Tag Archive for: Intense Raffles

Intense Raffles ‘fine’ but future plans put on hold for now

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Trainer Tom Gibney is in no rush to commit to future plans with Intense Raffles following his disappointing trip to Aintree for the Randox Grand National.

Last season’s Irish Grand National hero was ante-post favourite for the world’s most famous steeplechase a few weeks ago, having bounced back from two ordinary runs over hurdles with a fine effort to finish a close second to Nick Rockett in the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse in February.

But while Nick Rockett claimed Grand National glory in the hands of record-breaking amateur Patrick Mullins, Intense Raffles was on the back foot from flag-fall and was eventually pulled up by J J Slevin after jumping 17 of the 30 fences.

“He’s come back OK, he’s fine,” said Gibney.

“It just went wrong from the start for me. He threw his head up at the tape actually and took a step back and was left at the start and that was it – game over.”

Intense Raffles again holds an entry in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National on Easter Monday. When asked whether he could reappear at Fairyhouse on April 21, his trainer added: “I don’t know, we’ll see how he is. We’ll just get him going again at some point and see.”

Intense approach has worked perfectly so far for Tom Gibney

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Few outside of the racing bubble have heard of Tom Gibney, the man responsible for Randox Grand National favourite Intense Raffles.

He is, of course, much better known in Ireland, partly due to the fact he has already trained two Irish Grand National winners in his relatively short career to date.

But racegoers fond of their statistics will be aware that as of yet, Gibney – who ended his riding career in 2005 and took out his training licence a year later – has not had a winner in the UK.

He has not had that many runners in fairness – just 23 – and anyone who might be having second thoughts just needs to watch the replays of Lion Na Bearnai winning at Fairyhouse in 2012 or Intense Raffles last year.

Owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede do not suffer fools, the migration of most of their horses to Ireland, and significantly Willie Mullins, tells you that. They sent the grey son of Martaline to Gibney, their first horse with him, and were immediately rewarded.

Tom Gibney with Intense Raffles and J J Slevin
Tom Gibney with Intense Raffles and J J Slevin (Niall Carson/PA)

Now they are searching for the biggest prize of them all and their softly-spoken trainer – who rode Marching Marquis to be second in the Kim Muir at the Cheltenham Festival in 2000 – could not be happier with how the season has gone so far, without Intense Raffles winning.

Maybe he will prove well-named for the task, too, as the first ever National in 1839 was won by a horse called Lottery.

“It’s so far, so good with him. We think he’s got a good chance given his last run anyway,” said Gibney, who trains just outside the town of Trim in County Meath.

“Last year everything went perfectly and he ended up winning us the Irish National.

“I was mad to go to Punchestown after the Irish National and, in fairness, Anthony (Bromley, racing manager) and Simon and Isaac were the ones that were very keen on the English National and they made the plan between the Irish National and Punchestown that they’d try to conserve his mark for Aintree the following year.”

He went on: “We had to think about it a bit after that, as you don’t want to end up too high in the weights for Aintree, so he had a couple of runs over hurdles, which we were happy with.

“After that we could go to the Bobbyjo and he ran a cracker, he was only beaten just three-quarters of a length by Nick Rockett and we’re better off at the weights at Aintree.”

Despite not having many runners in Britain, Gibney, 51, has been represented in the National twice before, by Lion Na Bearnai, who pulled up in 2014 and by Velvet Elvis two years ago. The latter was quietly fancied, but in the end it was a day Gibney would rather forget.

“To be honest, I’m still mystified to this day about what happened,” he said.

“We really fancied him, thought he had a great chance, we really did, yet he was the first horse beaten.

“Whether it was all the carry on beforehand, the one-hour build-up, I don’t know, but for him, he got a bit worked up. We think that might have been it, but we don’t really know.”

While his best results have come with long-distance chasers, Gibney does not see himself as a one-trick trainer.

He said: “I don’t know why we seem to excel with the staying chasers. It is probably the type of horse we get sent.

“When we’ve bumper horses, we can win with them, and on the Flat, but we’ve been lucky enough to get sent some staying chasers and we’ve done the business.

“This lad is only seven, but he had plenty of experience in France before he even joined us and he beat Iroko at Auteuil a few years ago, so it’s pretty amazing that the pair of them are battling it out for favouritism, it’s funny how things sometimes work out.

“He (Iroko) looks a serious contender, but many of them are.”

