Premier week for Tipp trainers and riders
Burnchurch trainer Martin Hassett saddled by far the longest-priced winner at Cork on Easter Monday as Skinnider took the two-mile handicap hurdle to complete a first career double for Carlow conditional jockey Kieran Callaghan. The 28/1 chance only led well after the final flight to get the better of Robert Tyner’s McGrath From Clune by a length and a quarter.
Callaghan had earlier taken the opening maiden hurdle on the Willie Mullins-trained even-money favourite Sir Argus.
The Jack Tyner Memorial Hunters Chase went the way of the Harry Swan-ridden Dinny Lacey. Trained by James Motherway, the well-backed 4/1 chance got the better of David Christie’s favourite Ultimate Optimist by three and three-parts of a length in the Robcour colours.
Trainer Michael Griffin saddled Flemensface to win the two-mile three-furlong point-to-point bumper. Ridden by Johnny Barry, the 12/1 shot was well on top at the line as he beat Asian Master by a length and three-parts with even-money favourite What’s Up Darling back in third place. Barry was also in the saddle when the six-year-old won his point-to-point late last month.
Aidan O'Brien shared three winners with Ryan Moore at Dundalk on Tuesday. It took two stewards’ enquiries before both Brighter and Red Riding Hood were declared the winners of their respective heats, while Broadhurst ran out the clearcut winner of his race to complete the treble.
Ballydoyle’s Brighter held off the Paddy Twomey-trained favourite Vanity Pays to take the opening two-year-old fillies’ maiden by a head. The winner edged to her right inside the final furlong, hampering the runner-up but the result was allowed to stand.
There was a similar outcome to the enquiry following the three-year-old fillies’ maiden over the extended ten furlongs as odds-on favourite Red Riding Hood just about did enough to win. She veered badly to her right well inside the final furlong, ruining the chances of the Joseph O'Brien-trained Shamwari which lost second place as a result of the interference. The winner straightened up in time to beat the Johnny Feane-trained Letiza by three-parts of a length with the luckless Shamwari a neck away in third place.
There was no such drama in the seven-furlong maiden as favourite Broadhurst scored a six-length win over David Marnane’s Emorcee. Nathan Crosse had scored an earlier success on the Jessica Harrington-trained Jessica Harrington Boola Boola which battled well for a narrow win in the 12-furlong handicap. The six-year-old led inside the final furlong to beat James McAuley’s favourite Dalvey, ridden by Joey Sheridan, by three-parts of a length.
The Ben Coen-ridden Collective Power recorded his fourth career win when taking the six-furlong handicap. Edward Lynam’s charge had filled the runner-up berth on five occasions since winning at Down Royal in June of last year, but he came good again in no uncertain terms with a one and three-parts of a length success over the David Marnane-trained Jered Maddox.
There was a shock result in the concluding six-furlong handicap as the Denis Hogan-trained American In Paris got the better of Tom Mullins’ Not Too Real Bad by half a length. Owned by the Premier Racing Club, the 40/1 chance scored under Sean Bowen, his twelfth career success and his third of the new Flat season.
Joey Sheridan rode his first winner of the weekend and gave Denis Hogan his first of the evening as the Justin Carthy-owned Autocrat took the 12-furlong handicap at Dundalk on Friday. A strong favourite, he defied top-weight in fine style with a two-length success over the Luke Comer-trained Cherokee Run.
The Cloughjordan trainer was on the mark just minutes later at Ballinrobe where the Daniel King-ridden Bal De Rio landed the two-mile one-furlong handicap hurdle. In the familiar colours of the Premier Racing Club, the 4/1 chance asserted after the final hurdle to win by four and a quarter lengths from the Tom Gibney-trained Wee Charlie.
Back on the all-weather, Ben Coen and Johnny Murtagh took the seven-furlong three-year-old maiden with Clounmacon. A strong favourite in the colours of Newton Anner Stud Farm, she lost a little ground coming out of the stalls but came through to lead inside the final furlong for a two-length success over the David Marnane-trained City Exile.
