'When I open a catalogue page, the first thing I look at is sire and damsire'

NameGerry Hogan

Who are some of the best horses you've bought and how did you source them? Recently, Paisley Park and De Rasher Counter.

And then there were the likes of The Tullow Tank, Mount Benbulben, Foxrock, Annacotty and Morning Assembly - they all won Grade 1s.

And one of my favourites from the very start would have been Keen Leader. He was probably the first horse I bought to go to England, and he worked out and that helped.

Like most of the horses I buy, they were from the point-to-point field or the store sales.

Give us a lesser known purchase you're particularly proud of...Emma Lavelle and Barry Fenton were caught in traffic getting to a sale one time and they arrived just as a Saddlers' Hall horse was walking around the ring.

I told them that I thought he was a nice horse and that we should try to buy him, which we did for £26,000. When I went up to show them the horse after he was bought, he kept rearing up! Barry and Emma said nothing but I knew what they were thinking.

Fortunately, he turned out to be Pause And Clause, who won and placed at the Cheltenham Festival, which was a great relief!

Shinrock Paddy, who I also bought, was out of a half-sister to the dam of Pause And Clause and he won a Grade 1. It's a real National Hunt pedigree.

The one that got away?Years ago, Richard Phillips was over buying a horse and I told him we might pop over to Michael Hourigan's to see an unraced four-year-old by Cajetano.

When he saw him, he agreed that he was a very nice horse and two days later he rung me to see if we could buy the horse off Michael.

Michael told me over the phone that he had sold the horse to stay in the yard over dinner the night before. Unfortunately for us, it was Beef Or Salmon, and he won 11 Grade 1s afterwards.

Beef Or Salmon: cited by Gerry Hogan as one that got awayCredit: Patrick McCann / Racing Post

What are the most unusual circumstances you've bought a horse in?A few years ago we had heavy snow just before Christmas and I was heading down to Cork to look at a horse who was outside in the field.

So I rang the guy who wanted to buy him as a present and tried to explain to him that I couldn't tell if the horse was 15.1hh or 16.1hh because we had a foot and a half of snow. But he was anxious to buy him, so he did. That was definitely unusual!

If you had to let another agent buy you a horse who would you choose? There are a dozen agents out there you'd be delighted to send off to buy for you, but if I had to pick one, David Minton's record speaks for itself.

What conformational faults can you not forgive? I'm open-minded about a lot of things when they can move, but maybe a hock which is low to the ground is a bit of a put-off. Maybe it's just me but I didn't have much luck with horses of that conformation.

Which sire do you think could break through at Cheltenham?The super sires of Cheltenham like Oscar and Presenting need a replacement, and Getaway might be the horse to replace them.

What do you think is the reason for the surge in French success at the Festival?The Irish and English owners are going out and sourcing the best and most promising young horses in France. We are taking on the best of the French-breds, but they are being trained in Ireland and England.

With the National Hunt market so strong, give us a tip for finding value... If you go to a store sale and work the store sale hard, somewhere there will be value and the chance of getting a very good horse.

Gerry Hogan in bidding modeCredit: Debbie Burt

What do you like to see in a pedigree at foal and store sales? When I open up a catalogue page, the first thing I look at is sire and damsire. After that, I like to see a good horse somewhere along the page. It shows the family can produce a good horse, which gives you a bit more confidence.

Who is your nap for the Festival?I hope and think Paisley Park. But outside of him, Latest Exhibition has a super chance for his trainer Paul Nolan in the Albert Bartlett. He's a progressive horse and the Nolans are very good friends of mine, so it would be great to see him do well.

Give us a horse who's under the radar for Cheltenham...It's not a horse I bought, but the Warren Greatrex-trained La Bague Au Roi is a very good mare - she was beaten only 11 lengths by Delta Work and he's a Gold Cup horse. She's rated 149, has been knocking around with the very top horses for a while, and if everything goes right she'll have a right chance.

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