Three wins for Flanagan
WEXFORD connections did well at day two of the Killarney festival on Monday with wins for trainer Paul Nolan and riders Sean Flanagan and Jamie Codd. Flanagan went on to ride three winners in the week.
Nolan opened his account for the new season in the €25,000 handicap hurdle with Mon Lino (6/1) for JP McManus, under Jody McGarvey. ‘He’s a well-bred horse and hopefully he’ll improve with age …’ was Nolan’s verdict.
Sean Flanagan steered home Une Lavandiere (7/2) for Noel Meade in the mares’ hurdle, and Codd followed up his weekend haul of six point to point wins in two days with victory in the Hunters Chase on Sizing Solution (9/4) for Jim Dreaper and Ann and Alan Potts.
Codd kept his run going on Tuesday when he went over to Sedgefield to ride Way Out West (4/6) in the bumper for Larne trainer, Steven Crawford, and won with the minimum of fuss.
On Thursday evening in Clonmel, Sean Flanagan rode a great finish to get up by a neck on Jefferson Davis (8/1) in the €15,000 handicap hurdle for Eoin Doyle from Mooncoin, the only Wexford success of the night.
He maintained his good strike rate in the opener at Limerick on Sunday on Mr. Showtime (5/2) for Noel Meade. Benny Walsh and trainer Brian Jordan were trying to follow up Anamatopoeia’s (11/1) recent success but had to take second to a Willie Mullins hot shot, Listen Dear, in a €25,000 mares’ chase, while Pat Cloke’s Bellgrove (8/1) was second in the handicap chase under Rachael Blackmore.
In Britain, Pat McDonald got what was a quiet week for Wexford connections off to a good start on Monday with a double at Wetherby that would have returned £103 for a £1 bet. He caused a shock in the seven furlong handicap when winning snugly on Theodorico for David Loughnane at 22/1, and he took the one mile-six handicap on Cray (7/2) for Jim Bethell.
Over the jumps at Towcester, Daryl Jacob won well on the well backed Monar Rose (7/2) for Ben Case on his only ride.
On Tuesday, Tom O’Brien and Jacob finished second and third in the same race on their only rides at Warwick and O’Brien then went 70 miles up the road to Southwell for two fruitless rides there; a lot of work for little reward.
Pat Dobbs had a winner for former champion jockey, Richard Hughes, in a maiden stakes on Evening Hill (5/2), and he had two rides for Richard Hannon at Bath on Tuesday. He was third on Sufi (3/1f) and then stayed around for Opening Time in the last, two and a half hours later, but it was a bit of a waste of time. He was backed in to 5/1 favourite and finished 11th!
The only weekend success was on Saturday for Tom O’Brien on 16/1 outsider, Cruising Bye, at Bangor. Daryl Jacob went to France to ride old friend, L’Ami Serge, for Nicky Henderson in the Group 2 Prix La Barka at Auteuil, and he was just pipped by Ruby Walsh on Shaneshill for Willie Mullins, still picking up a handy £33,000.