The Bryan Cooper thread

[Morning Glory]

"I only ever had a mind to be a jump jockey," he admits. "I was never really interested in the Flat." Mother Nature must have been paying attention to the young lad's wishes as she provided him with a sudden growth-spurt and, without a winner on the Flat, he switched his attention to the winter code and moved permanently to Dessie Hughes.

His first ride over jumps came almost exactly a year after his opening Flat ride. He didn't need to wait long for his first winner (October 29, 2009) which arrived, fittingly, for his father aboard Rossdara at Clonmel.

It is hardly surprising – observing Bryan Cooper's style – that he cites Paul Carberry first as his role-model growing up, or that a race-analyst at the time described Cooper's first victory on board a notably tricky mare as "polished". However, it wasn't all fairytales and magic wands for the Kerry lad as not long afterwards he crashed out at Gowran Park, broke a wrist, and spent eight weeks off the pitch. And so it was, despite having only a handful of rides, still claiming his full 7lb allowance, he got his first taste of the Festival in 2010 partnering Sonamix (for his dad) into a close fourth in the Fred Winter, having led into the straight.

He recalls: "The buzz, the noise of the crowd and the atmosphere. Bit different going out to the parade ring there than going out to the parade ring at Thurles on a Thursday."

His order-book rose to "still just two or three rides" for the 2011 Festival but last year Cooper had 14 mounts for a variety of trainers, including one for David Pipe.

He came closest to success with a second on White Star Line for his guv'nor in the Centenary, finding only last year's monster-improver Hunt Ball too good in the closing yards.

This season has been his best so far. With the yard in cracking form and demand for his services increasing, Cooper currently sits fifth in the jockey's championship on 53 winners. The only peers ahead of him are either attached to Willie Mullins' yard or ride for Gigginstown. Outside of leader Davy Russell, Cooper has had more rides than any other domestic jockey.

He has also managed a Cheltenham winner – on Action Master at the October meeting – and he is sharpening his pencil for this week where he will have 13 or 14 fresh opportunities to fulfil a young boy's dream. His best is undoubtedly Our Conor, a revelation since switching his attention to obstacles.

Unbeaten in three runs from his debut at Navan in November, he has simply gone from strength to strength and finds himself at the top of the Triumph Hurdle market.

Cooper, his partner in all three wins, is still looking for the flaws. "He jumps, he stays, and he has a turn of foot," says the jockey. What's not to like? Some whispers have questioned his stamina for the demands of the New Course, but Our Conor's pilot at least is unfazed. "He's been going on at the end of all his races so I don't see that as a problem," he adds. He pinpoints Nicky Henderson's Rolling Star as his main danger.

Amongst Cooper's many other possibilities next week he singles out Lyreen Legend for particular mention. Likelier for the RSA than the Jewson he should be a lot better than he showed in the PJ Moriarty at Leopardstown in February where he finished close-up in a blanket finish.

"After his unlucky fall at Christmas in the three miler he had been stood in his box for nearly a month so he'd done very little work before the Moriarty. So given his price I expect him to run very well," says Cooper.

White Star Line, in spite of running-up last year at the Festival, is actually lower in the ratings this time around. However, still a maiden over fences, he may struggle to get into his first preference race, the Byrne Group Plate and may consequently have to take the three-mile option.

Action Master returns to the scene of his October victory for the Pertemps Final but would prefer better ground. And Benefficient, a horse that has provided him with two Grade 1 successes in the last two years at unlikely odds both times, looks set to try a similar feat in the Arkle where he takes on 'The Invincibles', Simonsig and Overturn.

Cooper is about as optimistic as he was on those other two occasions. Cooper will travel over early for the Festival and this year shares a house close to the racecourse with Robbie Power, Davy Condon and Robbie McNamara, where minds will be firmly focused on the job.

Cooper will be on-course by 7.0 every morning – starting tomorrow – to ride out and ensure the final finessing is applied to the horses' preparation. The early starts are a contrast to the late night the young Kerryman has just suffered at home. He has yawned his way through the interview thus far, and pauses to explain.

His latest and last pre-Cheltenham engagement took place the previous night in his home town and, true to these things, concluded at 4.0am. Yet he still appeared to report for duty at dawn on the Curragh. It is a tingling reminder of the swashbuckling air that accompanies youth.

Does he feel pressure this time riding the favourite for a high-profile race like the Triumph? "I just took it like any other race," he replies genuinely, stifling another yawn.

But to win it would also turn his imaginary childhood Cheltenham, saddled on the back of the sofa at home, into an adult reality; and his boyhood dream into a piece of racing history.

 

[Morning Glory]

Barry Geraghty famously declared pressure is for tyres. Even if he doesn’t fully believe that, he believes it enough to keep the stresses of riding Cheltenham favourites in context. And that helps him do what top jockeys do: perform when it counts most.

Cheltenham 2013 has emphasised that again. The easy option for Ruby Walsh on board Hurricane Fly would have been to flap both physically and mentally when the Champion Hurdle appeared to be slipping from his grasp. Instead he did next to nothing, probably the hardest option of all.

Things didn’t pan out exactly how Geraghty would have liked on Simonsig either in the Arkle. But he too got the hotpot home.

It’s what separates the leaders of this hardest of professions from the others; finding a way to win. The easy riposte is to say they have the raw material underneath them. But that raw material is under McCoy, Walsh, Geraghty and Co precisely because of their proven ability to perform under pressure.

