CORK
The season’s leading jockey, Darragh O’Keeffe, gave local owner and racecourse committee member Tim Kelly a most memorable success when partnering Nothing Hectic to win the mares’ maiden hurdle at Ballinrobe on Monday of last week. Trained by Hilary McLoughlin, the strong 5/4 favourite led after the final hurdle to beat Margaret Flynn’s 50/1 chance Toor Idaho by three and a half lengths.
O’Keeffe played second fiddle to Brian Hayes at Bellewstown on Wednesday last, where the Willie Mullins-trained seven-year-old Adela Icon scored a runaway success in the two-mile one-furlong mares’ hurdle. Hayes had the easiest of times on the 11/8 favourite which made all the running and raced clear after the second-last hurdle to win by 13 lengths from O’Keeffe’s mount Jane Eire, a 5/2 chance for Henry de Bromhead.
Cousins Alan and Maxine O’Sullivan fought out the finish to the concluding bumper at Down Royal on Friday evening with Alan narrowly coming out on top on the Charles Byrnes-trained Run For Mahler. Owned by the Top Of The Hill Syndicate, the 2/1 chance gained an advantage inside the final furlong and held the Emmet Mullins-trained 11/8 favourite Good Girl Kathleen by a neck. The winning trainer had earlier landed a handicap hurdle with 4/1 chance Eastmore which was ridden by his son Philip.
John Shinnick rode back-to-back winners as he landed a double at Wexford on Friday evening. He partnered the Tony Mullins-trained Paul’s Dream to win the two-mile one-furlong handicap hurdle in the colours of the Shoot A Hoop Syndicate. A 5/1 chance, she made much of the running to beat John Flavin’s 9/1 shot Party Pack by five and a half lengths.
County Kilkenny trainer Eoin Doyle gave Shinnick his second success when sending out Stone Forest to take the two and a half-mile handicap hurdle for owner Christina Hughes. The 9/1 chance led at halfway and made the best of his way home to win by two lengths from Harry Kelly’s 12/1 shot Corkbeg.
You Oughta Know scored a runaway victory in the two-mile three-furlong rated novice chase for champions Paul Townend and Willie Mullins. The Luke McMahon-owned 11/10 favourite made all the running and skipped clear before the second-last fence to win by 23 lengths from his own stable companion, the Brian Hayes-ridden 8/1 chance Fine Margin.
Wayne Lordan was the immediate beneficiary of Ryan Moore’s enforced absence as he rode two winners for Aidan O’Brien at the Curragh on Saturday. The pair combined to take the opening eight-furlong maiden for two-year-olds with the 10/11 favourite Hawk Mountain which made all the running to beat Jessica Harrington’s 50/1 chance Mr Vettori by a length and a half.
The 11/8 favourite Mission Central completed the double with his success in the Group 3 Heider Family Stables Round Tower Stakes over six furlongs. He too made every yard of the running and held Joseph O’Brien’s 40/1 shot The Publican’s Son by three-parts of a length.
The consistent Carrigans Grove landed the six-furlong apprentice handicap for Robyn Donaghue-Leahy and trainer Pat Flynn. The 6/1 chance raced up with the pace and led inside the final furlong to beat Johnny Murtagh’s front-running 5/1 favourite Amicita by half a length for her owner/breeder Sinead Maher. The four-year-old was winning for the third time this season and she hasn’t been out of the first three places in seven starts since gaining her first victory at Dundalk in April.
Wayne Lordan again shared two winners with Aidan O’Brien at Tipperary on Sunday. The two-year-old Endorsement set up the double when landing the nine-furlong maiden at odds of even money favourite. He led inside the final furlong to beat Joseph O’Brien’s 5/1 shot Limestone by a length and three-parts.
It was far narrower as the three-year-old Mississippi River won the seven and a half-furlong conditions’ race for the pair. A 6/4 favourite, he headed Ger Lyons’ front-running 7/4 chance over a furlong out and bttled well to prevail by a head.
Kildrum’s Darragh O’Sullivan gave David Marnane his second winner of the afternoon when partnering 3/1 favourite Jasmine Affanalis to take the nine-furlong apprentice handicap. Owned by the A Touch Of Leather Syndicate, the three-year-old also hit the front before the furlong-pole and she beat Gavin Cromwell’s 16/1 chance Ms Olivia by a length and three-parts.
The MCR International-owned Redemption Road took the earlier seven and a half-furlong auction series maiden for David Marnane and jockey Luke McAteer.
