Rooneys to focus on Flat runners after ending jumps interest

Prominent owners will only have horses on the level.

Owners Paul and Clare Rooney have decided to end their interests over jumps and focus on the Flat instead.

The Rooneys have enjoyed plenty of big-race success over obstacles with the likes of Cheltenham Festival winner Willoughby Court, Grand National runner-up The Last Samuri and last year’s Liverpool Hurdle winner If The Cap Fits.

However, racing manager Jason Maguire confirmed the Rooneys will now have a Flat string, with 2016 Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner My Dream Boat a particular past highlight on the level for the couple.

He said: “They have decided to concentrate on the Flat. They’ve had plenty of nice horses on the Flat before and hopefully there will be more to come.

“I think it’s good going forward and we look forward to putting all our energies into the Flat season.”

The Rooneys’ jumps horses will now be sold, with Maguire adding: “Hopefully the trainers will get first refusal and be able to buy them to keep them in their yards, as they have done very well with them.”

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