Wexford horses make major impact at Aintree
THE STRONG Wexford connections of Grand National winner One for Arthur have been detailed elsewhere, but there were two other Grade 1 winners at the Aintree meetings with firm Wexford roots - Finian’s Oscar and The World’s End.
The rapid rise of Finian’s Oscar is extraordinary as he was winning his point-to-point debut for Denis Murphy (The Ballagh) under Jamie Codd just five months ago at Portrush in Northern Ireland, only four months after coming into Murphy’s care.
He was bred at Newtown, Taghmon, by Richard and Martin O’Keeffe, out of Trinity Alley (there used to be a handball alley at Trinity village, in the parish of Taghmon, which explains that name). Having initially changed hands twice for €24,000 and then €50,000, after his maiden win he was taken on by English trainer Colin Tizzard and Alan Potts for £250,000 stg.
He won his first three races in England under Adamstown jockey, Tom O’Brien (nephew of Aidan), including the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown. There was bitter disappointment when he was a late withdrawal from the Cheltenham Festival.
Compensation came at Aintree on Saturday when he was an impressive winner of the Grade 1 £100,000 Betway Mersey Novice Hurdle under new jockey, Robbie Power, son of Fethard’s Captain Con Power, showjumping star of the past. After winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup for the Potts family on Sizing John, Power was appointed as their retained rider and he had a stunning Aintree with four big winners.
On Friday, the Grade 1 £100,000 Sefton Novices’ Hurdle was won by half a length and a short head by The World’s End (3/1), ridden by Adrian Heskin for Tom George.
This one’s first race was at the Wexford Hunt point-to-point meeting Ballinaboola on November 8, 2015, when trained by Seán Doyle, Ballindaggin, and ridden by Rob James. He was running a blinder when unluckily falling at the second last and he impressed enough to be snapped up in a private sale by agent Tom Malone shortly afterwards.
It was a good decision as Friday’s was a fifth track success for The World’s End since graduating from the point-to-point fields. He had been going like a winner when coming down at the second-last hurdle in the Albert Bartlett at the recent Cheltenham Festival, so this was good compensation.
All this just goes to emphasise once again the quality of the horses going through the hands of the point-to-point scene here in Co. Wexford, and this has been reflected in the very good prices being paid for graduates from the Wexford stables in recent years.