Just a few short months after obtaining her own trainers license and officially taking over her legendary father’s, Dessie T. Hughes, stable in The Curraugh, Ireland, Sandra Hughes has won the historic and prestigious Irish Grand National. Sandra and jockey Katie Walsh made history as the first all-female duo to win this National Hunt Chase with the talented 7-year-old Thunder and Roses.
Held annually at Fairyhouse Racecourse on Easter Monday, the Irish Grand National is a grueling three miles over 24 fences. Only 9 of the 30 starting horses completed the race.
Watch Thunder and Roses Win the 2015 Irish Grand National
Watch as Sandra Hughes-trained Thunder and Roses brings it home in the 2015 Irish Grand National. Look for the dark bay running under dark red silks with a white star and white hat. The horse spends much of the race biding his time behind the leaders, to land first at the final fence and wins it going away by four and a quarter lengths.
About National Hunt Trainer Sandra Hughes
It was an emotional day for Team SUCCEED trainer Sandra, who has worked in her father’s racing operation her whole life but just took the reins last November after her father’s passing.
Sandra grew up with the horses, and has performed just about every role in the successful training stable – from riding out and mucking stables to handling the administrative and business end of things. In her first few months as a rookie trainer, her horses have already won multiple prestigious races in addition to the Irish National. This early success is a testament to both the great horses and the great training and management operation she helped to build with her late father.
Maintaining Health with SUCCEED
DT Hughes Racing, under the leadership of both Dessie and Sandra, has been using SUCCEED Digestive Conditioning Program with up to 40 of their top performers since 2012. Sandra shares:
“When we started to feed SUCCEED, the horses just appeared to thrive. The horses seem to eat better and digest their food better, but perhaps more importantly, they stand up to training for longer. SUCCEED has been a fantastic product for us. The last three seasons have been probably the most successful three seasons we have ever had and I would put this down, in part, to the use of SUCCEED.”
Congratulations to Sandra Hughes and Thunder and Roses from all of us at Freedom Health on this very exciting win!
