Upon return, he took up the role of vet and assistant trainer to Mark Johnston in North Yorkshire. Again this provided invaluable experience, cementing a longstanding friendship with Mark and his family and confirming Andy's desire to enter the training ranks.
On returning home, Andy set his sights on the family farm, starting from scratch to build up the world class facilities he has today.

 

He quickly established himself as a trainer, ascending the ranks to finish in the top ten Irish trainers for five consecutive seasons. His first Group winner was in 2011, when Flowers Of Spring won the Group 3 Denny Cordell Lavarack/Lanwades Stud stakes At Gowran Park.
This was followed in 2012 when Sendmylovetorose won the Group 3 Grangecon Stud stakes at The Curragh and the Group 2 Cherry Hinton Stakes at Newmarket.
In that same year Firstcornerstone broke his maiden tag in the Listed Coolmore Canford Cliff Stakes At Tipperary, before progressing to win the Group 2 Futurity Stakes at The Curragh. This capped a memorable weekend, as Punch Your Weight also won the prestigious Cambridgeshire handicap on that card!
In 2014 Panama Hat was the most progressive horse in training, winning 5 consecutive handicaps and reaching a rating of 112. In 2015 Panama Hat won the Listed Lenebane Stakes At Roscommon. He was then valiant in narrow defeat at the Grade 3 American St Leger in Arlington Park, before returning to home soil to capture the Group 3 Diamond Stakes at Dundalk.
In 2016 Andy embarked on a major redevelopment to ensure he could continue to compete at the top level, with an extensive range of gallops and state of the art facilities.

With these strong foundations, Andy continues to focus on quality and strength whilst endeavouring to maximise the potential of every individual. He actively encourages owners to visit the yard and see their horses in training.

Andy is married to Saffron with three sons, Sam, Tom & Ben - who are already becoming an integral part of the team!