Tipperary Racing Scene

Runner-up on his first start over fences at Galway earlier in the month, Karl Des Tourelles went one better at the same venue on Bank Holiday Monday.

Trained just north of Carrick-on-Suir by Philip Fenton, this horse has been consistent for all that he has only won twice to date.

Sean Flanagan rode and raced prominently throughout. The pair looked vulnerable when headed after the last fence, but to his credit Karl Des Tourelles knuckled down well to get home by over two lengths as the even-money favourite.

Over the past week or so, the hottest trainer and jockey combination in the country has Carrick-on-Suir trainer Pat Flynn with his stable apprentice Robyn Donaghue-Leahy.

The pair have a 100 per cent record of four winners from four runners at their last three visits to Dundalk.

Following on from a betting plunge on Surpass And Shine the weekend before, Gallo Del Cielo won the 1m4f handicap which closed Wednesday’s fixture at Dundalk.

The six-year-old is paying his way and this was his sixth win overall. He came with a late lunge along the far rail to lead by a neck where it mattered.

He returned a 100-30 chance and may well add to the tally at Dundalk over the course of the winter, especially over longer distances.

Trainer and jockey then added a double at the same track last Friday evening. Jordan Breeze first proved too good in the sprint handicap. The 5-2 favourite raced close to the pace and pulled some two lengths clear.

Not Just Any Eagle (8-1) made it a 30-1 double in the 12f handicap, the final event of the evening, when he led right on the line to deny Andy Slattery’s Sunrush by a head.

Breeders Cup

Aidan O’Brien set a record for Breeders’ Cup winners by a trainer with a treble at the prestigious meeting in Lexington, Kentucky, on Friday and Saturday evening.

Each success was terrific in its own way, but the trainer’s eighth triumph in the $5 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf with Benvenuto Cellini stole the show.

What a ride by Ryan Moore as he appeared locked up on the fence, behind midfield, as the field swept into the short homestretch.

But he found clear running on the chestnut Irish Derby hero inside the final furlong, led with 50 yards to race and won going away by three-quarters of a length.

“We always felt he was the right horse for this race. They went a good gallop which suited him and Ryan gave him a brilliant ride,” O’Brien said.

“We felt he was unlucky in the Arc, a lot more than people thought, because he didn’t have a clear run.”

Plans for Benvenuto Cellini looked a bit mixed after he was beaten at odds of 2-5 in the Prix Niel in Paris in September. What followed was a midfield finish in the Arc at Longchamp, but there was plenty of market confidence in him as Moore kept the faith and he returned the 3-1 favourite.

O’Brien saddled two juvenile Grade 1 winners on Friday evening, headed by Sun Goddess, the odds-on favourite, who ran away with the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf by three lengths.

The exceptional filly was winning for the fourth time at the highest level this year, the first two-year-old to manage such a feat since her great grandsire Johannesburg – also trained by O’Brien – in 2001. It’s hard to recall a juvenile quite as accomplished as she is.

“She is very unique. It was her first time at a mile, first time round a bend and it didn’t matter,” Moore said.

“She was able to race on the pace. The pace was very ordinary and she was in front turning for home. It’s hard to know where the bottom of her is. Hopefully she can continue this next year. The ground is bit dead so I don’t think you saw the best of her.”

Sun Goddess cost £120,000 as a yearling at Doncaster last year. She has already won €1.6 million from nine starts in her first season.

Haffner added to the Ballydoyle haul in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf with a powerful display. Moore had the Justify colt close to an even pace and was always doing enough to repel the late burst from Folsom Blues, trained by Joseph O’Brien, by over a length.

“He won the Acomb at York and the Royal Lodge at Ascot and they are always strong races. He gets the mile very well,” Moore said.

“He is a very classy horse. He will be very comfortable over ten furlongs next year,” Aidan O’Brien added.

The Ballydoyle maestro went into the fixture on 21 career wins at the Breeders’ Cup but ended it leading American training legend Bob Baffert 24-22.

The treble also meant O’Brien has 28 Group or Grade 1 wins for the year, level with his own world record that he set in 2017. If he is to set a new standard, it will have to come at either the Japan Cup at the end of November or the Longines Hong Kong International Races in December.

Dromineer trainer Eoin Seymour teamed up with Nenagh jockey Conor Clarke for a win together via Tir Og at Cork on Sunday.

Things might have been different if Who’s Da Goose, upsides and appearing to travel better, had not hit the deck at the final hurdle, but jumping is the name of the game and Tir Og finished unopposed at 10-1.

This was the mare’s fourth career win for Seymour and owners the Keepthehighballslow Syndicate which includes All Star hurler Joe Canning.

You could say it was a satisfactory weekend for Aidan O’Brien. Three winners at the Breeders’ Cup and his grasp on a third consecutive (and ninth in all) British trainers’ championship strengthened further.

A double at the Curragh on the final day of the Flat campaign capped the lot and we saw yet another potentially elite horse deliver for the team in the form of Choctaw Nation.

Amelia Earhart (2-1 favourite) snared the final Pattern race of the season, the Group 3 Loughbrown Stakes.

This filly started the 7-4 favourite in the Oaks at Epsom but came up short on that and a couple of other occasions during the summer.

Her form has improved, though, and she has coped well with the demands of a busy season. Gavin Ryan always had his rivals covered as she won by over a length.

“I can’t thank Aidan enough for the ride on this filly. She is a big, strong girl. She rides more like a colt and she stayed at it well.”

UPCOMING MEETINGS

Dundalk - Wednesday, November 4th (first race 4.05pm)

Clonmel - Thursday, November 5th (first race 12.50pm)

Dundalk - Friday, November 6th (first race 5.15pm)

Gowran Park – Saturday, November 7th (first race 12.40pm)

Naas - Sunday, November 8th (first race 12.00pm)

Punchestown – Monday, November 9th (first race 12.00pm)

Fairyhouse – Tuesday, November 10th (first race 12.00pm)