Hourigan looking forward to Limerick’s Christmas cards

Michael Hourigan has fond memories of his local track ahead of their headline four-day Christmas meeting.

The trainer is based at Lisaleen stables, almost hacking distance from Limerick racecourse as it takes just 10 minutes to travel between the two locations.

Hourigan is famed in the area and further afield for his successes with Dorans Pride and Beef Or Salmon, two top class performers who flew the flag for his yard throughout the 1990 and 2000s.

Both enjoyed victories at Limerick en route to triumphs in Grade One events on both sides of the Irish Sea, with Hourigan’s neighbouring course naturally featuring prominently in the plans for his runners.

“I always did wind up my horses for Limerick, always, because I was the local trainer and the man they followed,” he said.

“When the new track opened up some years ago I really wanted to train the first winner, I had them all tuned up for the day. I think I had to wait for the second last, but I had a winner there on the day.

“The old Limerick was a great track for everybody, it was close-knit and there was a huge crowd. You could move about on St Patrick’s Day.

“The track in Limerick now is a huge track and it takes quite a lot of people to fill it. It’s like Leopardstown and there’s a huge crowd there.

“A lot of people think it’s an easy track but I don’t think it is, you have a fair pull up the bank. It’s a Grade One track now and it’s wonderful that they have a Grade One there, unfortunately since then I haven’t had a horse good enough to run in it and win but someday I will.

“It’s wonderful that there a Grade One race run in Limerick over Christmas now. We’ll probably have a horse good enough sometime to run in it, I’d love to win it.”

The race in question is the Guinness Faugheen Novice Chase, run on Boxing Day – the first day of the track’s four-day festive meeting.

Faugheen is not the only horse who has had a Limerick race named in his honour, with Dorans Pride also remembered with a Grade Two novices’ hurdle – run at Christmas and now known as the Lyons of Limerick Jaguar Land Rover Dorans Pride Novice Hurdle.

Hourigan said: “There’s a novice hurdle named after Dorans Pride, he won his first novice chase in Limerick. Beef or Salmon certainly fell there! Paul (Hourigan) was riding him and he jumped the last clear, took two or three strides and fell over.

“Half of Kerry used to follow Dorans Pride, they’d turn up at Cheltenham and they’d turn up at Limerick when you wouldn’t expect to see them. He had a big following, it was like Honeysuckle now.”