SIXMILEBRIDGE trainer Denis Quinn was part of a real rags-to-riches story when his bargain-basement purchase, Captain Coke, realised 80,000gns at last week’s Tattersalls Sales at Newmarket.
The three-year-old was purchased by Qatar-based trainer Ibrahim Al-Malki and may race in Britain before heading to the Middle East, where the Dubai Carnival will be his main target.
Speaking in the aftermath of the sale, a delighted Quinn explained, “I paid €4,200 for Captain Coke as a yearling at the Gorsebridge Sales for my brother, Peter, who is in the plumbing trade in New York. We offered him at the Breeze-Up sales as a two-year-old but he was thought to be too much of a National Hunt-type and there wasn’t that much interest. We always felt he was a nice horse and we had no notion of throwing him away, so we bought him back for €5,000.”
Happily, the decision to hold on to the colt by Fath was a wise one and the Quinn brothers had their faith repaid when he won a five-furlong handicap on the all-weather at Dundalk on Easter Saturday at odds of 12/1. 
“We fancied him quite a bit to win that day as he was working well at home. All the lads had a few quid on him and he won in good style. After that, it became hard to find suitable opportunities here so I decided to travel to England with him.”
Quinn is no stranger to heading to the UK, both for racing and to the sales and he identified a suitable sprint for Captain Coke at Kempton Park on June 22.
“Captain Coke was in good form prior to that race and, once he put his head in front inside the final 75 yards, he won going away in the end.”
Buoyed up by this victory, Quinn plotted further raids on Newmarket’s Friday night sessions and his stable star didn’t let him down when winning twice in quick succession at the centre of flat racing in England.
“Winning at Newmarket was very special,” said Quinn. “The whole atmosphere about the place makes it memorable and, having attended the breeze-ups there in the past, I never dreamed a small-time trainer like me from Sixmilebridge would stand in the winners’ enclosure at such a hallowed track,” Denis said.
With three wins on the trot under his belt (four in all), Captain Coke was beginning to attract attention and it came as no surprise when enquires emerged for the speedy sprinter from as far away as Australia and Hong Kong.
The Quinn brothers had to think long and hard before opting to send their star colt to sales but in the end a decision to head to Tattersalls was made.
“It was a tough call to go to the sales. We had a great run with the horse and Peter [Quinn] loved to travel from America to see the horse compete, which was great for him. We had a certain figure in mind and, if he didn’t make that, we would be only too glad to bring him back home. In the end, we were thrilled with the price and it is a huge boost to us.”
Given the current economic rescission, Denis Quinn is fully cognisant of the role Captain Coke – named after a well-known character who sips the beverage in a Bunratty pub – has played in the raising the profile of his 20-box yard.
“He [Captain Coke] was a great horse for me. You spend years dealing in horses, putting the good and the bad through your hands and you just hope that one day a horse like him will come along.
“I cannot put into words what he did for me, not to mention the fact that he also won over €23,000 in prize money. Since last week’s sale, I’ve been sent a few more horses to train and it has all been a very positive experience.”
Naturally enough, he will be keeping a keen eye on how Captain Coke performs for his new connections
“I hope he goes on to win plenty more races. He jumped from a rating of 53 to 81 when with me and there is further improvement to come. The form of his past few races has worked out really well and quite a few of the horses he beat have won since.”

Schelm jumps into Ballybrit picture

KILLALOE trainer Ronnie O’Leary has a live Galway Festival contender on his hands with Schelm, who warmed up for the Ballybrit gig later this month with a smooth win in the J&B Sullivan Builders Ltd Chase at Killarney last Monday night.
Racing in the colours of Wexford native Paul Hillis, Schelm (3/1) was always in the first three in this two-mile, one-furlong contest before moving up to join issue with Killenaule Boy on the run to the second-last fence. Once safely over the last, Schelm, who was winning for a fourth time over fences, pulled readily clear under David Casey to beat his rival by a cosy three lengths.
Cork-born O’Leary, who enjoyed quite a successful spell as stable jockey to the late Jimmy Fitzgerald in the north of England before setting up at his present base, explained, “Schelm was superb today and jumped like a stag all the way. He’s been a fantastic servant to us, having won nine races to date, and we’ve had some great days out of him in the past.”
Looking ahead to where Schelm may head next, O’Leary said, “He’s very versatile and we’ll probably find something at Galway for him. We might try and exploit his low rating on the flat, while he is really getting to like the chasing game and I wouldn’t have any worries about stepping him up in trip over fences either.” 
There was a further Clare connection to proceedings at the Kingdom venue later in the evening when Carlow-based Ballinruan native Michael John Hanarahan witnessed his colours carried to success by the Shay Barry-ridden 10/1 shot Brog An Ri in the two-and-a-half-mile maiden hurdle.
A bumper winner on his debut at Punchestown in May of last year when trained by Joe Crowley, Bróg An Rí is now with Carrick-on-Suir handler Pat Flynn and the son of King’s Theatre showed all the right qualities when coming with a sustained run to close home for a three-parts of a length success over runner-up Pops Rocket.
Hanrahan, who also has horses in training with Willie Mullins, is a retired shoe shop owner hence the name Bróg An Rí, which appropriately enough translates into The Shoe of the King.