Win on flying visit
McDonald on top in Curragh contest
THE CURRAGH hosted two days of top class racing over the weekend including the Darley Oaks on Saturday when the English raiders had a field day, sweeping the four top races.
The Wexford hero was P.J. McDonald from Taghmon who made a flying visit on Sunday and lifted the €110,000 Group 2 Sapphire Stakes with a great ride on 10/1 outsider, Havana Grey.
This one will go down as another British victory as the horse was brought over from north Yorkshire by Karl Burke. The three English raiders filled the first three places, with Caspian Prince (5/2) and Mabs Cross (2/1f) following McDonald home, and three O’Brien runners also trailing in his wake.
Havana Grey, McDonald’s only ride of the day, had won four times as a two-year-old last year but had not shown the same appetite this season, failing to figure in four starts and had not run since Haydock in May. However, McDonald had confidence in his mount and he forced the pace nearly all the way in the five-furlong sprint and held on doggedly to score by a length.
It is a very rare thing for Aidan O’Brien to have no winner on a Classic day at the Curragh but that was his fate on Saturday despite having loads of runners.
All the four main events went for export to Britain, including the Oaks where Sea of Class (11/4), daughter of Sea the Stars and running in the same colours as the superstar, caught Donnacha O’Brien on Forever Together (7/2) in the closing yards.
It was a brilliant waiting ride by James Doyle who eased his horse from last to first without ever resorting to the stick to get up by a neck. This completed a Group race treble for him.
He had earlier won the Group 3 Anglesey Stakes on Marie’s Diamond for Mark Johnston, and the Group 2 Minstrel Stakes on Larchmont Lad for David O’Meara.
The Wexford flag bearer on Saturday was Jim Bolger who took the opening maiden with Guaranteed (4/1), Kevin Manning holding on by a head from Ryan Moore on O’Brien’s Mount Tabora (9/4f) and surviving a stewards’ enquiry.
A succession of other O’Brien favourites failed to make much impact, including Just Wonderful (13/8, third), St Patrick’s Day (11/8, fifth), and Magic Wand (10/11, fifth).
It’s hard to believe, but the O’Brien yard had to wait until the eleventh race of the two days to have a winner, in the €115,000 Group 2 Kilboy Estate Stakes, where he had four runners and his son, Joseph, had two in a field of seven. Magical (5/4f) prevailed cosily from Mrs. Harrington’s only ‘outsider’, I’m So Fancy (7/2).
He added a second later with Cliffs of Dooneen (5/4f) under Moore in the two-mile Killashee Handicap, and Jim Bolger rounded off the meeting by winning the closing maiden with Park Bloom (7/4f) under Kevin Manning.
At Leopardstown on Thursday evening, Bolger scored a notable surprise win in the Group 3 feature, the €63,000 ICON Meld Stakes, beating his former pupil, Aidan O’Brien, in a high class race.
Kevin Manning got up on Turret Rocks (14/1) to pip Deauville (2/1) for O’Brien with Hazapour (8/13) third for Dermot Weld under Frankie Dettori.
The five-day meeting at Killarney had a mixture of flat and jumps racing, but it was not a great week for the Wexford connections. Highlight was a fine ride by Jonathan Moore (Adamstown) in the feature on Thursday to score on Tom Gibney’s Play the Game (8/1) in the €26,000 Dawn Milk Run Handicap Hurdle, seeing off joint favourites, Line Out and Gold Seal.
Monday began well for Aidan O’Brien with a head victory for El Greco (11/4) under son, Donnacha.
Over the jumps at Tipperary on Sunday, Liz Doyle had a winner and a second from her two runners, a very good return. It was a good ride by Seán Flanagan to coax Ri An Rian (4/1) to victory by half a length in a Beginners’ Chase as the horse does not always fully co-operate.
Justmemyselfandi was second in the opening handicap chase for Liz under Cathal Landers having been backed from 14s into 5/1.
Tom O’Brien was involved in a very unusual occurrence at Market Rasen on Saturday, a dead heat for first in a two miles six furlong chase. He was on Royal Village (3/1) for Ian Williams and was headed on the run-in but battled back to join Whoshotwho (7/4f) under Sam Twiston-Davies.
He followed up with success in a maiden hurdle at Newton Abbot on Sunday with Push The Tempo (13/8), and he also had a win at Uttoxeter on Wednesday by a clearcut eleven lengths on Dory (13/8).
Daryl Jacob has been taking things easy recently but he had a double at Newtown Abbot and his win on Colin Tizzard’s Top Chief (7/2f) must be a candidate for ride of the month. He had lots of trouble including losing an iron at one stage and a dodgy jump at the last.
He was headed on the run-in but a driving finish saw him get up to pip Aidan Coleman on As You Like (4/1) by a head.
The first leg of his double was much simpler, winning by 30 lengths on Cracker Factory (1/1) for Alan King.
On the flat in Britain, P.J. McDonald had winners at Ripon on Monday and Saturday, on hot favourite, Snow Wind (10/11), and on Mark Johnston’s Winged Spur (6/1), before heading over to Ireland.
Pat Dobbs scored on Twenty Times (4/1) at Windsor for former champion jockey, Richard Hughes.