O’Brien’s top week
Six of the best for Tom across channel
TOM O’BRIEN was the Wexford man to follow in Britain with six winners, with the riders from the county clocking up 14 between them. At home, Mikey Fogarty had a fine double at Mallow on Sunday.
Highlight for O’Brien was his pillar to post 10/1 victory on Royal Regatta for Philip Hobbs in the £70,000 Grade 2 Stella Artois Chase at Ascot, a well-judged and perfectly-paced ride.
He picked up second on Quite by Chance (4/1) for Colin Tizzard in the £100,000 Shawbrook handicap chase, behind a rejuvenated Sire de Grugy, and he was third in the £100,000 Coral Hurdle on Garde La Victoire (4/1), for Hobbs again.
This was a really profitable day at the very highest level for the Adamstown man.
And he kept up the good work on Sunday at Uttoxeter with three wins from three rides for three different trainers - Poppy Kay (2/1) for Hobbs; Midnight Silver (7/4f) for Jamie Snowden, and on 16/1 outsider Tiquer for A.P. Jones.
Earlier, O’Brien scored a nice double in the first two races at Fakenham on Tuesday - on Tarqum (7/2) for J. Flint and Queen Spud (15/8f) for Henry Daly, bringing his tally for the week to six.
Daryl Jacob is also in a good run at the moment and he had four runners. He rode a chase double on Wednesday at Warwick, Lilly of the Moore (7/1) for Ben Case and Top Notch, the unbackable 1/8f, for Nicky Henderson.
Jacob was on target at Wincanton on Thursday, on Demographic (15/8f) in a handicap hurdle for Emma Lavelle, and he kept up the good work on Friday at Haydock, winning with a good ride on Constantine Bay (11/2), for Nicky Henderson.
Jonathan Moore got in the ‘doubles’ act at Ffos Las on Friday when he had two winners and a close second from a good book of rides for his boss, Rebecca Curtis.
His win on Highway Storm (2/1f) was despite dropping his whip but horse and rider plugged on gamely. He completed his double in the bumper aboard Just a Thought (6/1).
Pat McDonald from Taghmon had two winners and a second from four rides on the all-weather at Newcastle. His wins came on Royal Brave (5/1) for Rebecca Bastiman, and the favourite, Tadaawol (11/8), in the six-furlong maiden.
Most of the Wexford interest on Sunday was focused on a meeting of big fields at Mallow in Cork, and local star of the day was Mikey Fogarty from Cleariestown with a double.
He won on Mick the Boyo (8/1) for James Grace from Nenagh in the two-mile handicap hurdle, with J.J. Slevin third on Richie Rath’s Balnaclash Warrior.
Fogarty had an armchair ride on a well-punted Willie Mullins’ Isleofhopendreams (4/1f ), and there was a good run here for second by Annamatopoeia (14/1), trained in Rathangan by Brian Jordan and ridden by Mark Scallan, Cleariestown.
J.J. Slevin had a hard-working second on Kieran Purcell’s Oiche Maith Boy (6/1), and more fluent jumping would have won it as he was just pipped by Emcon, under Kevin Sexton.
At Fairyhouse on Wednesday, Jamie Codd overturned the odds yet again on a Gordon Elliott-Gigginstown bumper runner, Champagne Classic (7/2), romping away from a Mullins hotshot, Some Neck (9/10), with Liz Doyle’s Just me myself and i (7/1) third.
Doyle’s horses seem to be in good nick and she had three thirds and second on the card, two of them ridden by J.J. Slevin.
At Clonmel on Thursday, the Seán Flanagan-Noel Meade partnership kept their good run going with a win in the opening maiden hurdle for Rathnure Rebel (7/2).
Flanagan had just one ride at Punchestown on Saturday and he made it pay when scoring on Meade’s Moulin A Vent (2/1) in the maiden hurdle.
There was a high-class card back at the Kildare venue on Sunday but Wexford involvement and success was limited in a fog-shrouded meeting.
Jamie Codd was the only winner aboard odds-on shot Samrcro for Gordon Elliott in the bumper.
Paul Nolan’s Solita (7/1) ran well to be a close second in a hurdle, and William Codd’s Tellthemnuttin finished like a train from a long way back to be a close up third in his race.