Memories of Jennies Jewel as Fahey heads back to Royal Ascot with Sea The Lion

Standing in the winner's enclosure at Royal Ascot after sending out Jennies Jewel to win the Ascot Stakes, trainer Jarlath Fahey savoured every minute for fear it would never happen again.

Yet just three years on from that career-defining moment, Fahey, who trains just a modest number of horses at his base in Monasterevin, County Kildare, is heading back to the royal meeting with last year's Ebor third Sea The Lion, who will make his seasonal reappearance in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes next Friday.

Sea The Lion (far side): on course for the Duke of Edinburgh StakesCredit: Patrick McCann

“I'd be working with somewhere between 12 and 15 horses at a given time and once I left Royal Ascot with Jenny, I thought that was it, a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” said the trainer.

“I always knew [winning jockey] Ronan Whelan would be back at Royal Ascot but I never thought I'd be heading back with another runner myself. It's great to have the opportunity to go back and we're going to enjoy it. I still have the tailor's number!”

Investing in new suits for the big occasion became the norm for Fahey when Jennies Jewel was in training, the tough mare winning eight races for the stable, including that memorable all-the-way win under an inspired Whelan at Ascot.

While the odds were stacked against Fahey coming across a horse capable of filling the void Jennies Jewel left when she retired, he has unearthed a new star in Sea The Lion.

After an absence of almost three years, Sea The Lion won his second start for Fahey off a mark of just 71 at Navan in 2017, since when the progress has been nothing short of remarkable.

Sea The Lion has gone on to win four more races for connections, including three big handicaps last season, which culminated with a cracking run to finish third in the Ebor at York, which is again on his radar this season.

Fahey is first concentrating on getting his pride and joy to perform to his best at the royal meeting next week and said: "He worked after racing at the Curragh last Friday and worked very well, Ronan is very happy with him.

"We're very happy with the way he's trained and, if everything goes according to plan, he'll be entered to run in the Duke of Edinburgh.

“He's wintered very well and we purposely gave him a long winter off. Royal Ascot wasn't really the first plan of attack but, with his rating and the way he is, he'd have to carry a lot of weight in our own premier handicaps in Ireland, so we said we'd go across and keep the weight off him and this fits in well for him.”

The trainer added: “Hopefully the plan will be to head back to the Ebor at York later in the season but he'll have to at least hold his form throughout the season, if not improve to go for that.”

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