Jordan Norris reports
Evergreen veteran trainer John Kiely once again tasted Graded success at the Dublin Racing Festival, as 12/1 shot A Dream To Share coasted home to land the closing Grade 2 Bumper at Leopardstown on Saturday.
Teenage jockey John Gleeson, son of renowned broadcaster Brian, guided home the 5-year-old, who remains unbeaten following successes at Tipperary and Roscommon last summer. The success gives 85-year-old trainer Kiely a first Graded win since 2017, and is the first of young Gleeson’s fledgling career.
A Dream To Share caught the eye throughout, shrugging off the challenge of the Willie Mullins-trained Fact To File in the home straight, to score by two and three quarters of a length.
The local horse is now just 6/1 for the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival, which Kiely confirmed is his next target.
“We’re thrilled, because we didn’t know coming here how good the races he had run in were”, said Kiely.
“We gave him a break, freshened him up and aimed for this. John Gleeson was always keen to keep him in amateur races which is why here. Where we go from here, I don’t know! If he’s well, Cheltenham will be the plan I suppose”, confirmed the trainer.
Kiely says they always had high hopes for A Dream To Share, since his debut victory at Tipperary in May 2022.
“We like him at home, but we don’t have that much to work him with in our place so we had to wait until we came here. The first day he ran, we had hoped he’d run well and my brother Paddy took him out for the day. He didn’t let us down. From then on, we’ve been hopeful.”
The horse is owned by Claire Gleeson, with all ties coming back to West Waterford. Kiely expressed particular delight with the role played by Ardmore jockey John, who is currently in sixth year at St. Augustine’s College in Dungarvan.
“It’s lovely for the Gleeson family. They’re very genuine people and John comes in every day to ride him out. He’s only doing his Leaving Cert this year. It’s a great result for him.”
