Codd’s title hopes ended by injury
JAMIE CODD’S challenge for the riders’ title was dealt a conclusive blow at Ballysteen in Limerick last Sunday week when he suffered quite a bad back injury which has prematurely ended his season.
This leaves defending champion, Barry O’Neill from Kiltealy, in pole position with the only realistic challenge to come from 11-times champion, Derek O’Connor, but O’Neill is leading by eight after notching four wins at the weekend.
Jamie Codd was removed to Limerick hospital but thankfully his injury is not career-ending and he does expect to be back in the saddle but he told me he expects to be out for three months or more.
He was allowed home early last week and he acted as a pundit for RTE’s Punchestown coverage on Saturday and it was great to see him looking so well.
O’Neill is now on 44; Codd is still second on 39, O’Connor is on 36 and Rob James is having a great season and his four weekend wins moved him up to 30. Donnchadh Doyle is the leading trainer on 25, after three wins at three widespread venues, three ahead of Colin Bowe and five in front of Nenagh’s Pat Doyle.
At Lisronagh in Tipperary on Saturday Rob James (Killanne) scored a double and Donnchadh Doyle continued to harvest the four year old maiden races, with the two combining with Espoir De Loire (Anabaa-Grischa) to win on debut. Cormac Doyle also got third for the Monbeg operation with Overnight Sensation.
James linked up with a third Doyle brother, Sean Thomas, to win the older mares’ maiden with Shotgun Sally (out of Milan) winning by a length from Maliboo under R.P. Quinlan.
James almost made it a treble on Colin Bowe’s Out The Glen but found Kieran Purcell’s Accordingtogino too hot.
Donnchadh Doyle also picked up Div. 1 of the four year old maiden at Taylorstown, Co. Down, on Saturday with Court Jurado (out of Court Cave), fending off a host of Wexford challengers in some style under Jimmy O’Rourke (Glenville, Wexford). Harley Dunne was second on One More Fleurie for James W. Doyle (Monageer), not a brother of the Ballindaggin trio, and Denis Murphy’s Our Bubba was third.
Barry O’Neill was second on two Colin Bowe horses before getting his winner in the two-runner Open on David Christie’s Vinnie Luck. Bowe has been having a quiet enough time in recent weeks but he surely has some ammunition still to fire Harley Dunne picked up a winning spare ride on JJ Lambe’s Drumconnor Lad.
At the East Galway meeting on Sunday the Cormac Doyle trained son of Stowaway, Monkfish, took the four year old geldings’ maiden under local jockey P.J. Cawley, holding off Jimmy O’Rourke on Denis Murphy’s fast finishing Gameface by half a length.
O’Rourke was also second on John Paul Brennan’s (Camolin) Oscar Academy in the five year old geldings’ maiden, beaten a length by Derek O’Connor on his brother’s Buster Valentine. O’Connor had a double maintain his challenge to Barry O’Neill.