'It's as close as fat old middle-aged men get to playing in the Premier League'

David Jennings catches up with the biggest owners in Irish jump racing

Eddie O'Leary (left): 'We would have assumed that they would have given the horse some bit of a chance but they chose not to, so that’s grand.”Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

It's just edged past half eight, darkness diluting ever so slowly on a damp December morning, and they're arguing over Abacadabras.

"I suspect he'll always find a way to lose," says Michael O'Leary of the second favourite for the Champion Hurdle.

"He always finds a way to win too," counters brother Eddie, with a wink fired in my direction before adding: "The Champion Hurdle will be made for him. He'll come late. Everyone was saying how unlucky Saint Roi was in the Morgiana but sure we stopped when we hit the front. He'd loads left."

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David JenningsDeputy Ireland editor

Published on 5 April 2021inSeries

Last updated 08:58, 8 August 2022

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