They have something else in common too. All waved bye to 30 a good while ago. With McCoy declaring he sees no reason why he can’t keep going to 40, the elite few at the top ain’t going anywhere. And yet in a sport where eyes are always searching for the next big thing, there is a glaring gap – on both sides of the Irish Sea – for a new young riding star.

Bryan Cooper’s name is now centre-stage to fill any vacuum there might be. Gifted, just 20, and with a first festival success under his belt following Benefficient’s win yesterday, he has already proven his big-race credentials.

So much so that when names were being tossed around like confetti yesterday for the coveted Gold Cup ride on Sir Des Champs, Cooper’s was bang at the top of the list.

Neverthless, when he puts Our Conor to the tape for today’s Triumph Hurdle, it will be the biggest challenge of the Kerryman’s burgeoning career.

Our Conor is no 20 to 1 shot like Benefficient, no last-minute spare a la First Lieutenant. A lot of preparation has gone into this and the pressure to get it right – and the implications if things go wrong – are there every time a jockey rides a favourite at Cheltenham. However, Cooper gives every impression of being perfectly at home on that big stage.

Intelligent rider
“If he keeps his head right, and that’s always an issue with youngfellas, then he can go an awful long way because it’s crying out for a young jockey to come through,” says First Lieutenant’s trainer Mouse Morris. “He’s a very intelligent rider who’s also a horseman, and a jockey. It’s unusual to get the two, but he is good,” Morris adds.

It’s a common theme. Benefficient’s trainer Tony Martin describes him as the next Ruby Walsh, who’ll be around when the star names of today are putting their feet up.

“Cooper and Townend stand out, and by a long way,” considers the ex-Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle-winning jockey, Conor O’Dwyer. “In fact if you asked me to name a third, I’d struggle.”

O’Dwyer is now a trainer and has used Cooper on Folsom Blue, a horse owned by Gigginstown who increasingly use Cooper when their number one, Davy Russell, can’t take a mount. “I can’t find a negative with Bryan. He uses his head and doesn’t interfere with horses. He doesn’t panic and is a very quiet sort of rider which I like,” he adds. “He also seems to be a nice fella which can go a long way in this game.”

But only so far: nice is no good when beaten, and especially so at Cheltenham. Cooper’s reviews have been almost uniformly positive up to now. But Our Conor is something of an Irish festival banker, with all the emotional and financial investment that implies. It’s a heavy burden of expectation for anyone just out of their teens to cope with, but plenty hardened professionals expect this to be only the start of Cooper’s story.

His boss, Dessie Hughes, has already described him as the best young rider through his hands since Charlie Swan. Michael Hourigan, as mentor to no less than Adrian Maguire and Timmy Murphy, has used Cooper too and appreciates the comparison to Swan. “I’d see him as a future champion. ” Hourigan says. “But you have to be able to do it at Cheltenham. It’s like the Olympics; you’ve got to medal. And it’s best if it is gold!” he adds.

Winning on an Irish favourite here is pretty much Olympic final stuff. So, no pressure then. The best endorsement for Cooper’s future, though, is most expect him to step up to the challenge.

 

[Old Vic]

Donn McClean

Bryan Cooper

Cheltenham, St Patrick’s Day 2004, 11-year-old Bryan Cooper watches with his dad from the stands as their mare, Total Enjoyment, wins the Champion Bumper.

Before he knows it, he is off, down through the crowded stands, through the clapping and cheering, down onto the racecourse to see their horse, his horse. He is thrust centre-stage, and he leads the mare up the chute, through the cheering crowds, up through the paddock and on into the winner’s enclosure to a cacophony of sound. Magic.

Imagine riding a Cheltenham winner.

Roll the clock forward. Cheltenham, St Patrick’s Day 2010, Cooper’s debut at Cheltenham as a rider, he finishes fourth in the Fred Winter Hurdle on his dad’s horse Son Amix, just a neck in front of the fifth horse.

That neck is important. The first four horses home in a Cheltenham race come back to the winner’s enclosure to unsaddle. Those who finish from fifth to last are also-rans. The young rider is led back into that hallowed half-moon of trodden turf that is the dream destination of everyone who has an ounce of interest in National Hunt racing.

The belly-cheers are for Ruby Walsh and the winner Sanctuaire, but the young rider doesn’t mind. He is there, unsaddling his dad’s horse beside Ruby at Cheltenham. He acknowledges the polite applause and dares to dream.

Imagine riding a Cheltenham winner.

This time last week, it was all about Our Conor.

“I was just hoping that everything would be okay with him,” says Cooper. “There were so many people talking about him, so many people fancying him, so many people backing him. He was the one I was thinking about at the start of the week all right.”

Cooper rode at Naas last Sunday (five rides, no winners), then flew to Cheltenham. He rented a house with a few of his weigh room colleagues, Davy Condon, Robbie Power, Robbie McNamara, close to the racecourse, nice and handy, and he was at the track at seven o’clock on Monday morning to have a sit on his Triumph Hurdle horse.

“I couldn’t believe how well Our Conor was on Monday morning,” he says. “How well he had travelled over, how well the boss (Dessie Hughes) had him. I was very hopeful.”

One ride on Tuesday, White Star Line, third in the JLT Chase. Two rides on Wednesday, both for the boss: Posiden Sea, ninth in the Bumper, and Lyreen Legend, an agonising second in the RSA Chase.