Many will be saying in the build-up how different a race the National is these days. But Gibney believes Intense Raffles would have been suited to an old-style Red Rum-type National, as well as today’s version.

“The National has changed now, a smaller field, the fences are smaller too, but I wouldn’t have had any qualms taking this lad the way it used to be, he’s a safe jumper,” said Gibney.

“All his form is on soft, but everyone tells me they won’t let it get quicker than good to soft anyway.

“I’ve not had that many runners in the UK, but I’ve yet to have a winner, so he’d be the first, which would be something special if he can manage it.”

Two trainers who certainly have had winners in the UK, though, are fellow County Meath natives Gavin Cromwell, who has just trained his first Gold Cup winner, and Gordon Elliott, a three-time National winner and whose first win, with Silver Birch in 2007, came before he had sent out a winner in Ireland.

“It’s great if you can compete against these fellas, you have to raise your game and bring the best of what you have to be able to compete with them,” said Gibney.

“I wouldn’t want to train 200 horses, no way. If I could fill the yard with quality horses, that would be fantastic. We want to go to big race meetings and win good races, for sure.

“There’s lots of fellas in our position. You could have 45 horses six months ago and drop down to 20, it really does fluctuate a bit like that. Between 30 and 40 would be the norm.”

National glory might be written in the stars for Slevin and Intense Raffles

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J J Slevin has a leading chance in the Randox Grand National aboard ante-post favourite Intense Raffles – but if things had been different, he could have been writing about the great race instead.

The County Wexford native is bred for the game as a nephew of training giant Aidan O’Brien and his dreams of success in the saddle were sparked a long time ago.

But well aware of the pitfalls that come with a career in racing, an alternative path was sought in the shape of a degree in journalism.

“I was only OK in school, but I turned up on time and did my homework and my best subjects were history and English,” he explained.

“I was mad into racing all the way along – I loved it – and I always wanted to be a jockey from as long as I can remember and rode as much as I could.

“But the family at home are realists, my parents have been working in the game all their lives and they know how hard it is to make a living out of it, especially riding horses, so when I was done at school I said I needed something to fall back on and journalism was the path I chose.

“I did a three-year degree in Griffith College and then said ‘what am I going to do now?’. I went to Ballydoyle for a year and worked with Aidan and after that I went to Nigel Twiston-Davies for a year and then I came back to Ireland to Joseph’s (O’Brien, cousin) and turned professional that summer.

“I had a bit of work experience in The Irish Field and I’m pretty sure they thought I wasn’t up to much because when I was leaving, they weren’t saying ‘we must get you back!’. But I was always happiest riding horses and thankfully I’ve been able to pursue that.”

J J Slevin with Joseph O'Brien
J J Slevin with Joseph O’Brien (Damien Eagers/PA)

Slevin has certainly earned the respect of his famous uncle, though, with O’Brien excited by the prospect of seeing him become a National hero.

The master of Ballydoyle said: “It would be incredible really. J J is a great fella and is working with Joseph (O’Brien, son). They are the same age and they’ve done everything together.

“The Grand National is an incredible race and J J is a superstar, an unbelievable horseman who is very intelligent with a great brain.

“I think Joseph only had 20 jumpers this year and has had three or four Grade One winners. He and J J are very close and always have been.”

Slevin rode 11 winners as an amateur, including two for Twiston-Davies in Britain, before turning professional in the summer of 2016.

J J Slevin has high hopes for Intense Raffles in the Grand National
J J Slevin has high hopes for Intense Raffles in the Grand National (Adam Davy/PA)

It did not take him long to make a significant impact as he struck Cheltenham Festival gold aboard the Gordon Elliott-trained Champagne Classic in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Hurdle the following spring and further wins at the showpiece meeting have come aboard Band Of Outlaws and Lark In The Mornin in the Fred Winter.

He has enjoyed Grade One success aboard the likes of Banbridge, Fastorslow, Home By The Lee and Solness and has two Irish Grand National wins to his credit, with General Principle’s 2018 triumph followed by victory aboard Intense Raffles last season.

The Tom Gibney-trained grey was well beaten on his first two starts of the current campaign over hurdles, but a runner-up finish in the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse appears to have teed him up perfectly for his Merseyside mission.

“He ran very well the last day and will go to Aintree with a nice weight on his back, so I’m looking forward to it,” said Slevin.

