Hogan's leap of faith is paying off
The yards of Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott have dominated the national hunt racing scene in recent years but one young trainer has been making steady progress in recent years.
THOMAS CONWAY met with DENIS HOGAN at his yards Open Day in Cloughjordan last Sunday.
To the outside punter, it might appear that the lexicon of the Irish Horse Racing industry rarely extends beyond names such as Mullins, Walsh, Elliott, or O’Brien. Beyond their shimmering veil of success however, the sport is thriving at every level.
In Tipperary, the sport has long been synonymous with the stables of Coolmore Stud and Ballydoyle. However, in recent years Holycross native Denis Hogan has transformed the landscape of North Tipperary to show that horse racing pedigree exists all around the premier county. A model of versatility, Hogan’s career to date has spanned every aspect of the trade, from a successful tenure as a jockey to a now well-established role as one of Ireland’s most auspicious trainers.
Having learned his craft under the stewardship of Michael Halford at the Curragh, Hogan then went on to work with the renowned Charlie Swan. His transition from apprentice to master was a relatively brisk one - 2009 saw him granted the opportunity to take over Swan’s stables at Boherna, outside Cloughjordon, an offer he bolted for without hesitation.
After expanding the site into what is described as a “state-of-the-art horse training facility”, Hogan decided it was time to branch out, developing a similar set-up in Cloughjordon itself, with one additional feature – a fully-fledged equestrian centre. Humble beginnings it may have been but Hogan’s sights were set on a career in the industry from the get-go. Passion, patience and perseverance all combined to guide Hogan to the place he is today, helped in no small part by the wisdom of those above him.
“I would have started off with Charlie Swan in the early days, I didn’t really fancy doing anything else, wasn’t keen to go back to school, so Charlie actually got me an apprenticeship with Michael Halford up in the Curragh.
“I spent three years up there, learnt a lot with Mick, very good trainer. Then I came back to Charlie and rode over jumps for a couple of years, mixed it with training and then the training took off, and that was something I was always passionate about. So it built momentum from there, started out with four or five horses and now we’ve about seventy.”
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