Raymond Hurley was back in the winners’ enclosure for the first time since John The Soldier won at Tipperary in July 2013 when the Nicola Burns-ridden El Bello took the concluding 12-furlong handicap at odds of 33/1. The Pura Vida Partnership-owned six-year-old led inside the final furlong to beat the Ross O’Sullivan-trained 4/1 chance Lady Kai and Dylan Browne McMonagle by a neck. The Clonakilty trainer had relinquished his licence for a number of years and he only sent out his first runners since 2017 in April of this year.
TIPPERARY
Ben Coen won the first race at Navan on Thursday last where he partnered the Johnny Murtagh-trained Nakamura to a comfortable success in the near six-furlong nursery handicap. A well-supported 4/1 favourite in the colours of the Brunabonne Syndicate, he headed Donnacha O’Brien’s 5/1 chance Monte Vista inside the final furlong to win by two lengths.
At odds of 7/1, the Paddy Twomey-trained My Corbett Court landed the optional claiming maiden over eight furlongs. Ridden by Donagh O’Connor, the Anna and Declan Corbett-owned two-year-old scored with plenty in hand when coming home three and a quarter lengths clear of the Andy Oliver-trained 7/2 shot, Celestial Siren.
By far the longest priced winner of the afternoon was the Tom Hogan-trained Share The Treasure which scored a narrow success in the concluding 14-furlong handicap at odds of 33/1. With Wesley Joyce riding for owner Robert Gill, the four-year-old battled well inside the final furlong to pip Gavin Cromwell’s 5/2 favourite Arcland by a shorthead.
Danny Mullins landed a double at Down Royal on Friday where he rode winners for Sam Curling and Joseph O’Brien. The O’Brien-trained Cinammon Coco was his first of the evening in the opening three-year-old handicap. Owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, the 6/5 favourite jumped to his left throughout but was still well on top in beating Gordon Elliott’s 7/2 chance combs by nine and a half lengths.
The jockey’s double was completed as the Curling-trained 7/2 favourite Fire Coral scored her own cosy success in the three-mile handicap hurdle. A winner at Downpatrick on her previous start, the Keep It Pucked Out Syndicate-owned six-year-old made much of the running and asserted from the final hurdle to beat Dermot McLoughlin’s 17/2 chance Schiehallion by two and a half lengths.
Trainer Martin Hassett scored a narrow win in the two-mile three-furlong handicap hurdle with the seven-year-old Battle Of Ridgeway at Wexford on Friday evening. Ridden by Liam McKenna, the 5/1 chance was momentarily eased in the closing stages and only just got going again to hold the challenge late lunge of Liam Cusack’s 11/2 shot The Striker Dylan by a shorthead.
LIMERICK
The Wesley Joyce-ridden Dinamine landed his second win of the season at Bellewstown on Tuesday of last week. Joyce was in the saddle when the seven-year-old got off the mark at Gowran Park in April of this year and the partnership struck again for trainer Michael Mulvany in division two of the eight-furlong handicap. Owned and bred by Sean Finnegan, the well-supported 11/2 favourite led over a furlong out to beat the Tom McGuinness-trained 33/1 chance Hastily by a length and a quarter.
Charles and Philip Byrnes landed the two-mile one-furlong handicap hurdle with the 4/1 chance Eastmore at Down Royal on Friday evening. Owned by Justin Carthy and Patrick O’Brien, the five-year-old led after the second-last hurdle and battled well after being headed on the run-in to score by a neck from Noel Meade’s 8/1 shot Desert Haven.
The trainer completed a double as the Alan O’Sullivan-ridden Run For Mahler scored a battling success of his own in the concluding bumper.
WATERFORD
The Declan Queally-trained Long Gone scored a comfortable success in the opening claiming hurdle at Bellewstown on Wednesday of last week. The first of two winners on the day for local jockey Alex Harvey, the 100/30 chance led after the second-last hurdle to win by two and a half lengths from Gordon Elliott’s 7/2 shot Lightkeeper in the colours of owner John Bates. Long Gone was subsequently claimed to be trained by Noel Kelly.
A runner-up earlier in the evening with the 9/1 shot Party Pack, trainer John Flavin went a place better to win the three-mile one-furlong handicap chase with Hit The Frame at Wexford on Friday evening. Ridden by Sean Flanagan, the 13/2 chance made all the running to beat the Paul Gilligan-trained Seventy Eight Team, at odds of 12/1, by a length and a quarter in the colours of the Hit The Road Syndicate.
UPCOMING FIXTURES
Laytown, Thursday, September 4th (1st race 4.30pm); Kilbeggan, Friday, September 5th (1st race 3.57pm); Down Royal, Friday, September 5th (1st race 4.15pm); Navan, Saturday, September 6th (1st race 2.15pm).