“It was a great run in the Bobbyjo, he had a nice round of jumping and enjoyed himself. I’m looking forward to Aintree, but it’s one of those races where you never know what can happen.

“I remember Papillon (2000) winning and Bobbyjo (1999) before that, he’d be the first one I really remember.

“I’ve had four or five rides in the race and not done much good! I got around last year on Panda Boy (finished 17th) and obviously the English National is a big deal.”

Tom Gibney and J J Slevin with Intense Raffles at Fairyhouse
Tom Gibney and J J Slevin with Intense Raffles at Fairyhouse (Niall Carson/PA)

Slevin stood in for the sidelined Daryl Jacob when steering Intense Raffles to Irish Grand National glory last spring, a victory which surely played a major part in Slevin becoming the new retained rider for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede upon Jacob’s retirement late last year.

He said: “It was an honour to be asked by Simon and Isaac when Daryl retired and every day I go into the weighing room and see those colours by my peg, I feel proud.

“They’re great people to work with, they have a great team of horses and great trainers and the big thing is there’s a real team atmosphere to it – everyone is in it together.

“The week is not hugely different. I’m going into Willie Mullins’ a good bit more now and obviously Nigel Twiston-Davies has a few horses and Nicky Henderson as well. It’s great to be able to go over and ride out for those people – for me, it’s pretty cool.”

Gibney happy to handle Intense pressure of training National favourite

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Trainer Tom Gibney is doing his best to keep his feet on the ground as he puts the finishing touches to his Randox Grand National favourite Intense Raffles.

With the world’s most famous steeplechase now less than a fortnight away, Gibney opened his doors to the media on Tuesday morning to celebrate the launch of the 2025 Boylesports Irish Grand National, a race the County Meath handler won for a second time with Intense Raffles last season.

The Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned grey won his first two starts in Ireland at Fairyhouse after being switched from France – and 12 years after landing the Easter Monday feature with Lion Na Bearnai, Gibney admits hopes were high his new stable star could repeat the feat.

“I was confident he would run very well, we genuinely would have been very disappointed if he wasn’t there or thereabouts,” he said.

“Everything fell into place as you’d really like it to, which doesn’t happen that often, but when it does, it’s a lovely feeling. You could just feel that everything was going right.

“It gave us confidence that he’d been round Fairyhouse before. He’d been there twice and won there twice and loves the place – I love it myself!

“In the Irish National, he did what he’d done the previous two times there and it was just like clockwork. The whole thing went very smoothly and we enjoyed every bit of it.

“It was brilliant for Simon and Isaac to send us a horse as we’re a small outfit here and it kind of goes against the trend of the current state of affairs in racing in Ireland and England over jumps. It was a big shout from them and it was a fantastic feeling that it was worthwhile and worked out.”

Tom Gibney (left) with his Irish Grand National hero Intense Raffles
Tom Gibney (left) with his Irish Grand National hero Intense Raffles (Gary Carson/PA)

The Irish Grand National has a good record of producing subsequent Aintree heroes, with Bobbyjo, Numbersixvalverde and I Am Maximus all doing the double in the last 30 years.

Intense Raffles was well beaten on his first two starts of this season over hurdles at Navan, but a close second to Nick Rockett in Fairyhouse’s Bobbyjo Chase appears to have put him spot-on for April 5.

Gibney added: “I wasn’t in great humour leaving Navan either day as I genuinely did think he’d run well and was genuinely disappointed, particularly the second day.

“The first day I thought he might need the run and I was happy enough, but the second day I was disappointed. I thought he’d be well fit to compete there and he wasn’t. I went home scratching my head, so I was nervous.

“It was a relief to see him back to his old self in the Bobbyjo.”

One of less than 30 horses currently residing at Gibney’s yard, Intense Raffles is as short as 5-1 with some firms for National glory.

Asked whether he can believe he trains the favourite for the Aintree spectacular, Gibney said: “I suppose I can in a way, but it’s a nice feeling. Hopefully he’ll run like a favourite!

“I’d prefer to have the favourite rather than a 50-1 shot all day long. He doesn’t know he’s favourite and we just do the same thing – and if it works great, and if it doesn’t, what about it.”

On whether he is feeling nervous, he added: “I don’t know, on and off. You’re preparing for so long and I’m actually kind of relieved to get this far.

“I don’t know how he’ll take to Aintree, you know as much as I do on that score. We haven’t schooled him over the National fences yet, they only put them up at the end of last week I think, so we’ll hopefully go down this week and pop them at the Curragh.”

