Aidan Howard is one of the country's up-and-coming racehorse trainers, earning the respect of punters and bookmakers everywhere. A native of Delvin, he is also a passionate follower of the Westmeath footballers. Earlier this year, he spoke to the Westmeath GAA Yearbook. Traditionally a game for the ordinary country folk for whom horses were a way of life, the world of racing has increasingly become the preserve of the rich and famous. The greatest prizes of the summer Flat racing season are hoovered up by movers and Sheikhs, with the billions needed to invest in the best-bred colts and fillies leading to a great imbalance between the Aga Khans, the Sheikh Mohammeds and the John Magniers and the vast, mundane bulk of racehorse owners. Jump racing, too, has moved towards the super-rich, with the silks of moneyed owners such as JP McManus, David Johnson, Graham Wiley and Clive Smith, a quartet not averse to forking out six-figure sums on established equine stars, now as recognisable to all racing followers as their billionaire counterparts on the Flat. But jumping is the name of the game, and hurdles and fences are the ultimate leveller. Far from the sunshine and the suits of the summer, it is in the National Hunt pursuit where the small-holder can still land a knock-out blow on the millionaire standing next to him on a bitter, wind-numbed winter afternoon. Aidan Howard is one small trainer making a good fist of it, establishing himself as a handler eminently capable of producing one for the big day over the past four years. The Westmeath man took charge of Trimblestown House near Kildalkey in neighbouring Meath, a base formerly used by the esteemed master of the handicaps, Tony Martin. Perhaps it is something in the water at Trimblestown, for Howard is making a mark of his own in that type of race. Enter the Indian, the stable's flag-bearer, has won four handicap hurdles while So Brilliant has also entered the winner's enclose in that sphere. And while most of his horses are readied for jumps, nor is he solely restricting himself to National Hunt - he will not shirk a challenge on the Flat, either, with Valamareya and Indianaca each winning on the level, while both Enter the Indian and Daggers Bond went close in handicaps at Leopardstown in April. "We like to aim for handicap hurdles and handicaps on the Flat," says Aidan. "Enter the Indian has been a great servant for the yard. He's won six races in total, four handicap hurdles and two handicaps on the Flat, with his biggest success coming at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival last year [2008], where he beat Northern Alliance [a well-regarded type from the aforementioned Martin] and Follow the Plan, who went on to win a Grade 1 over fences at Christmas. Valamareya also won two handicaps on the Flat, including one at the Galway Festival, and Indianaca has won two as well, a maiden on the Flat and a maiden hurdle. "We have a few point-to-pointers and we also have a good strike rate in Bumpers, with Annie Go winning first time out at Dundalk last year, so things are going well. It all takes a good bit of time but thankfully I have very patient owners, all of whom are fairly local and often come down to watch their horses being ridden out." Howard's modus operandi is as clearly defined as it is mined with pitfalls: he takes young horses, many of whom come from the bargain basement end of the sales weekends, and ekes out their potential. "I begin at the beginning," he says. "I'd pick them up from the field and I'd break them and then when they're broken I throw them out to grass for a few months. After that, they'd be ready to come in for full-time training, we give them time to get to know the game before they're got ready for a gallop around one of the local racecourses. Then they're fit to run." When they're ready, he doesn't restrict his race planning to races in Ireland, having made the trip to the polytrack in Wolverhampton with three of his horses, including successful raids with a mare, Wakita. "She had a few problems," he says, "and needed to race on the all-weather. There's very little all-weather racing here so she raced a couple of times in Dundalk last September and then I brought her over to Wolverhampton a few times. She's done well, too - she's gone over three times, winning once and being placed twice." While racing is clearly the number one sporting pursuit for Aidan these days, he remains an ardent follower of the fortunes of his native Westmeath in the Leinster Football Championship. A keen footballer in his youth, he played for Delvin and was offered the opportunity to represent his county in his teens. However, the date with the Lake County representative side coincided with an important career move, and the rest is history. He says: "Delvin put me forward for the Westmeath underage team but I actually had to go to County Kildare for racing college. I went to it instead, so the football didn't work out, but thankfully the racing did!" Westmeath, under Kerryman Tomas O Flatharta, endured a torrid spring in the National Football League, suffering relegation after seven straight defeats in Division One including heavy reverses at the hands of Derry, Kerry and, perhaps most damagingly of all, a 27-point defeat to provincial rivals Dublin in the final round. But Aidan remains upbeat about the team's prospects in the summer. "Division One of the NFL was very hard," he concedes. "There were no easy games there, but if the lads can get their confidence back they could be in with a shout of making an impression in Leinster again this summer. I was at all their games last year and I was at Croke Park on the day they won the Leinster Championship in 2004, so I'm keeping the faith." And as for the county's key man, there is no need for elaboration or argument. "Denis Glennon," comes the reply. Simple, really. Just like training winners. Tweet

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