Caislean Fifi in full flight ahead of winning the 2019 Cearnsport Grand National
CAISLEAN FIFI landed Seamus Cahill a fourth Grand National title after running away with the Cearnsport-sponsored jumpers’ Classic at Central Park on Sunday.
Trained by Cahill for a team of owners – Joss Barnfather, Tony Camsell, John Hardman and former trainer Jimmy Wright – the September 2015 son of Superior Product and Ballyregan Fifi finished runner-up in last year’s Irish Grand National at Cork so delighted connections by going one better in the English version.
Always handy outside after Emiles Eske (Jim Reynolds) broke in front, Caislean Fifi hit the front approaching the third bend and went on to score by four and three-quarter lengths from Emiles Eske in 29.20sec, adding the Central Park success to the sprint track record he also holds at the Kent venue.
“He’s such a consistent dog,” said Teresa Cahill, wife of the winning trainer who had previously won Grand Nationals with Hotdog Jack (2009) at Wimbledon and twice at Central Park with Mash Mad Snowy (2013) and Ballymac Manix (2016), said: “He’s never been out of the first three in all his hurdles races, and deserves this.
“He came down from Jimmy (Wright) and Angela’s (Harrison) kennel as a fast dog – he’d won opens up there and was racing against dogs like Droopys Expert and Cooneen Jack. He was just thinking about things more on the flat, but has really hit some of his best form now over hurdles and it’s great to win another Grand National.”
A return to Central Park for the RPGTV Champion Hurdle in July is the target for Seamus Cahill’s dog, with the three-year-old’s trainer eyeing a 540m event at Crayford in the meantime.
“There are limited opportunities for hurdlers, so well done to Central Park and also Crayford for staging these races. They’ve particularly done a great job here having all the major hurdles races,” he added, given Central Park now stages the triple crown of major hurdles races given the Springbok kicks off the jumping season in March.
“It’s always nice to win major competitions and to win a fourth Grand National is, of course, very nice too,” said Cahill who now joins Colin West as the most prolific trainer of Grand National winners. West, who trained three-time winner Sherrys Prince for two of his successes, also won four Grand Nationals.
Barry Stanton, a consultant at Central Park, congratulated connections of the winner, although commiserated with Ernie Gaskin and Tom Mumford, owner and trainer respectively of Mane Mane, finalist in last month’s Springbok at the track, who suffered a career-ending injury during Sunday’s final.
Of the Grand National overall, Stanton said: “It’s been another good Grand National and Seamus’s achievement in winning four titles now is brilliant. I’m sure he’ll be out to rewrite the record books and become the winningmost Grand National trainer next year! In between I hope Caislean Fifi will be back for the Champion Hurdle.
“We are proud here at Central Park to call ourselves the ‘home of hurdling’ with all the major events now and we are continually encouraging our trainers to try some of their best flat runners over the jumps – and we are fortunate here to have a good few successful trainers of top-class hurdlers.
“Indeed, Gemma Davidson, Ricky Holloway, Jason Foster and Barry O’Sullivan have all won Grand Nationals and I’m sure will be plotting to win the Champion Hurdle. We stage that in the summer, but will continue to stage quality open races for our RPGTV cards each Sunday.”