It is with great pleasure that we bring you this Interview with Harry Dunlop. I spoke to Harry a few weeks ago about Training, his Influences, Knight to Behold and so much more…..
You were an amateur jockey before going into training, who have been the biggest influences on your career to date?
Biggest influences Nicky Henderson, Henry Cecil and My late Father John Dunlop
Are you and your brother very competitive, when it comes to racing?
My Brother and I are competitive but very friendly with he also gives me lots of advice as well
From your 1st winner (Situla) on training debut in 2006 to having Knight to Behold running in both the Epsom & Irish Derbies, can you tell us about the journey?
The journey in racing is tough, finding nice horses and good owner’s especially financially where there are a lot of overheads and staff to pay. Our quality of horses has improved over the years but you have to keep looking each year.
Since your first full season back in 2007, how has racing changed?
Racing has changed. There is more prizemoney than 10 years ago but it still needs to improve. I think there is too much good racing on Saturday’s in the UK and it would be good to dilute it and spread it over the week.
What do you look for when purchasing a new horse? And would you rather have a nice 2 year old or a slightly older horse?
I love either old horses or 2year olds, it’s always exciting when you have a nice horse on your hands.
How did you find the media attention with having Knight to Behold running in the Derby?
The Epsom media attention was incredible I have never had so much attention from the main national papers.
If you could train any horse PAST or PRESENT, who would it be and why?
I would have loved to have trained Frankel and Sea the Stars, a pair of champions.
And finally, can you give our readers a couple of horses to follow please?
Two to look out for Space Talk and Goldino Bello
We would like to dedicate this interview to the Dunlop Family
This interview was done before the passing of John Dunlop and we held it back, we would like to thank Harry for his time and wish Team Dunlop all the best for the rest of the season and the future ahead looks fantastic.
Pictures – Harry Dunlop(Twitter) Sea the Stars(JOBFS) Epsom(File) Knight to Behold(Search Engine)
Interview by Rich Williams
arseonlineracing 