With over 50 winners to his name already, horse trainer Denis Cullen has carved out an excellent reputation for himself since taking the reins at Beechcourt Stables in 2009. We met up with the affable Dublin-born handler at his well-appointed County Kildare base to find out more.
Denis W Cullen took over training at Beechcourt Stables from his late father-in-law Michael O’Brien six years ago, having previously rode 110 winners as an amateur jockey. Some of the highlights from his successful riding career included partnering Sudden Shock to victory for Jonjo O’Neill in the 4-mile National Hunt Chase at the 2003 Cheltenham Festival as well as piloting Forget The Past to the Grade 1 Ascon / Rohcon Novice Chase at Leopardstown for his father-in-law and mentor.
Beechcourt Stables is very much a family-run operation, with Denis and his wife Ann-Marie ably assisted in day-to-day activities by their children Annalise and Christopher, while Michael’s wife, Ann, also remains involved. The facilities at Beechcourt are second to none: 58 stables within 55 picturesque and immaculately-maintained acres are complemented by three all-weather gallops, schooling facilities, an equine spa and a couple of horse walkers.
Originally from Churchtown in Dublin, Denis has been based in Lilywhite territory for almost a quarter of a century, where he served Michael O’Brien as both a jockey and assistant trainer. The pair had a very close relationship and Denis would be quick to admit that his father-in-law taught him almost everything he knows about horses. Today, Beechcourt Stables is keeping Michael’s legacy alive while also affording Denis the opportunity to make his own mark.
Which he is doing with distinction… It didn’t take Denis long to get up and running with his first winner, Better Times in a bumper at Cork, and further maiden-season successes quickly followed with Unforgivable, Little Barney, Whosaidso etc.. Having hit the ground running, Denis is now in his sixth season and has so far had more than 50 winners, including eight since May, one of the most recent being By The Banks which defied odds of 66/1 to triumph at Kilbeggan on Friday, September 4th.
Reflecting on how he first started working with horses, Denis notes: “I had an uncle, Denis Cullen, who used to train horses and we used to ride out for Bill Durkin while I was still at school. After leaving school, I moved to Kildare and had four or five years with Niall Madden and also worked with John Mulhern before linking up with Michael O’Brien.”
Denis built up his confidence as a handler while working for Michael as assistant and took out his licence in November, 2009. The pair had some great wins together and that experience gave Denis a solid grounding to bring Beechcourt Stables forward into the new decade.
Exactly six years on, Denis is pleased to report that things are going very well: “We’re tipping along,” he says, modestly. “I was lucky to take over a top-drawer set-up here and it’s definitely one of the better yards. I’m training around 35 horses at the minute and I’m pleased with how they are developing.”
There have been many great days out. Shin A Vee struck gold in the opener at the Punchestown Festival on May 1st this year, while Baby Dinnis won at Dundalk and Leopardstown in April and June respectively. Old Supporter won twice within a week at Tramore and Killarney in August. By The Banks came home first at Kilbeggan on September 4th.
With Barry Geraghty on board, Dysios won at Leopardstown in December 28th, 2013; Essex had a great win at the Listowel Festival in 2011. Meanwhile, also in 2011, in the Tote Trifecta Maiden, an inspired ride from Barry O’Neill handed Catch The Moment a shock victory in the fourth race on Day Three of the Galway Festival. Always prominent, the Denis Cullen-trained runner continued to pull away from the chasing pack and no rivals ever got nearer as he stayed in front to win by three lengths at 25/1.
Denis has earned a reputation as something of a festivals specialist. “I like the festivals and we always try to have our horses ready for them,” he confirms. “Obviously, they are very competitive and you have to have your animal in good order to have any chance, but we enjoy the challenge.”
Going forward, Denis is confident that the good times will continue: “I have a couple of nice young horse coming along that I’m excited about,” he reveals. “A Great View – winner of Punchestown in December! – is a promising four-year-old owned by JP McManus, while I’m also looking forward to seeing more of Dysios, who’s now a second season novice and coming close.
“I’ve also bought a couple of nice animals at the sales and we are in the process of breaking them and they’re tipping along nicely. We always have some nice horses for sale. You need to have something in the shop window to run your business and we always try to have something in there.”
At present, Beechcourt Stables provides employment to a team of five. “We have very good staff who have been with us a long time. The yard is very well laid out and the staff work hard. We all get along very well together, which is important.”
The gradual upturn in the economy is welcome. “We’ve just been through a real tough time with the recession but there are fellas starting to creep back into it again,” says Denis. “From our own point of view, we’re still learning and improving all the time, and starting to get a little bit of recognition.
“Ideally, you need an anchor tenant. We’ve had owner-breeders who have been very good to us, but if you could land an anchor tenant who could bring in ten-twelve a year, that would be a major boost. Having said that, a lot of owners – like Tim Conroy, Kieron Gammell and Mr McManus – have been very good to us and very loyal, and have been with us a long time. They are good owners and they have stuck with us, which is very important.”
In the medium term, Denis’ goal is to gradually increase the quality of the horses in his stables: “We have 58 boxes and would generally have 35-40 horse here, which is a nice number,” he concludes. “I would rather go with upping the quality rather than trying to get up to 100 horses. I’d be looking at the likes of John Kiely, who doesn’t have a massive string but has a massive strike rate.
“We seem to be getting a nicer type of horse each year and we are leaving no stone unturned in preparing them. It’s working well but there are very few overnight successes. It takes time to develop the horse so you have to be patient with them.”
Denis W Cullen
Beechcourt Stables,
Newlands,
Naas,
County Kildare.
Tel: 086 2478177
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 1, January 2016