“I love Lyreen Legend,” says Cooper. “He is just one of my favourite horses, and I was a bit disappointed when we got beaten. I thought I had a chance of getting to Paul (Townend) and Boston Bob on the run to the last, and when he fell I thought we could go on and win, but then Davy came up on my outside on Lord Windermere. My fellow kept on gamely up the hill, but he had no answer to the winner.”

Half way through the meeting, and still no winner. But he knew that the boss’ horses were in great form, and Our Conor wasn’t until Friday anyway. Third on Tuesday, second on Wednesday – complete the sequence.

Benefficient could have run in the Arkle Trophy on Tuesday, but trainer Tony Martin had decided to wait for the Jewson Chase on Thursday. The horse owed Cooper nothing even before he set off in front on him in Thursday’s curtain-raiser. The first time he sat on him, in the Deloitte Hurdle at Leopardstown in February 2012, the first time that he rode for Tony Martin, the son of Beneficial carried Cooper to his first Grade 1 victory. A 50/1 shocker.

On Thursday, Benefficient didn’t miss a beat. More relaxed in his first-time hood than he usually is (trainer astuteness), he didn’t rush his fences like he often does, but he came up for Cooper every time he asked him.

The young rider didn’t panic when Tom Scudamore and Barry Geraghty came up on his outside on the run down the hill. Calmness beyond his youthfulness. He was happy that his horse was going as fast as he could go, but he was also confident that he had plenty of energy left. Quietly quietly, he allowed them past, then galvanised his horse for his effort up the home straight, over the last two fences, charting the brave man’s route up the inside.

“To be honest, I thought I would finish third when they passed me, but I knew that my fellow had a good bit left and that he would keep running to the line. There was a gap on the inside, so there was no point in wasting ground going around them. I asked him for a long one at the last, and thank God he came up, because if he hadn’t, I’m sure the pair of us would have ended up on the floor. And he just kept on running up the hill. It was an amazing feeling.”

If you thought that his win on Benefficient, first Cheltenham winner, would have eased the pressure that he felt before going out to ride Our Conor in the Triumph Hurdle on Friday, you would be wrong. Quite the contrary actually.

“I thought that I couldn’t have another winner. I thought that Benefficient was my winner, that it was too much to expect to ride two.”

He was always happy on Our Conor, he was always travelling well just behind the early leader Diakali. He may have hit the front sooner than ideal, but he thought that Diakali would carry him further and, when you are travelling as well as Our Conor was travelling, at some point you have to let the handbrake off. When he did, Dessie Hughes’ horse careered clear.

A look under his left arm, a look under his right arm, just green grass behind him and one flight of hurdles in front of him. One, two, pop. If he had taken the wrong course there wouldn’t have been as much distance between him and his pursuers.

If the young rider was in dreamland then, he was in fantasyland when he cruised up behind Tennis Cap on the Tony Martin-trained Ted Veale in the very next race, the County Hurdle.

“Tony told me not to hit the front too soon, so I just kept him in behind the leader until the approach to the last. I couldn’t believe it, another winner. Davy Condon pulled up beside me to congratulate me, and I asked him if I was dreaming.”

Imagine riding three winners at Cheltenham.

 

[Lester]

RISING star Bryan Cooper is keen to sign off his most memorable season in winning style at Punchestown.

The 20-year-old stable jockey to Dessie Hughes has shone with six winners at Cheltenham and Aintree, including three at Grade 1 level courtesy of First Lieutenant, Our Conor and Special Tiara.

Although he may not be able to ride any of that trio if they line up at Punchestown due to connections' regular jockey arrangements, Cooper said on Wednesday that his book is still shaping up well and that star among his mounts are set to be RSA Chase second Lyreen Legend and Jewson Novices' Chase winner Benefficient.

He said: "If the horses and I get there in one piece, then I have a great book of rides at Punchestown and it would be great to top off this year with a win there.

"I have a good job already, but I have been so lucky to have had so many other big trainers, like Henry de Bromhead, Mouse Morris, Tony Martin and Tom Taaffe, give me chances this year too.

"Cheltenham really gets your name out there and then to have winners at Aintree and a fifth place in the Grand National on Rare Bob was amazing.

That was some thrill."

He added: "Lyreen Legend ran a cracker in the RSA, just getting passed by Lord Windermere on the run to the line. Every race this year he's run well and I'm looking forward to him going to Punchestown.

"Benefficient has really put me on the map. He was my first Grade 1 winner last year and my first Cheltenham winner this year. He's had a hard season up to Cheltenham, but skipping Fairyhouse and Aintree should leave him fresh and well for Punchestown."

Benefficient and Lyreen Legend hold entries in the 3m1f Growise Champion Novice Chase on the opening evening (April 23) with Benefficient also entered in the shorter Ryanair Novice Chase two days later.

 

[Lester]

And more ...


On Saturday, Bryan Cooper will sign off on a whirlwind campaign that has seen him come of age in spectacular style.

By then, he will have earned a moment's pause for reflection. It could be a long moment.

When 2013 dawned, the fresh-faced 20-year-old rising star from Tralee had just a solitary Grade One win to his name. His meteoric ascent, predicated on a record 37-strong haul that saw him crowned champion conditional jockey this time two years ago, had already been widely acknowledged as that of a potential future champion.

