Lucid Dream comes through for John Ryan at Gowran Park
Rachael Blackmore completed a double for trainer Henry de Bromhead at Fairyhouse on Tuesday.
While Darragh O'Keeffe was in the saddle as Potters Party took the three-mile beginners’ chase in runaway fashion, Blackmore partnered An Tobar to give the trainer a second winner when taking the two-mile maiden hurdle. An odds-on favourite, he too impressed in beating Pat Fahy’s Champagne Admiral by four and a quarter lengths.
Wayne Hassett made a bright start to the new winter campaign at Dundalk when taking the six-furlong nursery handicap on the Natalia Lupini-trained Clonmacash on Wednesday afternoon.
It was tight at the line but the 5/1 chance got home with a head to spare over the Johnny Murtagh-trained favourite Transcending Glory which was ridden by Ben Coen.
Hassett was on board the Joseph O'Brien-trained runner-up Wishes And Dreams as Gavin Ryan captured the concluding 10-furlong handicap. Ryan landed the spoils on the Pat Murphy-trained Snag It which led a furlong from the finish to score in the colours of owner Dorothy Heffernan by three-parts of a length.
Edward O'Grady won the two-mile auction maiden hurdle at Clonmel on Thursday with the six-year-old Any Road which runs in the trainer’s own colours. A 4/1 chance in the hands of conditional jockey Mark McDonagh, was well in control when left clear at the final hurdle to win by eight lengths from the Gerry Kelleher-trained On Lovers Walk.
Dundalk’s Friday fixture saw the Aidan O'Brien-trained Sweetest get off the mark on her seventh start as she won the two-year-old fillies’ maiden in good style. Seamie Heffernan made much of the running on the 100/30 chance which battled well when challenged to beat the Donnacha O'Brien-trained favourite Whisperinthewind by three-parts of a length.
Liam Quinlan landed the second double of his career as he partnered a very well-fancied winner for trainer John Ryan and a winning favourite for Declan Queally at Gowran Park on Saturday. Lucid Dreams, trained by Ryan, took the two-mile handicap chase. Owned in partnership by the Templemore trainer, Thomas James and Eoin Banville, the favourite recorded his fifth win of the year under Quinlan when getting the better of the Michael McDonagh-trained Krabat by a length and a quarter.
Declan Queally’s Intersky Sunset brought up the jockey’s double in the two and a half-mile mares’ handicap hurdle. The favourite led at the final hurdle and raced away to win by two and a quarter lengths from 40/1 shot Ella Rose.
Henry de Bromhead landed two more winners at Naas on Sunday and this time they were both ridden by Rachael Blackmore.
The pair landed the two-mile maiden hurdle with Slade Steel which easily picked off Gordon Elliott’s front-running odds-on favourite King Of Kingsfield to win by five and a half lengths, and then took the two-mile three furlong maiden hurdle with Mahon’s Way which scored by an identical margin from 250/1 outsider Prince Palace.
The two-mile novice hurdle went the way of the Andy Slattery-trained Smooth Tom which scored in the colours of his breeder Margaret O’Rourke. Ridden by Philip Donovan, the 10/1 chance gained the upper hand on the run to the final flight and he pulled away to win by a cosy three lengths from the de Bromhead-trained Mayor’s Walk, another ridden by Rachael Blackmore.
Upcoming Fixtures
Dundalk – Wednesday, November 15 (First Race 1.50pm)
Punchestown – Thursday, November 16 (First Race 12.20pm)
Wexford – Friday, November 17 (First Race 12.30pm)
Dundalk – Friday, November 17 (First Race 5.10pm)
Navan – Saturday, November 18 (First Race 11.50am)
Navan – Sunday, November 19 (First Race 11.45am)