Treble for O’Neill
Barry goes 24 clear in championship
BARRY O’NEILL had a treble at the second Bree Hunt meeting in a month at Monksgrange, Rathnure, on Sunday; he had a double up North on Saturday and is now an amazing 24 clear in the riders’ championship. It was a good weekend for trainers Donnchadh Doyle (four winners) and Colin Bowe (three) as Wexford horses dominated the main races all over the country.
The four-year-old Goffs Sale maiden at Rathnure went to the Bernie Murphy (Blackwater) owned and trained Gabby’s Cross, under Tom Hamilton (Piltown).
O’Neill got his first in the Baltimore Stables five year old geldings’ maiden with Go Whatever, Donnchadh Doyle’s fourth winner in two days. Mark Scallan was second on Mary and Jonathan Fogarty’s Broadway Joe.
In Division 2, Fogarty went one better with Off all the gin joints( by Stowaway) under Ray Barron, ahead of Harley Dunne on Liam Kenny’s Ashtown Lad, owned by Pat Redmond.
O’Neill doubled up in the Lance Bloodstock Winner of Three on Colin Bowe’s Fort Worth Texas, a good jump at the last allowing them to overhaul long- time leader, Vincent Devereux’s Get a wayto new bay.
The O’Neill treble came up in the Peter Nolan Bloodstock and John McGrath Farrier five year old mares’ maiden on Bella Ballerina, trained by Cork by Robert Tyner. Second was Mt Leinster Gold, sent out by O’Neill’s usual ally, Colin Bowe, for Celtic Tenor, Anthony Kearns.
Division 2 went to Richard O’Keeffe (Taghmon) with his own Lexi’s Warrior, under Harley Dunne, holding Colin Bowe’s Oscar Bonnie, under Jordan Gainfort, on the run-in. Dunne doubled up in the last, the Connollys Red Mills older geldings’ maiden, on Carrig Hill for Denis Murphy, five lengths clear of Tom Hamilton on Shay Slevin’s Spring Well.
Barry O’Neill looked like making it a four-timer on Oscar Contender in the Target Fertilisers Open when John Barry and Arctic Skipper were hampered by a faller at the second last but the but Vincent Halley trained runner fought back to foil O’Neill by two lengths.
At Domahane on Sunday Wexford connections dominated the three main maidens in this Cork stronghold and trainer Brian Jordan from Rathangan had mixed luck. His Noreen Bawn was first home by a neck in the four-yearold mares’ race under Mikey O’Connor, but after a stewards enquiry the race was awarded to second past the post, Tucanae, ridden by Luke Murphy for Richard Black (Bunclody). Barry Stone was third on Ellen Doyle’s Method tothe magic.
Stone (Cleariestown) and Doyle (Coolgarrow) combined to win the four-year-old geldings’ maiden with debutant Skatman, denying Murphy and Black a double with their Barbados Buck’s.
Brian Jordan got compensation for his earlier disappointment in the five year old maiden when Benny Walsh drove The Bull McCabe up in the final 100 yards to deny favourite, Defuture is Bright, for Ellen Doyle and Rob James. Jimmy O’Rourke was third on his dad, Pat’s, Empire Steel. O’Rourke got a winner in the concluding Older Horses’ maiden on Desertmore Glen, for local trainer Denis Leahy.
At the Meath and Tara Hunts meeting at Fairyhouse Donnchadh Doyle won both four-year-old maidens, the mares’ with Get In Robin under James Walsh after making most, and the geldings’ with Faivoir under Kevin Corrigan (Blackwater).
Sean Doyle’s First Revolution lost out by half a length under James Walsh in the five year old geldings’ maiden, and Shane Fitzgerald won the five-year-old plus Unplaced maiden for Cormac Farrell (Bunclody) with Top Man.
At Taylorstown, Co. Down on Saturday: Wexford had the first four home in the four year old maiden, with Rob James winning on Donnchadh Doyle’s Evander, from Barry O’Neill on Colin Bowe’s Battle of Actium, Michael Goff’s Clondaw Pretender and Denis Murphy’s Gondor.
Sean Doyle kept it in the family by winning Division 2 with Dancewith the wind, James Walsh being left clear when Kearney Hill fell at the last.
O’Neill and Jamie Codd shared the next four races. The five-yearold geldings’ maiden went to Cremant for O’Neill and Bowe, with Codd second on Neil McKnight’s McGarry, and they combined again to take the five-year-old mares’ maiden with Alice O’Byrne, from Codd on Jim Dreaper’s Raddle and Hum.
Codd was on board as Kruzlinin scored a record ninth win of the season for Gordon Elliott, and he took the older geldings’ maiden on Jim Dreaper’s Amalfi Doug. He is now joint second in the riders’ race with Derek O’Connor. The Corrigans from Blackwater were second in in the Winner of One with Gold Time, behind Colin McKeever’s Getaman.
Next weekend they race in Ballymena on Saturday, Ballinasloe and Mallow on Sunday and Grenagh in Cork on Monday.