Few, though, really envisaged his graduation to the higher echelons being quite so immediate and definitive as it has been. In the space of two intoxicating days at Cheltenham in March, Cooper burst into the racing's world's wider consciousness with a barnstorming Festival treble that was spearheaded by Our Conor's facile Triumph Hurdle rout.

Then First Lieutenant shook off his 'nearly' tag to secure a famous Betfred Bowl win at Aintree, and Cooper netted a second Liverpool Grade One by steering Special Tiara to a shock win in the Maghull Novices' Chase two days later. By the time he guided Rare Bob into an excellent fifth in the Grand National, he was an established 'big race' pilot.

Sensation

His arrival as a genuine riding sensation brought to mind a popular Ernest Hemingway quote from the novel 'The Sun Also Rises', when the debauched drunk Mike Campbell is asked how he went bankrupt. "Two ways," he replied. "Gradually, then suddenly."

The manner in which Cooper's stock has rocketed requires an inverse interpretation of that scenario, but the essential point is the same. For all that this self-assured prodigy was universally earmarked for the top, in open competition where Grade Ones are a precious commodity, even he wouldn't have been so bold as to predict five of them in 10 weeks.

"Obviously you dream about riding Cheltenham Festival winners," says the Tralee native, "but I thought I'd have to wait a while before my time would come. I got my first Grade One winner last year, and I said to myself at the start of the season, if I could ride another one this time, that'd be great. I would have settled for a similar sort of season right from the start."

Cooper's bull market surge began somewhat aptly with Benefficient's 20-length Arkle Chase victory at Leopardstown in January. Tony Martin's old-fashioned ball of a chaser had carried him to that first Grade One win in the Deloitte Novice Hurdle last year, and he also then went on to provide him with the opening leg of his Cheltenham treble in the Jewson Chase.

Our Conor confirmed his nascent potential with a superlative Spring Hurdle triumph back at the Foxrock venue in February to bring Cooper's haul of career Grade Ones to three. By then, his momentum was gathering pace, but the composed way in which he morphed into racing's equivalent of the voracious 'impact sub' to double that tally was still quite staggering.

While Our Conor was already his ride, the mount on Special Tiara only came about when Andrew Lynch picked up a knock at Aintree, and it might not have come his way at all had Philip Enright – who was in the saddle on the two previous occasions that Henry de Bromhead's horse had won – not been committed to ride for his boss Robert Tyner at Navan.

Fate's fingerprints are also all over Cooper's association with First Lieutenant. For Mouse Morris's bold-jumping son of Presenting's first three outings of the season, champion jockey Davy Russell, who has the pick of Gigginstown House Stud's battalions, prioritised others.

First Lieutenant kept hitting the crossbar in his absence, but Cooper excelled, in particular when they got mugged by Tidal Bay in the Lexus. Come Cheltenham, when Russell didn't have to divide loyalties, he was diagnosed with a punctured lung before the Ryanair Chase.

Morris made a beeline for Cooper, the horse again ran well to chase up Cue Card, and the incidental arrangement finally reaped the reward it deserved when British racing's medics denied Russell permission to ride at Aintree. Having by now refined the gung-ho exuberance of the Hennessy for more measured tactics, Cooper made Liverpool his own with an exquisite mix of characteristic panache and fearless conviction to match that of his brave steed.

In a way, you are now almost inclined to think of Cooper and First Lieutenant as a de facto pairing, but that's not the case. Russell still has first dibs, though few expect him to eschew Sir Des Champs come Wednesday's Tote.com Gold Cup.

All told, Gigginstown's faith in Cooper is a resounding endorsement. AP McCoy trumped him and Paul Townend for the spare on Sir Des Champs at Cheltenham, but, on a shortlist of potential eventual successors to Russell, Cooper would surely be top of the page every time.

"They have given me so many chances," he says of Gigginstown's Michael and Eddie O'Leary. "Especially in Cheltenham, where there were so many good jockeys available, they gave me chances, so I am grateful for that."

Of course, Cooper had put himself in the position to be considered, and he hasn't passed up too many of the opportunities that have come his way. Barry Connell's purchase of Our Conor will see Danny Mullins assume that plum gig, but Cooper can stand aside safe in the knowledge that he was a perfect fit for such a precociously talented animal.

"It's a big loss," he admits of the deeds change, "but it's not as if I'm getting jocked off for doing something wrong. That's just the way it is – I wish them the best of luck with him."

With a deep voice and droll demeanour, Cooper's resemblance to his father Tom is palpable. Back in 2009, he landed at Osborne Lodge stables on the Curragh via Kevin Prendergast's, and soon earned the trust of Dessie Hughes to effectively fulfil the role of stable jockey.

It was a position that other good riders had struggled to shine in, but Cooper, whose Kerry heritage and youthful swagger combine for a potent measure of self-confidence, hasn't taken a backward step. He sits behind only Russell, Ruby Walsh and Townend in the professional jockeys' championship, with amateur kingpin Patrick Mullins also four ahead. Paul Carberry and Barry Geraghty are his closest pursuers, so he is surrounded by champions past and present.

"Dad was nearly more proud than I was after I rode my first Cheltenham winner, never mind the third one," he confides. "It was always my dream to ride a Festival winner there, so it was great to have the bit of luck and I certainly enjoyed it – you could be waiting 10 years for another Festival winner. You don't know what's going to happen, so you have to take every day as it comes."

