TopSpec Trainer of the Quarter – Brian Meehan
/Article by Lissa Oliver
Royal Ascot provided Wiltshire-based Brian Meehan with two Group successes when the impressive two-year-old Rashabar held on bravely to deny late finishers and win the Group 2 Coventry Stakes by a nose. It was a well-deserved change in fortune, as only a head had denied the Meehan-trained Kathmandu Classic glory in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches three weeks earlier. The master of the historic Manton Stables then followed up at Royal Ascot when Jayarebe won the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes.
Of Rashabar, Meehan says, “He was always a very nice horse. He showed in his early work that he had enough speed to be a Royal Ascot juvenile, so we made a plan reasonably early to run him at Newbury for his debut. We knew the five furlongs would be a bit too sharp, but we wanted to get runs into him and he ran much better than we thought he would [third]. Then the Chester race was a £40,000 maiden, which was a no-brainer really, and he ran the fastest final furlong. The form has worked out really well since, the winner came out and won the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom, so we knew he would be good enough for Ascot.
“Sean Levey said to me after Chester that when a horse runs around Chester it’s like having two runs, they learn so much, especially for a two-year-old who had only run once. Rashabar had been training so well at home and the team have done a tremendous job.”
Meehan describes Rashabar as a very kind horse, very simple and straightforward to deal with. “The plan now would be to go to the Prix Morny next and then The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, a route we’ve done before. The preparation for The Breeders’ Cup is very straightforward, we’ll do a bit of bend work with him and a bit of stalls work with him when we get there.”
As every trainer knows, there’s no better joy than when a plan comes together, as was so nearly the case with Kathmandu at Longchamp, where she was beaten just a head by Rouhiya. “She will go to the Prix Jean Prat and will follow that up at Deauville in the Prix Rothschild or Prix Maurice du Gheest,” says Meehan. “It’s all about having nice horses. Planning is important and, like everyone I suppose, I start with the aimed race and work backwards from there.”
The facilities at Manton, one of Britain’s oldest and finest training centres, are second to none, with two grass gallops, a new polytrack and a woodchip, the gallops owned and maintained superbly by Freddie and Martyn Meade. There is also an equine pool. Since the 1860s, numerous Classic winners have been sent out from Manton, including two Triple Crown winners, and when Meehan took over the yard in 2006 he immediately added to the illustrious list, awarded International Trainer of the Year in his first season there.
Meehan remains grounded and ambitious. “The team are on a high, but one good week doesn’t make a season, we’ve got to keep up the effort for the whole year.”