While Aintree is clearly at the forefront of his mind, Gibney also has one eye on winning a third Irish Grand National on April 21.

This year’s candidate is the lightly-raced Kinturk Kalanisi, who unseated his rider on his most recent appearance at Navan but had previously shown a decent level of form over hurdles and over fences.

Gibney said: “It is 100 per cent the plan to go. We thought the last day if we got in the first three we’d get a few pounds for our troubles and maybe guarantee us a place in the Irish National.

“It will be nervous waiting to see whether we do get in or not, but we’ve had it in mind with him since he ran in that novice handicap hurdle there (Fairyhouse) last year. He finished third, we figured he might improve for going over fences and he has.”

Gibney delighted by Intense Raffles National prep

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Intense Raffles has his eye on Aintree after a pleasing preparation when second in the Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse.

The grey, who is owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, won the Irish Grand National on his final run of last season, returning this term for an outing over hurdles at Navan in December and another in January.

He was beaten by big margins both times when lumbered with top weight, but in the meantime it became apparent that he would not suffer the same fate at Aintree as he was allotted 10st 10lb for the Randox Grand National.

He returned to fences in the Bobbyjo on Saturday, a race won by subsequent Aintree victor I Am Maximus last term and an established Grand National trial.

There he chased home Willie Mullins’ Nick Rockett when conceding 3lb, running an admirable race to come home only three-quarters of a length behind the winner – from whom he will receive 12lb in April.

“He’s come out of it fine, he’s sound and well in himself,” said Gibney.

“We’re really pleased with him, you’d have to be very happy with that run.

“Aintree is very much the plan now, all being well, it’s exciting for everybody.”

Intense Raffles is currently the second-favourite for the Grand National, a 10-1 chance behind the 7-1 favourite Inothewayurthinkin.

Intense Raffles sticking to hurdles for next outing en route to Aintree

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Intense Raffles is likely to be seen over hurdles at Navan next week, as connections continue to plot their course to the Randox Grand National in the spring.

Owned by the ‘double green’ team of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, he was an impressive winner of the Irish Grand National last year, with a tilt at the Merseyside showpiece – and the chance to add his name to the stellar list to complete the Fairyhouse/Aintree double – an obvious main objective for Thomas Gibney-trained seven-year-old this term.

With connections deciding to remain over timber until the weights for the big race are announced on February 11, he reappeared over the smaller obstacles at Navan in December, finishing in mid-division under Bryony Frost.

Thomas Gibney (left) with Intense Raffles after the Irish Grand National
Thomas Gibney (left) with Intense Raffles after the Irish Grand National (Niall Carson/PA)

A best price of 16-1 for National glory behind defending champion I Am Maximus, Intense Raffles will again be seen hurdling for his next outing before a likely National tune-up at the scene of his finest hour in Fairyhouse’s Bobbyjo Chase on February 22.

Gibney said: “He’s getting on good, we’ll make an entry for him at Navan on January 18, it’ll just be your usual 0-140 handicap hurdle.

“Hopefully the road is still leading to Aintree, it’s a long road, but we’re still on it at the minute anyway.

“The plan would definitely be to go back over fences once the weights come out, more than likely it would be the Bobbyjo or something like that.”

Bryony Frost teaming up with Intense Raffles on Saturday

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Grand National second-favourite Intense Raffles will return to action over hurdles at Navan on Saturday with Bryony Frost in the saddle.

The Thomas Gibney-trained grey, who is owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, was unbeaten in his three starts on Irish turf last season.

The latter was a superb success in the Irish Grand National under J J Slevin, prior to which he was ridden in two further impressive Fairyhouse victories by Daryl Jacob.

Both of those riders are currently sidelined due to injury, meaning the six-year-old Intense Raffles will be partnered by Frost at the weekend.

Frost is currently based in France and is the retained rider for Munir and Souede over the Channel, and will step in as the horse lines up under top-weight for the Listed Bective Stud, Tea Rooms & Apartments Handicap Hurdle over three miles and a furlong.

Anthony Bromley, racing manager to the owners, said: “Tom’s very happy with the horse and he’s ready to get started. I don’t think he’s been thrown in on this hurdles start off a handicap mark of 141, but let’s see.

“Bryony is looking forward to riding him, she’s coming over on Friday to sit on him and then will ride him on Saturday.

