Bolger's gamble adds up to chance of Classic double

But he learned swiftly, enjoyed his first major winner with Give Thanks in the 1983 Irish Oaks and next weekend launches a double assault on the 2000 and 1000 Guineas at Newmarket with two outstanding prospects.

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Unbeaten at two, Teofilo stands alone at the head of the market for the Stan James 2000 Guineas,while Bolger's jaunty filly,Finsceal Beo, is an even warmer favourite for the 1000 Guineas.

The pair could not be in better hands, yet Bolger is a highly individual trainer. Erudite, fiercely independent and occasionally abrasive, he tends to hold court in a manner that defies argument.

"I always wanted to train but it wasn't possible until I had tried, not very successfully, to make some money in commerce. When I left, I had just enough to buy a horse or two to start off in 1975," he recalled.

The switch from an accountant's desk in the motor industry to training racehorses was a novel one. "It was a major gamble giving up a safe career,but accountancy was just a stepping stone to working with horses.That was always my focus and there was no going back. I began with a few of my own and I was lucky I had no pressure from impatient owners.

"I was self-taught, but I picked a fair few brains in my time. I made my mistakes with my own horses but they had to win to put food on the table for my family."

In 1976, he won four races. The next year his total rose to 22 from 18 horses. He was on his way.

"Training racehorses was very interesting but I've never found it difficult," he added disarmingly. "Things progressed the right way. I had this grandiose idea that I would just train for myself. After 1977, the thing just exploded on me. I didn't have any fear about competition."

He bought a 60-acre hill farm at Coolcullen, close to Carlow, 25 years ago and set about converting it into an efficient training complex.

Last Monday, he opened his doors to the cameras as he paraded Teofilo a week after a training setback that sent shock waves through the betting industry. The horse looked a picture of gleaming good health. No one enjoyed the moment more than Bolger as he sought to end the uncertainty surrounding his star colt.

"Pressure is for tyres," he has told me more than once. "In recent years it doesn't come into the equation. That stems from confidence in what we have been able to achieve and being totally satisfied that we have delivered with any top horses we have had. There is nothing better than going to the races and being proved right.

"Teofilo always looked the part from the day he was born. Nothing seemed to faze him and he looked after himself in a herd situation. He wasn't a bully but his patch was never threatened by those around him. I would have been amazed if he hadn't been a good racehorse and when he started racing he oozed class. He has a great swagger about him and is different to any other horses I've had.

"It is going to be very hard for a top horse to get past him.There will always be a little more there if he is challenged.

"We could have done without the hiccup when there seemed to be a little soreness at the back of his off fore knee.But all the X-rays and scans were clear, the problem has settled and he seems well on track for Newmarket."