The fact that his Festival legacy began the very day JT McNamara's career met its end might inform that mature sense of perspective. Cooper is also alive to the challenge of consolidating his new-found status, aware that staying there is often harder than getting there.

"You have to keep improving," he says. "I have ridden those big winners, but that doesn't mean I don't have to improve. Dessie has told me as well. Like, I am only 20, so I still have a lot of catching up to do with the likes of Ruby Walsh and Barry Geraghty. It's fine riding winners at everyday meetings, but I'd like to stay riding in the big races for as long as I can and hopefully have plenty more success in them."

Expect to see that ambition manifest itself in a few more poised turns over the course of the week. Punchestown awaits the young man with the Midas touch.

 

[Yeehaa]

Jockey Bryan Cooper is facing a long spell out of action after breaking his leg in a fall at Down Royal.

The Irishman came off the Tony Martin-trained Tepalo in the Weatherbys Beginners Chase on Monday.

Cooper rode three winners at the Cheltenham Festival and also won on First Lieutenant at the Grand National meeting at Aintree.

"He's broken his left femur and it's a clean break. It's a bad injury," Cooper's agent Alan Donoghue said.

"Nobody has put a timescale on how long he's going to be out for yet. You'd imagine it will be a good couple of months.

"It's unfortunate but that's racing. There are ups and downs."

 

[Yeehaa]

Cooper said: "I had the operation on my leg last Tuesday and it went well. I'm not in much pain and looking back on it now, it could have been a lot worse.

"My leg isn't in a cast so I can walk around on the crutches which is great as the muscle in my leg won't be wearing away.

"Hopefully I'll start physio in the next few weeks. I won't be back for Galway but I do hope to be back for Listowel and any time before Listowel would be a bonus.

 

[Yeehaa]

back soon

Jump jockey Bryan Cooper could make a return to the saddle by the middle of next month.

The rising star of Ireland, who rode three winners at the Cheltenham Festival, broke his left leg in a fall at Down Royal in early May.

He hopes to be back in competitive action in time for Listowel's seven-day Harvest Festival, which gets under way on September 15.

"The last three months have been very frustrating, but I've been back riding out for a full week," he told At The Races.

"The first couple of days were just trying to get back in the swing of things, but I'm back riding work again now.

"I got the all-clear from my specialist. He said my leg is 100% now, so I'm just trying to get fit and ready and get the strength back up as soon as I can. I might be back for Listowel."

 

[Lester]

Back tonight

 

[Old Vic]

Cooper is rated a 1 to 5 chance by Paddy Power to take over the top spot at Gigginstown, but the Kerry jockey declined to comment on speculation when asked before racing.

 

[mayo]

Sounds like Dessie reconciled to loisinh him ...


Asked about the prospect of possibly losing Cooper as his stable jockey, Hughes said: "It would be a good job for him, but a big blow for me. It's taken me four years to make him - he's matured now and he's at his best.

"Hopefully he would still ride for me as much as he can."

 

[Old Vic]

Bryan Cooper has been formally appointed as retained rider for leading owners Gigginstown House Stud.
Speculation began on New Year's Eve that then-retained and champion jockey Davy Russell would no longer be the number one for Michael O'Leary's formidable Gigginstown squad, which was later confirmed by both parties.
Cooper, who has already ridden a number of big-race winners for the team, soon emerged as the hot favourite for one of the biggest jobs in the sport, and O'Leary's brother and Gigginstown racing manager Eddie O'Leary said on Friday afternoon: "I can confirm that Bryan Cooper will be our number one retainer.
"He's a very good rider and I hope it will be the start of a long and happy association."
There has been speculation that Ruby Walsh may now have first pick on the Gigginstown-owned horses in the care of champion trainer Willie Mullins, but O'Leary said: "That is not the case. Bryan will be the number one retainer for all our horses."
O'Leary also revealed Russell would continue to ride for Gigginstown.
"Davy will continue to ride plenty for us. There has been no falling out of any kind," he said.
Cooper said: "It's a great honour to have been asked. I've had a good bit of success for the team over the last two or three years and it's great to get the call-up.
"I'm just looking forward to getting started and am very honoured" - Bryan Cooper
"It's a great team, with a great team of horses. Hopefully we can get off to a good start and keep the ball rolling.
"I could sit here all day going through all the good horses I'm looking forward to riding. I'm just looking forward to getting started and am very honoured."
Cooper has sympathy for Russell, with no doubt another big job is just around the corner.
He said: "That's the game we're in. Davy is a great man and a great rider and I'm sure he'll bounce back. I'm sure someone will be snapping him up very quickly."
The young rider also confirmed his intention to continue to ride for long-term boss Dessie Hughes, who trains a number of horses for Gigginstown.
Cooper said: "I'll continue to ride out for Dessie and I'll ride for him as much as I can.
"He has been very good to me for the last four years and I wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for him. I owe him a lot."

