Tipperary Racing Scene
On a day that Joseph O'Brien captured the headlines, both his father Aidan and brother Donnacha were also among the winners at the Curragh on Bank Holiday Monday.
Joseph captured the Group 2 Coolmore Stud Sottsass Irish EBF Mooresbridge Stakes with Visualisation and Group 3 Coolmore Stud Circus Maximus Irish EBF Athasi Stakes with Honey Girl, but it was Donnacha that won the first race as the Gavin Ryan-ridden Do It With Style took the six-furlong two-year-old maiden. Owned by Leonard Green, the 3/1 chance got on top late on to beat Kieran Cotter’s Ocean Baroque by a length.
Aidan O'Brien matched Joseph’s double with the Seamie Heffernan-ridden His Majesty making a winning racecourse debut in the five-furlong Listed Gain First Flier Stakes. The 5/2 chance was another to assert in the closing stages and he came through to beat the Adrian Murray-trained Valiant Force by three-parts of a length.
Ballydoyle were on the mark once again as the three-year-old Paddington beat his stable companion Drumroll to the line in the Listed Coolmore Stud Blackbeard Irish EBF Tetrarch Stakes. Another ridden by Seamie Heffernan, the odds-on favourite had plenty in hand as he scored by a length and a half.
In his own colours, owner/trainer John Ryan landed the opening opportunity maiden hurdle with the eight-year-old Lucid Dreams at Ballinrobe on Tuesday. The Liam Quinlan-ridden favourite led early on and again after the second-last hurdle before pulling clear to beat the Oliver McKiernan-trained Make The Plan by eight and a half lengths.
Toomevara’s Ray Hackett and jockey Daniel King combined to take the handicap chase with Say It Ain't So for owners, the Gleeson & Kearney Partnership. An 18/1 chance, the eight-year-old led at the second-last hurdle to beat Gordon Elliott’s Pats Choice by a neck.
Ben Coen and Curragh trainer Johnny Murtagh combined to take the eight-furlong maiden with Save Your Love at Gowran Park on Wednesday. Owned and bred by Pat Kelly, the strong favourite led passing the two-furlong pole and he made the best of his way home to score by a length and a half from the Ger Lyons-trained Hutton Glen.
Paddy Twomey landed the first of the meeting’s listed races as his yard’s new recruit Final Gesture ran out a thoroughly impressive winner of the 14-furlong Irish Stallion Farms EBF Vintage Tipple Stakes. Billy Lee had an easy time of it on the French import which was sent off joint-favourite and ran out a five-length winner from the Peter Lawlor-trained Joupe.
The first division of the eight-furlong handicap went the way of the Tim Doyle-trained Simply Sideways which got the better of the Seamus Fahey’s Leviosa by three and a half lengths, ridden by Ronan Whelan.
Rachael Blackmore rode the first of Henry de Bromhead’s two winners at Tipperary on Thursday when partnering Birdie Or Bust to take the opening mares’ maiden hurdle. It was all too easy for the JP McManus-owned favourite which made most of the running as she beat the Padraig Roche-trained Something Abouther by fourteen lengths.
Mike O'Connor was in the saddle as Miss Tempo won the three-mile handicap hurdle to complete the de Bromhead double.
Philip Fenton and Gortnahoe conditional jockey Niall Moore took the two-mile one-furlong handicap chase with the James Moran-owned Good As Hell. It was tight at the line as the 11/1 chance held on to beat the Nigel Slevin-trained Politicise by a nose.
Harry Swan gave Gordon Elliott his second winner when taking the concluding bumper on the Gigginstown House Stud-owned What’s Up Darling. The favourite had any amount in hand as he beat the Oliver McKiernan-trained Syracus Du Houx by six lengths.
Fozzy Stack saddled his sixth winner of the new Flat season as Two Stars landed the six-furlong maiden for three-year-olds at Cork on Friday. Under Mark Enright, he led from halfway and came home a length and three-quarters to the good over the Willie Browne-trained Roaming Star.
