Ryan confident The Little Yank can fill the big void left by fallen stable stars

If there’s any truth in the old saying that good luck comes in cycles, well then trainer John Ryan must be overdue his turn.

The past few seasons have been tough on the old-school trainer, who prefers using a ploughed field to the sand gallops.

Ryan has lost three stable stalwarts – Foildubh, Draycott Place and Kylecrue – on the track in recent years but in The Little Yank, a wide-margin winner of the bumper at Tipperary on Sunday, the trainer believes he’s come across a horse capable of filling such a massive void.

Ryan said: “I was heartbroken after losing those three horses – Kylecrue, Draycott Place and Foildubh. I've the three of them buried side by side at my home place.

"I broke all the rules and regulations to bring them home. Jesus, it brings a tear to my every time I think of those three horses. They were just phenomenally tough, brilliant horses.”

He added: “We've got some big offers for the bumper horse [The Little Yank] but we're not selling him, we're keeping him.

"He's a horse who I think will go all the way. There's a toughness and there's a steel attached to him. He has the same heart and guts that those three horses had.”

Between them, Foildubh, Draycott Place and Kylecrue amassed almost €700,000 in prize-money throughout their careers, and Ryan believes The Little Yank has all the right attributes to go right to the top.

Foildubh: the Grade 2 winner was a stable star for John RyanCredit: Caroline Norris

Ryan said: “He is probably the best horse I've had since Foildubh. We don't know whether to go down the Cheltenham bumper route, or go novice hurdling instead.

"He has natural speed – he's a very fast horse. He could have won by 20 lengths on Sunday.”

Ryan added: “He got a bit of a nudge and got on the wrong leg on debut at Listowel and some lads were saying he wouldn't have beaten the winner [Soviet Pimpernel] anyway.

"But he would have beaten the winner. He was a certainty to beat him. This is a very talented horse.

"Whatever kind of lungs the horse has, he seems to be able to pick up off any pace. He's such a good jumper and has schooled over fences as well. He stays three miles and he's fast enough to win over a mile and a half.

“The horse we run in the bumper at Galway, Fairyhill Run, is a very good mare as well. She'll win. These horses have been coming along for the past few years and it’s great to have them.”

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