“Daryl is injured and so is J J Slevin, they are both on the sidelines and Bryony isn’t racing in France on Saturday.

“That worked quite well, she’s a super-sub for us and we’re looking forward to seeing him over hurdles.

“When Daryl’s back he’ll be back on the horse, he’s the number one retained rider in England and Ireland and his recovery is going well by all accounts.”

Aintree in April is the long-term aim for Intense Raffles, whose slick jumping has served him well both in his Irish starts and in his prior spell in France.

“Things are all aimed towards Aintree in April, but it will be interesting to see how he is over smaller obstacles, he’s never really run over them because French hurdles are so different,” added Bromley.

“Tom feels his asset is his jumping and we’re probably not using it, which is why I feel 141 is pretty high because it’s his ability over a fence that is his asset and we’re negating it by going hurdling.

“We’ll see how he goes and where we are anyway, and he’ll tell us what to do next.”

Grand National the ‘main aim’ for Intense Raffles this term

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Irish National winner Intense Raffles is likely to be campaigned largely over hurdles for the first part of the season with Aintree in mind.

Trained by Tom Gibney, the six-year-old was having just his third start in Ireland when landing the Fairyhouse showpiece on Easter Monday.

Raised 11lbs for that win, Gibney is keen to protect his handicap mark with the Grand National at the forefront of owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede’s minds.

“He is good, is training away in good form and not a bother on him. Most of our jumpers are back in since the end of July and we’re getting there,” said Gibney.

“The boys are keen on Aintree (for the Grand National), so that is the main aim at the end of the season, so we’ll work everything back from there.

“We are looking to start him somewhere in November, but don’t know where yet.

“The plan is to preserve his chase mark by going over hurdles for most of this season.”

Intense Raffles rises to the occasion in Irish National

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Intense Raffles continued his Fairyhouse love affair to hold off the fast-finishing Any Second Now in a thrilling renewal of the BoyleSports Irish Grand National.

Twelve years on from winning the race with Lion Na Bearnai, Thomas Gibney struck gold again courtesy of the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned French import, who has excelled at Fairyhouse in two starts since his transfer from the continent.

Those victories came in the hands of the currently-injured Daryl Jacob, and Jacob’s misfortune was J J Slevin’s gain as he stepped in to also register his second victory in the Easter Monday showpiece aboard the gutsy grey, who showed his star quality with a brilliant round of jumping.

Always travelling powerfully in the hands of Slevin as he tracked the pace set by Frontal Assault, not even a mistake at four out could halt Intense Raffles’ momentum as the six-year-old eased effortlessly to the head of proceedings.

Keen to hold on as long as possible, Slevin waited until after two out to edge the 13-2 scorer’s nose in front and after jumping the last with a narrow advantage he plugged on gamely to the line as Ted Walsh’s veteran and Willie Mullins’ Minella Cocooner were bearing down with every stride.

“He’s a fantastic horse and it’s easy to train good horses like that,” said Gibney.

“Last February was the first time I spoke to them (Munir and Souede) and fair play to the boys.

“It’s very easy for the big owners to go to the big yards, so for them to pick out a small stable like us and give us a horse, kudos to them. That takes a bit of doing and it’s great to repay them.

A big smile from Thomas Gibney with Intense Raffles and J J Slevin
A big smile from Thomas Gibney with Intense Raffles and J J Slevin (Niall Carson/PA)

“When he won here the last time we were just getting to know him and it’s just fallen into place. I could make out like I’m a genius but I’m not really, it’s just the way it worked out – it worked out well.

“I had huge confidence in the horse. People were asking me if I was nervous and hand on my heart I wasn’t because we had huge confidence in him. He’s the best I’ve had.

“He’s just a good horse, when you ride a good horse you just get a feeling that this horse is so much better than the others. That’s the feeling I get on him nearly every day I ride him.

“He’s only six so who knows where he’ll go. It was a dream to win it in 2012, it was so different to today as there was so much expectation today and pressure.”

He added: “I want to say thanks to the staff, it’s a small outfit with my family, my daughters, my wife and a small local team. They are brilliant and it’s great for them, they need it as much as I need it.

“I’m getting hugs and kisses, it feels like a wedding! I’m a Meath man and to win it twice is surreal.

“The two lads (Munir and Souede) are on planes, they were hoping to watch it so I hope they did see it.”