Tipperary Racing Scene

Daboya is proving a useful dual-purpose performer for Gowran trainer Dick Donohoe, and she made her latest contribution in one of the staying handicaps at Ballinrobe last Monday week.

This was a fourth career success for the mare who has also won over hurdles and on the polytrack at Dundalk. Racing prominently, she gained an outright lead before the home turn and kept on strongly for jockey Sam Coen to win by a comfortable three lengths. She returned at odds of 6-1. Daboya is likely to be seen next over hurdles at Galway.

Deressa won on just her second start for trainer Paddy Twomey in the concluding fillies’ handicap over 1m5f at Ballinrobe.

Formerly trained by Dermot Weld for the Aga Khan, this filly changed hands at public auction late last year and she knuckled down well to score by a neck in the hands of Billy Lee. She returned a 7-1 chance.

Twomey has entered Deressa for the Group 3 Stanerra Stakes at Fairyhouse on July 8 to give some indication as to what he believes her potential is.

Killyclogher Rose, on just her fourth career start, took the 1m3f handicap for apprentice riders at Naas on Wednesday evening in the hands of Sam Coen for Tyrone trainer Andy Oliver.

Making her handicap and turf debut, she was the third winner of the meeting to return at around 20-1. Killyclogher Rose scored by three-quarters of a length in the style of one who could add to the tally before very long.

Ballydoyle kicked off Derby weekend at the Curragh in the best possible fashion when Abraham Lincoln convincingly took the opening maiden on Friday.

Bought for €2.3 million as a yearling last year in France, this debutant raced close to the pace in the six-furlong event and gained the lead with over a furlong to run. From there, Ryan Moore kept him stretching to win by two lengths as the 11-8 favourite.

This is the time of year when trainer Aidan O’Brien unleashes another tranche of superbly-bred juveniles and this guy looks well up to winning a stakes race in due course and who knows where his ceiling will be.

Another winner on the board for trainer Andy Slattery who seized the mile auction maiden with a lightly raced four-year-old named Loughrea.

Making just his third career start, the 5-2 joint favourite defeated the other market leader Giondar, trained by Joseph O’Brien, by a neck with family relation, apprentice Sam Coen, in the saddle.

This was the 25th winner of the Flat season for Slattery. For context, he prepared the winners of 27, 25 and 19 races in each of the last three years so his stable is on course to post an excellent personal best.

There was a double for Aidan O’Brien at the Curragh on Saturday with a pair of long odds-on chances, both ridden by Ryan Moore.

Two-year-old debutant Giant Sequoia (4-9 favourite) was the first to salute in the opening maiden over seven furlongs.

A son of the mighty Frankel, Giant Sequoia carries the silks of big-spending American owner and breeder John Stewart’s Resolute Racing. He already holds Group 1 entries for later dates in the season and it’s pretty likely we will be hearing more about him.

Sun Goddess (2-7 favourite) was the next to score for the Ballydoyle behemoth in the Group 2 Airlie Stud Stakes for juvenile fillies.

This girl was backing up quickly after finishing second in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot just nine days earlier. She got the job done here by three-quarters of a length from the fast-finishing Green Empress, trained by Joseph O’Brien.

At the start of June at the Curragh when Meriden was winning for the second time in a few days, Cloughjordan trainer Denis Hogan identified the valuable Neville Homes Summer Fillies’ Handicap (7f) as her principal target.

Call it a plan well executed, then, as the three-year-old filly made it four wins in a row in that very same target at the Curragh last Saturday. She won by three lengths as a 7-2 joint favourite. Chris Hayes was in the saddle for the second time in that run.

You can also call it a nice piece of business by owner Patrick O’Brien, aged just 21, who bought the filly unraced for £32,0000 last July from Juddmonte at a Newmarket sale. There is over twice that amount in the kitty now and who knows how far this filly can go?

“She still hasn’t really copped on yet. She does everything right until you ask her to quicken and then she goes left,” Hayes said on Racing TV.

“Rather than fight with her, I let her go that way with my stick in the left hand. She will get further and I can’t see why she can’t go for a stakes race soon.”

The sky is the limit for Alpha who delivered a ‘wow’ performance in the opening fillies’ maiden at the Curragh. A fifth successive win in this race for Aidan O’Brien arrived by six lengths at odds-on 8-11 favourite under Ryan Moore.

Horses don’t come much better bred than this filly, being by the great Sea The Stars out of Alpha Centauri, four times a Group 1 winner for the Niarchos family whose colours are carried by this very exciting daughter.

Johnny Murtagh’s Zodiac Bear (4-1) repaid connections’ faith in him with a classy victory in the Listed Celebration Stakes on Derby Day at the Curragh.

Stable jockey Ben Coen bounced straight to the lead on the lightly raced four-year-old and was not for catching thereafter, finding enough for pressure to defeat the 13-8 favourite Alcantor by half a length.

There was yet more history for trainer Aidan O’Brien and the Coolmore team as they won the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby for the 18th time when Benvenuto Cellini led home a stable 1-2-3.

Punters put their faith in Ryan Moore’s mount, a 7-4 favourite, to atone for a no-show at Epsom when the flashy chestnut was controversially deemed a non-runner, his hind leg momentarily snagged in the back of the stalls as the gates opened.

There was no such drama this time. Ballydoyle fielded half of the race’s eight runners and controlled the early tempo as Benvenuto Cellini, in the green colours of American owner-breeder Peter Brant, was settled towards the rear.

Moore made his move on the favourite at the point of the home turn and swept to the lead with two furlongs to race. The momentum was maintained for a margin of a length and three-quarters at the line from the Epsom Derby winner Christmas Day in second and Pierre Bonnard in third.

The fancied English runner, the second favourite Raaheeb, making just his third career start, finished a never dangerous fourth from off the pace.

It was the ninth time O’Brien had trained the first three home in the great race and it came just four weeks after he performed the same deed in the French Derby with three different horses. Quite remarkable.

O’Brien added: “The feeling afterwards is relief really. It was a very ordinary run at Epsom. It was a brave call from Ryan to ride the winner. We knew the pace would be on and he was very classy.

“I had no faith after he was beaten two furlongs at Epsom. I wasn't sure Ryan had made the right call, but he never flinched. The form was always going to stand up and if there was any weakness in his armour he would have been found out.

“He could go to the King George at Ascot. If he needs a break, though, he'll have one and then be trained for the Irish Champion Stakes. He looks ready-made for the US so the Breeders' Cup could be an option, too.”

UPCOMING MEETINGS

Fairyhouse – Wednesday, July 1st (first race 5.05pm)

Limerick (NH) – Thursday, July 2nd (first race 4.45pm)

Bellewstown – Thursday, July 2nd (first race 5.10pm)

Bellewstown – Friday, July 3rd (first race 5.00pm)

Wexford (NH) – Friday, July 3rd (first race 5.10pm)

Naas – Saturday, July 4th (first race 1.57pm)

Bellewstown (NH) – Saturday, July 4th (first race 5.15pm)

Roscommon – Monday, July 6th (first race 5.13pm)

Tramore – Tuesday, July 7th (first race 5.00pm)