Slattery and Quirke land Grade 1 success at Fairyhouse

Tipperary Racing Scene

Shaftesbury Avenue made all in the mile maiden for colts and geldings at Navan on Monday of last week, showing a good deal of stamina when pressed inside the final furlong.

The $1 million yearling from Keeneland was making his second start having placed third on debut at the Curragh just over a fortnight earlier.

He was always to the fore and found enough for Wayne Lordan to collect as the 2-1 second favourite from the Johnny Murtagh-trained Tashakour (3-1). Paddy Twomey’s 13-8 favourite, State Of Wyoming, never looked like being involved from well off the pace.

Trainer Andy Slattery’s brisk start to the Flat season continued with another double at Navan on Monday, following up on the brace achieved at the Curragh two days prior.

Sir Allen shrugged off an absence from the track of over fifteen months when landing the lesser rated of the two staying handicaps on the card. Apprentice jockey Orla Tynan was on board to make it three wins from her last six rides. Sir Allen won by over three lengths at 11-1.

Slattery later said in conversation with Fran Berry on Racing TV: “I was expecting he would finish mid-division. I thought he wasn’t fit enough. He had a leg injury. I said to Oral, just go out and enjoy yourself.”

Future plans for Sir Allen could take in fences over the summer.

“The lads who own him [the Eight Star Syndicate] will have a bit of fun with him. He’s a good horse,” the trainer added.

The double was landed in the final race, a ten-furlong handicap for horses rated up to 70, when Servare returned with the biggest winning margin of the day, by seven lengths as the 7-2 favourite.

The American-bred three-year-old carries the colours of longtime Slattery supporter, Pat Garvey. His first success came as he went beyond a mile in distance for the first time and he could be tried over hurdles in due course.

Ado McGuinness ended up the joint champion trainer at Dundalk’s Winter Series and the Lusk trainer kept the theme going at the track when Clonmacash gained a narrow verdict last midweek.

Four of them were lined across the track at the end of the six-furlong handicap, but jockey Sam Coen conjured just enough from his mount to gain a half-length margin as a 9-1 chance. It was a fifth win on the horse for Tipperary apprentice Sam Coen.

Donnacha O’Brien saddled the first two home in a quite well-contested 10f fillies maiden at Dundalk on Wednesday.

Both the winner Emmelia (6-5 favourite), ridden by stable jockey Gavin Ryan, and Eritrea, the mount of Chris Hayes, a well-backed second favourite. They came six lengths clear of the third home. This fact more than hints at their potential. Both fillies carried the silks of owners Skara Glen Stables, based in Pennsylvania, USA.

North Tipperary connections clicked in the southern part of the county when Roc My Haarth scored on his chase debut at Clonmel on Thursday.

Thurles jockey Liam Quinlan crept from behind midfield to join the leaders turning for home in the 2m7f handicap. Good leaps over the final two fences meant he could ease to a margin of just over three lengths at odds of 13-2.

Roc My Haarth was losing the maiden tag at the 14th attempt for Toomevara trainer Ray Hackett.

“The form was there for him to win today. He had loads of schooling done, plenty groundwork. I just wanted to get him into a rhythm and he did it well. He will definitely win a few more. I could see him at Listowel later in the year,” Quinlan later told Racing TV.

Celtic Alliance made a winning debut for Gordon Elliott in the two-mile maiden hurdle at Clonmel.

It was a first ride back in Ireland for Jake Coen since he suffered an injury in a fall at Christmas. Despite being weak in the market and getting out to 7-1, the newcomer scored quite readily by nearly three lengths in the colours of Judith Matthews and Sheila O’Ryan.

Coen is mostly based as a jockey in Pennsylvania, USA, these days but was home for a short spell and was delighted to get the winner.

Another meeting, another winner for trainer Andy Slattery who maintained his fine start to the season when Staysound Susie swooped late in the fillies’ sprint handicap over six furlongs at the Curragh on Good Friday.

Fethard apprentice Jimmy Dalton took the ride and was enjoying the fourth winner of his career. Making her third start of the season already at the Curragh, trying to profit from the prevailing rain-softened conditions, Staysound Susie gained a neck verdict as the 11-4 favourite.

“Big thanks to Andy and the owners [the Dreamers & Believers Syndicate] for the ride. She enjoyed the step up to six furlongs today from five last week. She loves this ground too. It’s great to get a winner early in the season also.”

