'I was surprised I was so far in front when I looked back at the video'

Someone else is likely to get the chance to ride the extraordinary Limerick bumper winner An Forghas, whose trainer, owner and jockey James Conheady set a stiff standard with his masterful performance last Monday.

Conheady, 40, has the smallest of operations near Newmarket-on-Fergus and also bred the four-year-old Shantaram gelding from a mare acquired by his father Michael.

An Forghas does not do much in a low gear. He pulled hard on his debut at Listowel in mid-September and had burned through his fuel reserves with half a mile to go.

At Limerick he was a distance clear of his rivals with a circuit left to go and looked as if history was about to repeat itself, only for him to find a second wind and win by almost four lengths as a 125-1 chance.

"The plan was to make the running," said Conheady. "He’s happiest in front so I just made my own pace. I was confident he’d stay going, being a good, strong horse, and he saw it out well at the finish. I was surprised I was so far in front when I looked back at the video but that’s how it goes."

Watch An Forghas's amazing performance here

Viewers lavished praise on the way Conheady had timed the race, which the rider received with modesty.

"Limerick is always testing, it takes a tough horse to stay going at that time of year in the ground and I was conscious of that turning in," he said. "He was green but when the horses came to him he knew what to do."

Conheady prepared An Forghas on some grass gallops at home as well as the odd awayday to facilities nearby. His tutorage should hold the horse in good stead as he is now a valuable prospect for resale.

"I’ve only two horses riding out so he’s worked at home on his own, and everything kind of gelled right on the day," he said. "The experience from the first run was crucial.

"He's only in the early stages of his career, but it makes things easy when you have a good horse.

"I think he’ll probably go to the sales and he should sell well, there aren’t too many four-year-old bumper winners around. He’s a fine big horse of 17.2 hands, and he’ll do nothing but improve. Hopefully he’ll have a bright future."

An Forghas was the first foal to race out of Letthecasedevelop, a mare by former Clashmore Stud resident and smart German performer Acambaro.

The best-known name in the immediate family is actually the 1983 Flying Childers Stakes winner Superlative, under his fourth dam.

Mother, however, was not quite the same hit in Conheady's hands as son, as she retired without a place to her name.

"It was years ago now but we tried her in a few point-to-points and bumpers and thought the best option was to cover her," he explained.

An Forghas and James Conheady winning the Download The Boylesports App Flat Race at LimerickCredit: David Keane

"It was just she’s a fine type, well put together, and we were confident she’d breed a nice-looking horse. She had a good pedigree back along but we were just hoping for the best.

"She hadn’t the ability of An Forghas but she bred a right one anyhow."

Letthecasedevelop visited Coolagown Stud resident Shantaram, who is making an impression with his debut crops, on two occasions, with An Forghas her second of only three foals. The final one is by Shantaram's studmate Zambezi Sun.

"We have the three-year-old half-brother unbroken but we’ll break him now and hopefully we’ll have a horse that can run in the next season or so," Conheady reported.

What was most impressive about both horse and jockey is that the sport is anything but the County Clare man's day job.

Conheady mostly works for a tech company a few miles away in Shannon, dealing with the horses in the morning and evening, while his father and sister are involved with the cattle and sheep on the family farm.

"It all ties up well together," he said. "It’s just the one or two horses in training. It’s a hobby really but it’s great when it works out like this.

"It was my first winner on the track – I had a few in point-to-points in Ireland a few years ago – so it was a day to remember."

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