 

[Old Vic]

Couple of interesting points on Brian O'Connors Blog http://www.irishracing.com/blog/blog/2014/01/06/keeping-things-appropriate/

One part of the fallout that has been rather overlooked in the Gigginstown jockey re-shuffle is the obvious long-term thinking in Michael O’Leary’s decision to sign-up a young jockey like Bryan Cooper.
Any suspicion the Ryanair boss might have been soured over that posturing Turf Club tiff about multiple declarations and non-runners looks to have been dispensed with. O’Leary is clearly thinking ahead, a fair way ahead too, because for all Cooper’s talent and potential he is a long way from the finished article. How can he be at twenty one?
And the real challenge Cooper faces won’t be technical or physical but very much mental. It doesn’t matter what the job is: if you’re in charge, or signing on the dotted-line, or, as in a rider’s case, carrying the can out on the track as No. 1 jockey, there is an automatic pressure that not everyone thrives on.
Certainly it’s going to be a very different story from stepping in for spares that Davy Russell had discarded. And in that regard, it can hardly help Cooper to have Russell now stepping in for his spares. How good can it be for the young man’s confidence, or indeed status, if the old No. 1 starts winning on the discards?
There’s an old newspaper belief that a bit of creative competition, basically reporters trying to out-do each other, winds up benefitting the paper overall. Is there an element of that in O’Leary’s new regime? If so, it’s worth pointing out that sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

 

[Old Vic]

For Tommy and Geraldine Cooper, the past ten days have been hectic as they found their son Bryan, 21, in the glare of the world’s racing media after he succeeded Davy Russell as number one jockey at the powerful Gigginstown empire of Michael O’Leary.

But, such was Bryan’s precociousness from an early age they knew that particular day would come sooner rather than later.

Cooper was destined for the big time from the age of 11, when he broke his parents’ hearts by insisting that he go to Cheltenham to lead Total Enjoyment around.

At 15, he quit school after his Junior Cert, and last summer they fretted as he recovered from breaking his femur.

Though he received great support from his school after he left, one teacher had told him: “Because you don’t concentrate on your studies, you will never do anything with your life.”

But the talent he displayed on the back of his mom’s couch, at two, where he showed style, balance and poise, the good habits he picked up when show jumping and the work ethic he displayed in his dad’s yard from a young age, landed him one of the top jobs in national hunt racing.

And many respected judges believe his genius in the saddle will one day see him crowned champion jockey.

So, how did the baby-faced assassin nail down the prestigious job?

“It’s a serious job to get, at a very young age,” says his father. “He has always displayed a lot of talent, ever since he was a kid, but it’s difficult to comprehend how far he has progressed so quickly.

“This would not have happened without the guiding hand of Dessie Hughes, who has nurtured Bryan into a top-class jockey, since he joined his stable four years ago.

“Bryan rode several horses for Gigginstown over the past couple of years, mostly second strings, and achieved a lot of success.”

Cooper is not sure why his son got the call or why it all happened so suddenly but he does put forward a few theories.

“There are the stories flying around about Michael O’Leary wanting to snap up Bryan before someone else did but Bryan has not been told anything like that,” he said.“It came as a shock because Davy Russell was only told while drinking a cup of tea between races on the Tuesday. The following day Bryan rode a double in Fairyhouse, one of which was owned by Mr. O’Leary.

“He was not approached on New Year’s Day but got a call the following morning to meet Mr. O’Leary on Friday morning in his offices at Dublin airport.

“It was an interview, I suppose, where Michael gave an indication of what he was offering and Bryan had certain issues he wanted addressed, and they left it at that.

“Later on Friday afternoon, he got the phone call, saying the job was his, if he wanted it, and Bryan accepted.

“However, it was not as easy a decision as many are portraying as Bryan was very conscious of the position he held with Dessie Hughes which, in its own right, was a high-profile job, anyway.

“He was also conscious of the fact this was a mid-season move and he did not want to leave Dessie in a bind.

“Bryan and I had a chat and came to conclusion this job was a runner provided he would be available to ride for Dessie when Gigginstown did not want him.

“Geraldine and I wanted Bryan to remain with Dessie, riding out and doing the same routine, because we are very much aware of what happens to young sports people when they reach the top or get a high-profile job.

“There are lots of pitfalls so, while he will not be riding out every morning, we got a clause in the contract that Bryan would remain at Dessie’s, which would be his base, and he would travel out to other stables to ride out for Gigginstown.

“We had a good chat with Dessie and, while he is very disappointed at losing Bryan, he will still be riding the majority of his horses.

“The only other bone of contention was a rumour Ruby Walsh might ride the Gigginstown horses in Willie Mullins’ yard.

“But, we were insisting that Bryan would ride all the horses and, again, Mr. O’Leary had no problem with that.”

Cooper snr. cannot speak highly enough of Hughes: “Bryan went to Dessie when he was 17 and there were four or five jockeys ahead of him.

“We thought ‘what in the name of God were we doing?’ as he had no chance. But, within a year and half he was stable jockey and conditional champion in his first full season.

“When Dessie was sick last summer, Bryan was placing his horses in races, etcetera, and it remains a close relationship”

Gigginstown’s new number one is bred to be a champion. His grandfather, Des, had a permit, and a grand uncle, Brian, was a successful NH jockey, in addition to a first cousin of Tommy’s, Louise Cooper, who was a top lady rider before that sphere became fashionable.

But, did dad Tommy ever really think when Bryan was riding a finish at the back of the couch, at two years of age, while watching the racing on television, or when he was riding the pet pony, Snowy, around the yard at eight, or show jumping from 10 to 14, or during the year and half he spent on the flapper circuit, that he would now be riding some of the top horses in the country for one of the leading owners?

