Delight on double
Maiden wins for Codd and Murphy
JAMIE CODD and Denis Murphy had a double in the geldings’ maidens at Curraghmore, Co. Waterford, on Sunday.
Grangeclare Native (by Shantou) won the four-year-old race on debut, from Jimmy O’Rourke on Donnchadh Doyle’s Unbreakable Bond, and Mark Scallan on Maasai Warrior.
Codd took the five-year-old race with Writteninthesand (by Milan), from Jack Foley on Michael Goff’s Clondaw Dancer and Shane O’Rourke on Vincent Devereux’s Get the Facts.
Codd then headed for the bumper at Mallow where he took fourth place for Gordon Elliott.
Rob James and Donnchadh Doyle made the long trip to Quakerstown in Co. Clare pay off with an impressive win in the four-year-old maiden with The Big Breakaway (by Getaway), from Pa King on Matthew Flynn-O’Connor’s (Bunclody) Skylanna Breeze.
Luke Murphy kept up his good run with a 19th season win in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden on Kid Commando for Peter Flood (Meath).
At Oldcastle, Co. Meath, Michael Goff had his first four-yearold maiden win for this year with Ballinesker (by Court Cave) under Shane Fitzgerald.
Shane Byrne from Blackwater took the Mares’ Winner of One with his own Achy Breaky Heart under Simon Cavanagh, and J.C. Gainford won the novice riders’ race on Airgead Suas for Paul Martin Pierce (Killurin).
Barry O’Neill won the Open race with his old friend, Kruzhlinin, an eighth win of the season for the horse, now joint leader in the pointer of the year table with Longhouse Music, and Harley Dunne was second in the older mares’ maiden on Seán Doyle’s That’s The Truth.
Both then headed to the €100k Bumper at Fairyhouse where Dunne took second place and €20k for connections.
There was a rare midweek meeting last Wednesday at Inch, Co. Cork.
The Barry O’Neill-Colin Bowe juggernaut kept rolling with wins in both four-year-old maidens, O’Neill’s only two rides for the day.
It was a winning debut in the mares’ race for Emtara (by Kayf Tara), by two lengths from Tiernan Power-Roche on Ashleigh Murphy’s Tune the Chello, and James Walsh on Donnchadh Doyle’s Fantasia Roque.
In the geldings’ race, O’Neill took it up two out on Broken Halo (also by Kayf Tara) and beat Frisson Collonges, for Walsh and Doyle, by two and a half lengths.
Congratulations to Barry and his wife, Brigid, on their birth of their son, Billy, last Saturday week. He celebrated with a treble the next day at Bellurgan, Co. Louth!
O’Neill is romping to his third successive riders’ title with 51 winners, well ahead of Derek O’Connor (31), Jamie Codd and Rob James (28 each), and Luke Murphy (19).
Colin Bowe is well clear in the trainers’ race with 31 winners, just three short of his seasonal best, from Sam Curling (23), Donnchadh Doyle (20) and Denis Murphy (15).
Next weekend, Bree Hunt hold their second meeting of the season at Monksgrange, Rathnure, starting at 2 p.m.
They also race at Dromahane in Cork and Fairyhouse on Sunday, and at Newry, Co. Down, on Saturday.