Ryder ready to step up his Galway training operation

AS the field hurtled down the hill in the Supreme Novices Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last March, most Irish eyes were on the favourite Min from the Willie Mullins yard, but one Galway trainer was only focused on the fortunes of an English contender.

Shane Ryder from Lawrencetown near Ballinasloe had a particular reason for tracking the fate of eventual sixth, Mister Miyagi, as he was an integral part of the horse’s early racing education, having trained him when finishing second on his debut to the high class Rock On the Moor in a bumper at Punchestown in October of 2014.

Ryder had been sent the horse to train for a half share by his neighbour John Bleahan, who himself has bred and trained some good horses in the past, and though Mister Miyagi didn’t win on his four Point-to-Point runs, falling twice, he was beaten by a couple of good ones in the other two.

“Mister Miyagi came up against stiff competition in Point-to-Points, but we always liked him and his bumper run confirmed that as he’s turned out to be a right horse. We were then made a nice offer for him and he ended up in Dan Skelton’s yard. He’s now won five times, including a good quality novice in Cheltenham last April.”

The 38-year-old explains that Bleahan has been ‘good to him’ over the years as he reaches the final stages of completing a course on the Curragh to qualify for a full trainers’ licence. Ryder currently has about ten horses under his care but now hopes to expand the operation.

Coming from a farming background, Ryder’s original interest in horses was cultivated from ‘tricking about’ with a few ponies on his father Stephen’s farm. Shane and his twin brother, also Stephen, were quickly bitten by the racing bug and both went on to forge careers in the sport

“Local businessman John Pardy was friendly with my father and he had a horse Bonnyhector which was trained by John Hayden on the Curragh. Any summer we could we would spend up there. We loved it and Stephen went on to become a conditional jockey.”

Over the years Stephen rode a good few winners and now is a work rider for David Wachman in the mornings and trains a couple of his own, including Hurricane Jojo which has won handicaps both over jumps and on the level.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.