{"id":672194,"date":"2026-11-02T00:22:48","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T00:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/672194\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T00:22:48","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T00:22:48","slug":"ive-watched-it-back-ten-times-paul-traynor-savours-local-success-after-statons-100-1-shock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/672194\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I’ve watched it back ten times’ \u2013 Paul Traynor savours local success after Staton’s 100-1 shock"},"content":{"rendered":"


Staton<\/a> spent Saturday morning in his Templepatrick field before making the 20-minute journey to Down Royal, where he delivered a performance trainer Paul Traynor has watched back ten times and still finds hard to believe.<\/p>\n

The 100-1 shot powered clear under Anna McGuinness to win the concluding bumper by 12 lengths, providing a memorable success for the local trainer and his partner Karen McNeilly, who owns the five-year-old.<\/p>\n

Traynor has had Staton since he was a foal, and, while confident of a good run, had not expected him to win so easily.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s unbelievable. It meant a lot,” he said. “For me and my partner Karen, we treat them all the same. I’ve had him since he was a foal.<\/p>\n

“I thought a fair bit of him as a point-to-point horse. I thought he’d run a good race, but to flick away as easily as he did, that was unreal. It was great to see him do it so well.”<\/p>\n

Staton had finished third in a point-to-point at Tyrella but arrived at Down Royal after two well-beaten efforts over hurdles. His starting price suggested few expected the transformation, although Traynor felt his chances were better than the odds implied.<\/p>\n

“We’re only a small yard and you’ve to train what you have,” he said. “When the [Gordon] Elliott horse Uncle Pad was pulled out, I thought we’d every chance of a big race.”<\/p>\n

Traynor tries to have runners ready for his local meeting, and Staton’s preparations could scarcely have been more relaxed.<\/p>\n

“He was in the field all morning, got pulled out at one o’clock and went straight down to Down Royal,” he said. “It’s great to have a chance to get horses running locally.”<\/p>\n

\"Staton<\/p>\n

Staton and Anna McGuinness strikes at huge odds at Down RoyalCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com\/photos)<\/p>\n

McGuinness was partnering a horse whose everyday work is done by his trainer, and Traynor had offered an enthusiastic assessment before she took the ride.<\/p>\n

“He’s a very straightforward horse to ride,” he said. “I’m the only person who ever sits on him. He’s always given me a good feel, and I said to Anna, ‘If I could do the weight I would love to be riding this lad.'”\u00a0<\/p>\n

That confidence was rewarded after Staton travelled strongly before drawing emphatically clear. Traynor has since relived the performance repeatedly.<\/p>\n

“I’m sure I’ve watched that race back ten times,” he said, admitting it has surprised him with every viewing. “On the day, watching them come down the hill, I said, ‘He’s going to run away with this.’ He just carried her everywhere. It was just right on the day.”<\/p>\n

The result brought another cherished success against powerful opposition after Kershaw\u2019s<\/a> defeat of the Willie Mullins-trained Lultimatom in a Kilbeggan bumper in April.<\/p>\n

“I beat Willie Mullins for the first time in a bumper back in April and it meant the world to me,” Traynor said. “To do it again meant a lot, especially in the fashion he did it.”<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/p>\n

Harry Cobden rides a double at Cork for boss JP McManus – including a 15-length winner of a Grade 3 novice chase<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘You can’t depend on the rain’ – Gordon Elliott blasts Down Royal ground after pulling five runners from festival’s day one card<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Joseph O’Brien suffers Melbourne Cup blow as his shortest-priced contender ruled out with Dylan Browne McMonagle forced to switch rides<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Looking for free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit\u00a0racingpost.com\/freebets<\/a>\u00a0to find out more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Staton spent Saturday morning in his Templepatrick field before making the 20-minute journey to Down Royal, where he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":672195,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60],"class_list":["post-672194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/672195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}