The season ends on a high for Prunella
James O'Neill, Ann O'Neill (Owner), Barry Geraghty (Jockey), Frederick Rooney, Prunella Dobbs (Trainer), Dave Dobbs and George Dobbs with Our Gar after Our Gar won the Aon Insurances Hurdle on the Thursday of the Punchestown Festival.
THE HORSE racing season, which has just come to a close with the recent Punchestown Festival, has ended on a high for one Co. Wicklow trainer.
Prunella Dobbs, who lives and has her stables at Sheephill, Dunganstown, has achieved the biggest number of wins on race courses at home and abroad since she started training horses eight years ago.
Eight horses are in training at her stables at the moment and since November they have racked up a total of nine wins and nine seconds and in the racing world this translates into a 24 percent return of winners to runners which is way above average.
'Our Gar', a horse owned by Jim and Anne O'Neill, Wicklow, won a prestigious hurdle race at Punchestown last month and in doing so impressively beat into third place JP McManus's highly fancied and hot favourite ' Ainama' with top jockey Tony McCoy on board. The winner was powered home by Barry Geraghty.
Barndarrig man John Salley bred another inmate of the yard, 'Our Girl Salley', which is now owned as well by Anne O'Neill. It is very unusual for a mare to win three bumper races but that is the proud achievement of ' Our Girl Salley' and her latest success was at Fairyhouse at the Easter Grand National festival. 'Our Girl Salley' has also clocked up two seconds in top company.
On Wednesday of last week family, friends and neighbours of Prunella Dobbs came together in The Beehive to toast and rejoice at her phenomenal success as a trainer this season; everyone present relived the thrill of the wins on video tape on television and swapped many stories and memories.
And no doubt the local punters present were especially happy with the run of success for the local training stable which helped them lighten the pockets of the bookies.
Prunella is a very hands-on trainer when it comes to preparing the horses under her charge and care and she is assisted in that work by Declan Byrne, Kilbride, who looks after the wellbeing of the horses, and Alan Hudson, Barndarrig, and Peter Croke, Hacketstown, who are both work riders. Frederick Rooney, Rathnew, looks after the stable's runners at the track on race days.
Absolutely delighted with the run of success she has been enjoying of late, Prunella also readily acknowledges that it is also due to the excellent quality of the horses she is being given to train.
Another of her owners is David Fitzgerald from Limerick. His horse 'Take it Easee' has been a three times winner over the winter including winning on the Flat at Leopardstown.
Horses trained by Prunella have also been first past the post at Nottingham, Limerick and Navan as well as Fairyhouse and Punchestown.
'Farringdon', owned by Peter Savill, Kilbride, has chalked up one win and four places this season, while 'Ravensbury' finished a creditable second first time out at Gowran Park.
A trainer with ambition and drive, she is not content to rest on her laurels and, as she looks to the future, she has her sights set on capturing top prizes next season.
Prunella and her husband George have three sons, David, Edward and Daniel and one daughter, Emily.