Nathan Crosse landed a 33/1 success as he won the seven-furlong handicap on Purring Along. Trained in Laois by Shane Duffy, the four-year-old raced up with the pace from the off but only led in the closing stages to beat the Pat Martin-trained Designer Cailin by half a length.
Phillip Enright landed a double at the meeting and his first success came on the Sam Curling-trained Troubled Times in the rated novice hurdle. Owned and bred by William Cleary, the favourite headed Richard O'Brien’s front-runner Suttons Hill after the second-last hurdle and pulled away to win by four and a half lengths.
Enright followed up straight away as he made much of the running on the Edward O'Grady-trained Ceroc to take the two and a half-mile handicap hurdle. A 28/1 chance in the colours of owner Kay Russell, the five-year-old battled well late on to beat Gordon Elliott’s favourite Banks Boy by half a length.
Rachael Blackmore was a winner again as Gold Bullion took the three-mile one-furlong maiden hurdle for trainer Henry de Bromhead. The seven-year-old led after the final hurdle to beat the Desmond Kenneally-trained Pray Tell by a length and a half.
Donnacha O'Brien and Gavin Ryan teamed up for the first success at Naas on Saturday where the Atlantic Thoroughbreds-owned Devious impressed with a two-length success in the five-furlong maiden for two-year-olds. Not surprisingly, the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot is a target for the winning favourite which won impressively from the Ger Lyons-trained Mr Saturday.
Harry’s Hill won the handicap over the same distance for trainer Martin Hassett and his grandnephew, apprentice jockey Wayne Hassett. The 15/2 chance was always up with the leaders, and he asserted inside the final furlong to win by a length and a half from the Michael O'Callaghan-trained joint-favourite Lokada, a sixth career success for the five-year-old.
The odds-on favourite Johannes Brahms had to battle to land the near six-furlong conditions’ race for Aidan O'Brien and Seamie Heffernan. He was headed by the Ger Lyons-trained chance Tourist inside the final furlong, but he got back up close to the finish to win by half a length.
Lord Massusus, trained by Joe Murphy, ran out an equally game winner of the three-year-old handicap over the same distance. Gary Carroll didn’t enjoy the clearest of runs on the well-supported favourite, but he picked up well inside the final furlong to score by half a length from the David Marnane-trained Cash Or Crypto at the line to add to last month’s success over seven furlongs at Gowran Park.
Ben Coen and Johnny Murtagh were on the mark again at Leopardstown on Sunday where they landed the seven-furlong maiden for three-year-olds with Sharlouk. A 6/5 favourite, he scored with some degree of comfort when beating Aidan O'Brien’s chance Subzero and Seamie Heffernan by two and a half lengths.
The champion trainer had better luck in the 10-furlong maiden as favourite Warm Heart scored a one and a quarter-length win over Joseph O'Brien’s Aghadowey under Wayne Lordan.
Andy & Andrew Slattery won the 10-furlong handicap with the progressive Smooth Tom. Owned and bred by Margaret O’Rourke, the 10/1 chance made light of a wide draw as he burst clear at the furlong-pole for three-length victory over the Dermot Weld-trained joint-favourite Giladah.
Donnacha O'Brien landed his third winner of the week and a 1-2 in the race as the Paddy Harnett-ridden Amusement won the concluding 12-furlong handicap. Although he ended up riding without his irons, Harnett got the 4/1 chance home by a nose from her stable companion Teutates.
Upcoming Meetings
Gowran Park – Wednesday, May 10 (First Race 1.20pm)
Clonmel – Thursday, May 11 (First Race 5.20pm)
Kilbeggan – Friday, May 12 (First Race 5pm)
Navan – Saturday, May 13 (First Race 1.45pm)
Killarney – Sunday, May 14 (First Race 1.55pm)