Philip Reynolds

Irish businessman Philip Reynolds is, in fact, the son of the late Albert Reynolds, who served as Taoiseach of Ireland between 1992 and 1994, and freely admits to having inherited his love of horse racing from his father. Reynolds Jnr. has owned racehorses since the Eighties, but what has been described as his “overnight 20-year success story” only came to fruition in 2016, when Mall Dini became his first winner at the Cheltenham Festival.

Trained by Patrick Kelly, in Craughwell, Co. Galway and ridden by Davy Russell, Mall Dini had won comfortably won a maiden hurdle at Thurles the previous December, but, after three subsequent defeats in handicap company, was set off an unheralded 14/1 chance for the Pertemps Network Final. Nevertheless, the six-year-old made headway from midfield approaching the second last flight and, despite hanging left in the closing stages, stayed on strongly up the hill to win by three-quarters of a length. An incredulous, but nonetheless triumphant, Reynolds said afterward, “I’ve wanted to do this all my life. I can go now.”

Lo and behold, though, twelve months later Reynolds’ green and white silks were in the winners’ enclosure at the Cheltenham Festival again, this time courtesy of Presenting Percy, also in the Pertemps Network Final. Trained, once again, by Patrick Kelly – whom Reynolds describes as a ‘genius’ – and ridden, once again, by Davy Russell, Presenting Percy stayed on strongly in the closing stages to win by 3¼ lengths.

Presenting Percy returned to Cheltenham for the Festival in 2018 and, after making a successful transition to fences, justified favouritism in the RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase, jumping and travelling well throughout to win by 7 lengths. Described by Reynolds as a ‘very special horse’, Presenting Percy has yet to make his seasonal reappearance in 2018/19, but is ante post favourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, so the story may yet continue.