Chasing Paradise looked a filly of some potential in the fillies’ maiden over ten furlongs at the Curragh on Good Friday.

A first winner of the turf season for the Johnny Murtagh team arrived by a fairly commanding three lengths or so and as a well-backed 2-1 favourite. Ben Coen was in the saddle for his principal stable.

Speaking of the Oaks, Chasing Paradise was seven lengths second to Amelia Earhart, trained by Aidan O’Brien, on her maiden last October. The latter must be pretty good and was spoken of favourably after a Ballydoyle gallops morning at the Curragh a week ago.

The feature race at the Curragh on Good Friday was the Group 3 Irish EBF Park Express Stakes and it provided Joseph O’Brien with a big-priced one-two past the post.

Celestial Orbit won at odds of 33-1 from 22-1 stable companion Princess Child by half a length with Joey Sheridan rewarded for a decisive ride. The odds-on race favourite Faiyum ran third.

The winner was making her first start for the Owning Hill stable, switched from English trainer Ollie Sangster by connections in search of softer ground and, ideally, a black-type success. Mission accomplished in that regard. Talk is that she may now be covered to go in foal, but that is not yet confirmed.

Carrick-on-Suir trainer Pat Flynn spoke very highly of Key Witness after the gelding won a nice prize of almost €30,000 in the mile handicap at the Curragh.

Flynn bought he four-year-old for £15,000 out of a Newmarket stable last summer. He has since won twice and placed once from three starts. Alan Persse took the ride and made most of the running. They were clinging on at the end, though, by short head at odds of 16-1.

Flynn has been with a trainer’s licence for 45 years with over 840 winners logged.

Gavin Cromwell has his team in great order and he made off with a big prize at the Curragh when the appropriately named Fiver Friday won the Emerald Cup, a premier handicap with nearly €60,000 to the winner.

Nathan Crosse did the honours on this improving dual purpose mare who has found a new level of form since joining the Cromwell team some six months ago.

Fiver Friday turned this big field handicap of 18 runners into a bit of a rout, pulling nearly four lengths clear at 11-2 in the colours of Philip Gilmore.

Cardiff By The Sea gained a deserved success in the five-furlong maiden for three-year-olds at Cork on Saturday.

A breakthrough success came on her fourth career start and her first since last summer by which time she had run a close fourth at Royal Ascot for trainer Fozzy Stack. Seamie Heffernan was in the saddle on this occasion for a one length success as the 13-8 favourite.

An unforgettable moment for trainer Andy Slattery and jockey Cian Quirke arrived when Fleur In The Park gave them a first elite success in the Grade 1 WillowWarm Gold Cup at Punchestown on Easter Sunday.

The Killenaule stable has been on fire in the opening exchanges of the new Flat season with winners galore. The streak extended into the highest level in the National Hunt sphere when their 22-1 outsider downed Willie Mullins’ fancied Kappa J’y Pike (11-4) by nearly three lengths in the hands of Thurles jockey Quirke.

Slattery said: “All the lads at home who work so hard and Cian who has been with us for the last five or six years. I said to him, if you never rode another winner, you rode a Grade 1 winner. That’s our first Grade 1 as well.

“We bought this lad as a foal. So happy for his owners. He needed the run the last day at Thurles, he’d an injury before and wasn’t fully fit. We thought he would run well today. Delighted for Cian, too, we like to support the lads who work for us. “

Quirke said on RTE: “I am lost for words. I have to thank the Slattery’s, obviously. What they do with their horses is incredible. They are so good at training.

“This is a different altogether, to cross the line in front in a Grade 1. We felt he was a Grade 1 horse all along. We always had faith in him and his work had been incredible lately. I think that trip is key to him.”

Tountinna provided German national Maike Magnussen with her second winner as a trainer in Ireland in the 2m3f mares maiden hurdle at Cork on Sunday.

Magnussen trains near Nenagh and her previous winner, Moylussa, was also for owner-breeder Seamus Keogh. Tountinna won by two lengths as a 5-1 chance.

A fine week for trainer Ray Hackett concluded with his first graded winner when Nowwhatdoyouthink won the Grade 3 Bar 1 Betting Chase at Cork on Sunday. Just three horses went to post for this three-mile test. Liam Quinlan guided the strapping 4-5 favourite, also owned by Hackett, to a seven lengths margin.