More good fortune
Another big winner for Ferns jockey
JIMMY FORTUNE from Ferns won the marquee £160,000 Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket on Saturday for the second time in his career, beating 30 rivals on 12/1 shot, Spark Plug, trained by his long-time friend and supporter, Brian Meehan. He had previously won the race on Pipedreamer in 2007.
It was a great story as Fortune and Spark Plug took a terrible fall in the Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot in 2015. The Ferns man was out for several months with fractured vertebrae, and it took Meehan much longer than that to restore the horse’s confidence.
Now aged 44, Jimmy has been riding in Britain since 1988 and has booted home over 1,850 winners. Still recognised as one of the strongest riders in the game for fighting out a finish, Saturday’s success showed there is plenty left in the tank.
At the other end of the scale, Jonathan Moore from Adamstown is just starting out on his career in Britain, taking up the post of stable jockey over the jumps for the Rebecca Curtis yard. He had his biggest win so far on his only ride at Market Rasen on Saturday in the listed £50,000 Prelude Handicap Chase, on Vintage Vinny (9/2 jf).
Earlier in the week, Pat McDonald from Taghmon won a handicap at Hamilton on Judith Gardenier (4/1 jf), while Fortune travelled to Ffos Las in Wales for just one ride in the last race and he made it pay, winning on Prospectus (9/2) for Hughie Morrison.
McDonald was on the mark at the new all-weather track at Newcastle on Friday night on Mister Bob (11/4), and he rode a double for Mark Johnston at Hamilton on Saturday, Election Day (11/4) and Rainbow Rebel (3/1).
The Fogarty family from Cleariestown completed a hat-trick of wins with their Tornado Watch at Downpatrick on Friday, having won earlier in the week at Ballinrobe, both times as a well fancied favourite.
The horse was ridden in all three races by Mikey Fogarty, is trained by his brother Jonathan at his Gaynestown Stud in Cleariestown, and is owned by their mother, Mary Frances. The horse is certainly a good traveller as each of these wins involved a nin- hour return journey from his Cleariestown home.
There was a Wexford connection to the winner of the day’s feature in which Marinera strolled home for Brian Cooper, Gigginstown and Henry De Bromhead at 4/6f; the son of Presenting was bred by well known Drinagh, Rosslare road horseman, Billy Devereux.
J.J. Slevin had his third win in three weeks as a professional at Ballinrobe on Tuesday on board Lord Justice (6/4f), trained by his cousin, Joseph O’Brien. He produced a driving finish to get up on the line to beat stablemate, Zig Zag.
He had to be content with second at Navan on Saturday in the €16,500 At The Races Hurdle on the Richie Rath (Screen)-trained Moylisha Tim (9/2), behind Gordon Elliott’s gambled on De Plotting Shed.
Aidan O’Brien sent one horse to Newmarket on Friday for the £110k Group 2 stakes and duly collected with Cougar Mountain under Ryan Moore, outsider of the field at 15/2.
He had another long-priced winner in the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes there on Saturday with Brave Anna living up to her name under Seamie Heffernan at 25/1, upsetting odds on American favourite, Lady Aurelia. O’Brien had earlier been pipped by a neck in the Royal Lodge Stakes on another 251/1 shot, The Anvil - what a double that would have been!
O’Brien kept up his relentless harvesting of Group races at the Curragh on Sunday and laid down another marker for next year’s classics when the highly-touted Capri won the Group 2 Beresford Stakes, and The Happy prince won the Group 3 Renaissance Stakes, both under Ryan Moore.
Jim Bolger has been having a slightly lean spell but got back in the groove with a Curragh double, foiling O’Brien with 14/1 outsider Vociferous Marina under Ronan Whelan, and winning the Listed Loughbrown Stakes with Twilight Payment (Kevin Manning).
Racing in Ireland this week: Tuesday, Fairyhouse; Wednesday, Sligo; Thursday, Clonmel; Friday, Dundalk, Gowran; Saturday, Gowran; Sunday, Tipperary.