“Not really,” admits the proud father, “but now all we want for Bryan is that he stays safe, keeps his feet on the ground and rides as many winners as he can,

“He is very level-headed, is a good communicator both with the media and owners and maybe that is what swung this job for him.”

The moral of the story? The next time your youngster is riding a finish on your couch — don’t despair — he might be another Bryan Cooper in the making!
http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/racing/precocious-cooper-was-no-couch-potato-255003.html

 

[Yeehaa]

 

[gigginstown]

Not his best day at the office.

Picks up 6 days for cutting up AP and gets on wrong one in the Hennessy.

 

[mayo]

February 10, 2014 by Brian O'Connor

Bryan Cooper endured a Hennessy fixture at Leopardstown that could be best described as character-building: it was certainly a day far from the charmed progress that has mostly characterised the career of the most high profile young jockey in racing and one that again showed how harder it is being the man in the hot-seat rather than filling the role of super-sub.

Barry Geraghty once famously dismissed pressure as being for tyres and it was Geraghty who stepped in for the Grade 1 winning ride on Guitar Pete, formerly Cooper’s mount until he replaced Davy Russell as Michael O’Leary’s retained jockey. That Cooper finished runner up on Gigginstown’s Tiger Roll was a touch of irony that in the circumstances he was hardly likely to appreciate.

Geraghty is a notable exception among the great riders in adopting a relatively carefree attitude to the pressures of the game, certainly a lot more laid-back than the furrow-browed, ultra-serious intensity of McCoy and Walsh. That the trio are all well into their 30’s has left a gaping hole for a young pretender and Cooper is widely perceived to be the King in waiting. It certainly seems to be the line of thinking adopted by O’Leary in his new riding arrangements.
However anyone subscribing to the view that picking wrong from Gigginstown’s assembled ranks was a habit peculiar to Russell will have been disabused of the notion by a Hennessy in which his successor understandably opted for First Lieutenant only for the second-string Last Instalment to score in style.

That was the real sickener for Cooper, although picking up a six day ban for carless after another Grade 1 runner-up placing on Don Cossack is hardly something to be casually shrugged off either.
Every top jockey gets one-of-those-days, something Geraghty no doubt learned early. The knack is in quickly bouncing back from them. Clearly Geraghty and Walsh learned the lesson well. It will be interesting to see Cooper’s reaction, especially when he can only be all too aware of the intensity of the focus that automatically accompanies his new job.

 

[Cooper]

http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/news/article/465/9195569/donn-mcclean-the-life-of-bryan

Rewind 11 months and three weeks, Cheltenham 2013 Day Three, a 20-year-old Bryan Cooper sits still on Benefficient as they start off down the hill in the Jewson Chase, Dynaste and Captain Conan moving up on his outside.

He knows that his horse has a little bit left, but he doesn't want to burst him. He allows the others pass, but makes sure that he clings to their coat-tails. In reality, in that moment he thinks that he will probably finish third, but he saves some energy for the final climb just in case, holds onto his horse until they approach the second last fence. Then he spots a stride and a gap on the inside.

"There was no point in wasting energy going around them."

One, two, up! Benefficient pings the second last fence, just as he has pinged the previous 12. The final fence looms and Cooper sees one last stride. One, two, up. Once again his horse responds, and suddenly - how did that happen? - he finds himself a length and a half clear and driving to the line. Up the hill and into the record books, his first Cheltenham Festival winner.

"Benefficient was brilliant, but I thought that was it," Cooper recalls. "I thought that was my winner for the week."

The build-up had been all about Our Conor. All the media attention, all the pre-Cheltenham hype, all everybody wanted to talk about was Our Conor. Our Conor didn't disappoint either. Once again, Cooper sat still at the top of the hill in the Triumph Hurdle the following day as Dessie Hughes' horse just lobbed along underneath him and came clear of his rivals. Indeed, he came so far clear that, on the run to the final flight, such was the quietness that enveloped him, splendid isolation, for a split second Cooper thought that he might have taken the wrong course.

Then he went out on Ted Veale a half an hour later and won the County Hurdle.

"It took a long time for it all to sink in," says Cooper. "Three winners at Cheltenham. To be honest, I don't think it really sank in until six weeks later, when I was sitting there with my leg up on a stool."

Bryan Cooper on his best chance... "Trifolium in the Arkle. It's a hard race to win, but he is such a good jumper, and we know that he acts at Cheltenham. I have ridden him twice, and I have got a great ride off him both times. He could run a big race."
Bryan Cooper on his best chance...

There is never a good time to break your leg, but if you are a National Hunt rider and you had to pick a time, you probably couldn't pick a better time than early May. If you had to pick four months to spend on the sidelines, you would probably pick May to August over just about any other four-month stretch on the calendar.

Bryan Cooper's upward trajectory continued unabated, his broken leg hardly a blip. But things are different now. Two significant events have happened in the last 12 months that have changed the rider's Cheltenham landscape irrevocably. First, Our Conor was bought by Barry Connell, which means that the horse is now ridden by the owner's retained rider, Danny Mullins. Second, in January, Cooper was appointed first jockey to Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown House Stud, which gives him a depth of Cheltenham riches that he could hardly have imagined a year ago.

"I miss Our Conor terribly," says the rider. "I would do anything to get back on him. But I have some great rides at Cheltenham. I have just been going through them, each race, one by one. Good ride in that, good ride in that, good ride in that. I have a good ride in most races. I just need to get there in one piece now."

