all of the time.
Mar10: Is becoming much more like an athlete having had a spell in serious training and we are pleased with the progress that he has made since we got him.
Jan10: He is what is commonly referred to as a "fine stamp of a horse" when people mean "a ginormous beast that will need an awful lot of time to come right." And when they are out on the gallops, a lot of the other horses are very wary of going near him, as with his winter coat, he looks to them like a demonic mammoth sent from beyond the grave to bully them (perhaps by JD Salinger). Because of his size, Kilcommon Pride is not a difficult ride, but actually quite difficult to ride, but he has been cantering and is learning all the time.
Kilcommon Pride gets a touch of nerves at people watching him practice