Samcro's handler Bowe joins Gigginstown team

Gigginstown House Stud have confirmed to the Racing Post their long rumoured re-structuring of trainers for their point-to-point operation.

The Westmeath-based outfit of Michael and Eddie O’Leary have enjoyed great success with their policy of starting many of the young horses that they buy as unraced three-year-old’s in point-to-points in order to educate them before moving them on to their ‘track’ trainers.

This policy has produced some of their biggest winners including Aintree Grand National winner Rule The World, Irish National winners Rogue Angel and Thunder And Roses, and their Irish Champion Hurdle victor Petit Mouchoir.

In recent years the roles of handling the Gigginstown point-to-pointers has fallen to Pat Doyle, Eddie Hales and Gordon Elliott, however Hales’ decision to retire from the training ranks has brought about a wider change.

Doyle is the only one of that trio who will continue to care for Gigginstown point-to-pointers, with Elliott now focussing solely on their track runners.

As a result, Doyle will be joined by champion point-to-point handler Colin Bowe, Mouse Morris and Brian Hamilton in the training of their young pointers for the upcoming season.

In Bowe and Hamilton, the Gigginstown team will now send young horses to handlers that they have previously purchased talented individuals out of the point-to-point fields from.

The reigning champion hander produced Samcro to win his four-year-old maiden at Monksgrange before being sold to the O’Leary’s, whilst the brothers also bought the ill-fated Lucky Pass from Hamilton after winning his four-year-old maiden at Loughanmore.

Sending horses to the Co. Down operator will give Gigginstown a bigger presence on the northern pointing scene, a region where their Irish Champion Hurdle winner Petit Mouchoir, won his maiden.
Their colours have been less frequent in that region in recent seasons with Elliott reducing his number of Gigginstown point-to-point runners, but that looks set to change with Hamilton’s appointment.