In the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown last month, he chose First instead of Last, he chose to ride First Lieutenant instead of Last Instalment. Gigginstown's running plans have not been finalised yet, but it is likely that, on anything other than very fast ground, Last Instalment will be their Gold Cup number one this year.

"Last Instalment couldn't have been any more impressive than he was in the Hennessy," says Cooper. "Going to the second last fence, I thought that I was going to get to him on First Lieutenant, but then he just went away again and I couldn't get near him. Nobody could get near him. And Philip Fenton had said that there was improvement to come. He should be a great ride in the Gold Cup."

First Lieutenant gained the Grade 1 win that his talent deserves at Aintree last year. Second to Cue Card in the Ryanair Chase at the 2013 Cheltenham Festival, it looks like his owner's race is the race for him again this year.

"A decision will be made over the weekend, but if it comes up soft, it looks like the Ryanair is the race for him. Cue Card went a million miles and hour last year, and he was able to go with him. There is no Cue Card in the race this year. He is the class horse of the race."

Don Cossack is on track for the RSA Chase.

"He is in great form. He worked great on Sunday. We are still learning about him, but the step up to three miles could be the thing for him. He travels so well, he has a lot of speed, so I will ride him for speed, use his jumping."

Tiger Roll in the Triumph Hurdle.

"He was only having his second ever run in the Spring Juvenile Hurdle, and his first for Gordon (Elliott), so to get to within two lengths of Guitar Pete was a huge performance. I'd say there is a lot more improvement to come, and Cheltenham will suit him well. He will love the hustle and bustle of a Triumph Hurdle."

Rule The World, appropriately, in the World Hurdle.

"It's a tough race now, but you couldn't ignore him. He won well at Naas and he worked well the other day. Remember, he was only beaten by The New One in the Neptune Hurdle last year, and he is one of the favourites for the Champion Hurdle."

Back Trifolium for the Arkle Trophy with Sky Bet!

There are others. Lieutenant Colonel in the Neptune Hurdle, Bright New Dawn or Mozoltov in the JLT Chase, Valseur Lido in the Supreme, Savello and Thunder And Roses and a host of other possibilities in the handicaps. But ask Cooper to nominate the ride to which he is most looking forward, and he is unequivocal.

"Trifolium in the Arkle. It's a hard race to win, but he is such a good jumper, and we know that he acts at Cheltenham. I have ridden him twice, and I have got a great ride off him both times. Charles (Byrnes) couldn't be happier with him. He could run a big race."

But the young rider is not getting carried away.

"Last year was brilliant. I remember thinking, I wouldn't mind doing this again. But if I could have just one winner this year, I would be delighted. Even one winner would be great."

• For more of Donn's thoughts, visit www.donnmcclean.com

 

[Cooper]

Multiples Stake per Bet

14:05 Chelt 11th Mar
Trifolium
Racing Post Arkle Chase NRNB
5/1
13:30 Chelt 12th Mar
Lieutenant Colonel
Neptune Novice Hurdle NRNB
16/1
14:05 Chelt 12th Mar
Don Cossack
RSA Chase NRNB
12/1
13:30 Chelt 13th Mar
Bright New Dawn
JLT Novices Chase NRNB
14/1
Lucky 15 (£1.00 x 15) EW

£28,758.30

Total Stake: £30.0

 

[Old Vic]

Bryan Cooper's leg-break was yesterday described as "the worst fracture I have ever seen in a lower limb" by Dr. Adrian McGoldrick, Chief Medical Officer of the Turf Club.

The Kerry jockey, who's season ended with a wretched fall on Clarcam last Wednesday, has been transferred to Frenchay hospital in Bristol where he today (Friday) underwent secondary surgery on the fracture.

Cooper is expected to remain in England for the next 7-10 days as surgeons monitor the early stages of his recovery before releasing him to the likely care of Mr David Moore in Tallaght Hospital.

The 21-year-old Gigginstown Stud reserved rider faces a lengthy absence from the saddle, though McGoldrick did stress "He will be back racing,that's the bottom line."

Admitting that Cooper's injury required complex surgery, he explained: "It's what we call a compound fracture, a combination of it (the bone) coming through the skin, but there were multiple fragments too, which is the nature of a fall at that speed.

"It's very much like you see with motorcyclists who come off motorbikes at high speed, but he got fantastic care on track from the team of doctors here and in Gloucester Hospital where Mr Curran is the leading surgeon in that area. Likewise he's gone down now under Mr Kelly at Frenchay overnight, so I'm very happy with the people taking care of him."

McGoldrick visited Cooper on Thursday night, revealing "They cleaned it and stabilised the leg. They did an angiogram to test his circulation which was perfect and then he was transferred to Frenchay last evening for further surgery.

"He'll have an external fixator put on today and he'll have bone grafting done to stabilise his leg. It will be very much the same type of procedure that Ruby Walsh had done in Belfast following his fall in Down Royal. So he will be in Frenchay for about ten days and then we'll take him back home and I would expect that we will have him followed up by Mr David Moore in Tallaght Hospital who is the Irish expert in that area."

Asked how long he was likely to be out of the saddle, McGoldrick observed "It's much much too early to say. It's a very nasty injury.

"We'll have some idea this evening after the secondary surgery but even then he'll obviously have to have x-rays over the next couple of months to see how the bone's heeling and then we'll have a better idea of how he is doing."