Carrick-On-Suir trainer Mark Cahill won the concluding seven-furlong handicap with Blue Wood. Owned and bred by Peadar Kelly, the 6/1 chance led on the line to deny the front-running Gillian Scott-trained Cherry Bloom by a nose under apprentice Alan Persse.
Also, at Ballinrobe, Sam Curling landed the first of the evening’s bumpers with the Derek O'Connor-ridden I Won’t Back Down. In Curling’s own colours, the favourite led a little after halfway and went clear in the straight to win by seven lengths from the Declan Queally-trained Desert Halo. For good measure, O'Connor also won the second bumper on the card on favourite Backtonormal, trained by Mags Mullins.
Out of luck with two odds-on favourites at Dundalk on Friday, Aidan O'Brien bounced back with a double at the Curragh on Sunday. He shared both winners with Wayne Lordan and the pair were off the mark in the opening six-furlong two-year-old maiden as Democracy scored in great style. The even-money favourite took a little time to get going but he asserted early inside the final furlong and pulled away to win by two and three-parts of a length from the Dermot Weld-trained Jalaybee.
Also, very strong at the finish was Point Lonsdale which won the Group 3 Alleged Stakes for O'Brien and Lordan on his first start in eleven months. The favourite got the better of the Joseph O'Brien-trained front-runner Visualisation inside the final furlong to win by a length and a half, the pair seven lengths clear of the Noel Meade-trained Layfayette.
Donnacha O'Brien and Gavin Ryan landed the five-furlong maiden for two-year-olds with Porta Fortuna. In the colours of the trainer’s mother Anne Marie, the 9/2 chance battled well to beat dead-heaters Ellie Moore, trained by Barry Fitzgerald, and the Jim Bolger-trained Neo Smart by a neck.
Fozzy Stack and Joey Sheridan took the 10-furlong maiden with Bright Legend. The three-year-old ducked to his left well with a furlong to race but picked up again close to the finish to win by three-parts of a length from Jim Bolger’s Young Ireland.
Stack landed a second winner by a narrower margin as Run Ran Run took the six-furlong maiden in the hands of Andrew Slattery. The even money favourite held the late thrust of the Noel Meade-trained Desert Haven to win by a nose.
Mighty Jeremy added to his success at Clonmel at the beginning of the month when taking the second division of the two and a half-mile handicap hurdle for Fethard trainer Liam Casey at Tramore on Sunday. Again, ridden by Ian Power, the favourite made all the running and went clear after halfway to beat the John Flavin-trained Spring Street by an easy seven and a half lengths in the colours of owner/breeder Paddy Meany.
Rachael Blackmore completed a double for Willie Mullins when partnering Saint Sam to an all-the-way success in the conditions’ chase. An odds-on favourite in the colours of owner Edward Ware, the six-year-old came home twenty lengths clear of the Michael Bowe-trained Halsafari and might now be heading to the Punchestown festival.
Mullins was earlier a winner with the Michael O'Sullivan-ridden MacDermott in the opportunity maiden hurdle.
Blackmore had to work far harder for her second winner of the afternoon. She won the concluding near two-mile handicap chase on the Henry de Bromhead-trained Freddie Robdal. Owned by the Dave Clerkin Racing Club, the 15/2 chance led in the final strides to pip the Jim Dreaper-trained Know The Game by a nose.
Upcoming Fixtures
Gowran Park – Wednesday, April 19 (First Race 4.05pm)
Tipperary – Thursday, April 20 (First Race 4.00pm)
Kilbeggan – Thursday, April 20 (First Race 5.20pm)
Cork – Friday, April 21 (First Race 1.58pm)
Kilbeggan – Friday, April 21 (First Race 4.00pm)
Limerick – Saturday, April 22 (First Race 2.10pm)
Navan – Saturday, April 22 (First Race 2.20pm)
