New Ross Standard

Jacob and Flanagan hit weekend jackpot

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was switched to Ice Cold Soul and the rest is now history.

The unlucky jockey to lose out was Jonathan Moore from Adamstown who ended up with no ride in the race instead of being on the winner. Such is the luck of this fickle game.

Noel Meade said afterwards: ‘It’s been working great with Seán…We get on very well together. I enjoy the way he rides and the conversati­ons afterwards. He’s a great schooling jockey. He has a great pair of hands and everything you want. I feel sorry for Johnny but there will be another day for him’.

Flanagan had won this race a few years ago on Liz Doyle’s 50/1 shot, Pennys Bill, and the Crossabeg trainer gave it another good shot, her Derulo (in from 66/1 in the morning to 25/1) finishing fourth under Adrian Heskin.

Earlier Doyle was delighted with the well-backed win of Justmemyse­lfandi (4/1) under Brian O’Connell for the Well Oiled Partnershi­p, outpacing money-on favourite, Capital Force under Ruby Walsh, on the run-in.

Doyle said afterwards: ‘ He’s a lovely sound clean horse. I fell in love with him when I saw him galloping around Monksgrang­e (Rathnure) and we ended up buying him’.

In Britain Daryl Jacob climaxed another very good week with a win in the highly-rated £50,000 Peter Marsh handicap chase at Haydock on Saturday aboard Bristol de Mai (4/1jf) for Nigel Twiston Davies, romping home by over 20 lengths.

Jacob had triumphed at Exeter on Tuesday on Dance Floor (6/1) for Nick Mitchell in a handicap chase.

On Thursday he made the trip to Wincanton for just one short priced ride and it paid off, with River Wylde (3/10), a snug winner of a two-mile novice hurdle for Nicky Henderson.

Pat McDonald from Taghmon was another who was doing a lot of travelling for a few rides on the flat.

He had two at Kempton on Wednesday night and came away with a winner for Ian Jardine on hot favourite, Absolute Blast (8/11).

But it’s his Friday schedule that really brings the life of a jockey in Britain into focus, with two single rides at far-flung tracks. He drove 275 miles to Lingfield to ride Dream Reversion (5/1) for Tom Dascome in the 1.30, but the horse faded in the final furlong out to seventh place.

McDonald then drove 175 miles to Wolverhamp­ton for his only mount in the first race at 5.45 on Tailor’s Row for regular patron, Mark Johnston; he was leading inside the final furlong, but the horse hung left and he was collared and took second place.

Then it was home to Leyburn up on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, another 175 miles, and a grand total of 620 miles in the course of one day for just two rides and no winner.

It was a tough day’s work for a small return. N TERMS of output, Roscommon-born author John Scally certainly hasn’t been idle over the years.

A lecturer in Trinity College by day, he may only be a part-time writer but that hasn’t stopped him from penning no fewer than 40 books since 1992.

Some of his earlier work will be particular­ly well known as he was responsibl­e for the life stories of rugby icon Tony Ward, Clare hurling legend Ger Loughnane, and his dear friend and all-time football hero, the sadly departed Dermot Earley.

For his latest offering, Scally has delved into the G.A.A. archives and emerged with ‘Blood Sweat Triumph & Tears’, a broad range of tales from the Associatio­n that looks back on the exploits of some of the great players and teams in a bright and breezy manner.

It’s a general mix of anecdotes which touches on many of the epic on-field clashes, not to mention the various controvers­ies which have erupted down through the years.

If one was to be critical of the book, it would stem from the fact that several of its passages simply cover already well-worn ground.

Anyone with even a slight interest in the G.A.A. will have heard many of these stories numerous times before, so there is a natural inclinatio­n to skip some pages in the quest for fresh new material.

For example, those dreaded best quotes of commentato­r Micheál O Muircheart­aigh appear near the end of the book.

I say dreaded because they have been printed and recounted so often now that several readers would make a good stab at repeating them verbatim.

You know the ones I’m talking about: the Fox and the Rabbitte in Croke Park, neither Fermanagh nor Fiji being hurling stronghold­s. Certainly seeing them here again does nothing to encourage potential buyers to part with their cash.

One of the strongest aspects of the book comes in an early chapter when he interviews former Meath attacker Bernard Flynn. He was a member of one of the favourite teams of my childhood, mixing skill and talent with a hard edge that ensured sparks would fly every time they met either of their two great rivals, Dublin and Cork, in the late 1980s.

While manager Seán Boylan is regarded as a gentlemanl­y figure in the world of G.A.A., Flynn notes that in the context of looking after a team he could be ruthless and knew how to get the very best out of every individual. If that meant rows were a regular occurrence at training games, then so be it.

Flynn paints a picture of a ‘kill or be killed’ scenario in those inhouse matches, and recalls one evening when he burst legendary full-back Mick Lyons with a box.

Afterwards he showered with a shampoo bottle in one hand, while his other fist was clenched in readiness.

He was prepared for anything, but when Lyons approached it was only to put a friendly hand on his shoulder and tell Flynn that the team ‘needed more of that’ from him!

Anyone who remembers that tough Meath crew in championsh­ip action will enjoy those recollecti­ons, and Scally also chats with several other interestin­g figures from the G.A.A. world.

It’s hard to exactly categorise the book though, as much of it is filler material that has been regurgitat­ed from elsewhere.

It hops swiftly from one topic to the next, a hotchpotch of anecdotes with precious little that hasn’t been published already.

Bearing that in mind, I wouldn’t expect it to match the big sales Scally enjoyed with some of his previous offerings. ALAN AHERNE Visit The Book Centre on Wexford’s Main Street for the very best selection of sports books.

 ??  ?? Seán Flanagan after hitting the jackpot in Leopardsto­wn on Sunday.
Seán Flanagan after hitting the jackpot in Leopardsto­wn on Sunday.
 ??  ?? Daryl Jacob won the big race at Haydock on Saturday.
Daryl Jacob won the big race at Haydock on Saturday.
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