Family affair at Kilbeggan

There was a real family success as Granny Lowrie landed the mares’ hurdle at Kilbeggan on Monday week last.

Owned by Mary Doyle, trained by her husband Pat and ridden by their son Jack, the 7/2 chance led before the final flight as she beat Dancing After Dark by three lengths, with Gordon Elliott’s favourite half a length away in third place.

Harry Swan rode the sixteenth winner of his career as he completed a treble for trainer Gordon Elliott at Wexford on Wednesday.

Swan landed the concluding bumper on Silver Breeze which scored a narrow success. The favourite, owned by John Doyle and Caren Walsh, held off the late surge of the Martin Brassil-trained Second Subaltern to win by a nose.

Kevin Coleman saddled the first winner at Leopardstown on Thursday where With Love gave Seamie Heffernan to first of two winners.

In the colours of Atomic Racing, the joint-favourite led inside the final furlong to beat his main market rival, the Joseph O'Brien-trained Voce Del Palio, by a length and a quarter in the seven-furlong two-year-old race.

Denis Hogan supplied Heffernan with his second success as Royal Tribute led late on to take the handicap over the same distance. The 12/1 chance, in the colours of the Premier Racing Club, got the better of the Ted Walsh-trained Castletownsend by a length and three-parts.

Paddy Twomey enjoyed success at both Down Royal and Limerick on Friday and his first winner of the evening came at the northern venue where the Chris Hayes-ridden Treasure Trove scored an easy victory in the opening five-furlong maiden for two-year-olds.

An odds-on favourite in the colours of Merry Fox Stud, she led over a furlong from the finish and went clear to win by four and a half lengths from the Jack Davison-trained Thunderbear.

Jake Coen got the better of an odds-on shot as he won the seven-furlong maiden on the Ger O’Leary-trained Chesterton. Owned and bred by Sue Lenehan, he ran out a two-length winner from the Willie McCreery-trained favourite Are We Dreaming.

Billy Lee was in the saddle as the Twomey-trained Earl Of Tyrone took the Listed Martin Molony Stakes. The Joseph O'Brien-trained favourite Raise You had a nightmare passage in the straight and had a mountain to climb once getting into the clear inside the final furlong. At the line, Twomey’s charge had a length and a quarter to spare in the colours of owner/breeder Robert Moran.

The winning trainer commented, “He hasn’t put a foot wrong all spring and I thought he was good the last day at the Curragh where he won a win-and-you’re-in qualifier for the Ebor. I wasn’t keen to run him in the Ebor from out of the handicap, but he’ll go straight there now.”

Seamie Heffernan added to his Leopardstown double when taking the two-mile one-furlong handicap on Aidan O'Brien’s Waterville. The even money favourite raced clear over a furlong from the finish to win by an easy six lengths from the Karl Thornton-trained Rich Belief.

Shane Crosse recorded a double of his own at Down Royal on Saturday where he shared his success with trainer Joseph O'Brien.

They landed the opening ten-furlong maiden for three-year-olds with Qatar Racing’s Spartan Army which scored by three and a half lengths from the Andy Oliver-trained Regally Blonde favourite, and followed up when Onameridance won the three-year-old handicap over the same distance in the colours of Newtown Anner Stud Farm. The favourite raced clear from the furlong pole to win by eight and a half lengths from Chaos Control, another trained by Oliver.

Significant Irish-trained success at Royal Ascot

There were eight Irish-trained winners at Royal Ascot last week with Joseph O'Brien making the breakthrough as the Shane Crosse-ridden globetrotter State Of Rest landed his latest Group 1 success in the Prince Of Wales´s Stakes on Wednesday.

On the same afternoon, Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore struck with Little Big Bear in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes.

The following day, Jessica Harrington and Shane Foley were winners with Magical Lagoon in the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes while Aidan O'Brien won the Gold Cup with Kyprios.

The Ballydoyle maestro landed a Friday double with Meditate and Changingoftheguard, both ridden by Ryan Moore, winning the Group 3 Albany Stakes and the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes respectively.

As the meeting came to a close on Saturday, there were wins for Aidan O'Brien’s Broome, a 900th Group or Graded success for the trainer, in the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes while Willie Mullins’s Stratum landed the Queen Alexandra Stakes for the second year running.

With seven winners, Ryan Moore was the leading jockey at the meeting for the ninth time while Aidan O'Brien’s five winners saw him crowned top trainer for the eleventh time.

Upcoming Meetings

Naas – Wednesday, June 22 (First Race 5.10pm)

Curragh – Friday, June 24 (First Race 5pm)

Curragh – Saturday, June 25 (First Race 1.25pm)

Curragh – Sunday, June 26 (First Race 1.40pm)