BY PEGASUS
JOCKEY SEAN Flanagan made a dramatic impact when jumps racing returned at Limerick on Monday, opening up with a 230/1 winning double on his 32nd birthday, while Jamie Codd had a first and a second in the two bumpers on the card.
Colin Bowe also made a good start with two winners in the first few days.
Flanagan combined with Wexford ally, Colin Bowe, in the two-mile six-furlong handicap hurdle to score by almost two lengths on Hello Pilgrim (10/1), and earlier had pulled off a shock on Colin McBratney’s (Co. Down) Laureate (20/1) by nearly four lengths in an extended two-mile handicap hurdle. A 100/1 shot, Sweet Cassie, was second.
Bowe, who has ten horses to run in the summer, said of Hello Pilgrim: ‘She does her best work at the end and she loves that good ground.
She has no size but is tough out. She is a summer mare and we’ll keep her to hurdles as she is probably too small to jump a fence.’
Jonathan Moore came close in the opening maiden hurdle on the favourite, Bentham (5/6) for Gavin Cromwell, but could not get the better of Mark Walsh on Joseph O’Brien’s Filon D’Oudaries (4/1).
Jamie Codd made a winning return in the fillies’ bumper on Derrinlaur Bill (5/1), beating Patrick Mullins on his dad’s Negroni (13/8) by a length, but had to settle for second in the last on Gordon Elliott’s Jawbox (11/10f), behind David Roche on Henry De Bromhead’s Train Hill (9/1).
At Roscommon on Wednesday, Bowe had a second winner at successive meetings and Paul Nolan got off the mark with his first runner since the re-start.
Bowe’s double came up with his wife Fiona’s Sweet Home Chicago (18/1), romping home by seven and a half lengths under Taghmon rider, Seán O’Keeffe, in the three-mile handicap hurdle.
This time Bowe said: ‘We knew he was fit and I was surprised he won so easy. He has been a marvellous horse (this was the eleven-year-old’s fourth win), we’ll see what the handicapper does and we’ll look for something at Galway.’
Nolan and jockey Brian Cooper reverted to hurdles with Cheltenham chase runner, Quamino (2/1), and had four lengths to spare in an extended two and a half miles.
Well backed and carrying a lot less than he would over fences, Bryan Cooper made most of the running for a comfortable win.
Nolan has a big target for his winner: ‘He is rated 137 over fences and his next run will be in Galway.
‘Hopefully he will get into the Plate (July 29)… he’ll run if he does get in.’
There were no Wexford winners at Tipperary on Friday despite a few good runs at big prices.
Paul Nolan had a couple of seconds with Whitango (10/1) and Lebowski (22/1); Seán Flanagan was third on Colin Bowe’s Gallopongray (10/1) and second on Elegant Dan (12/1) for Donie O’Brien, while J.J. Slevin was second on John Halley’s Desert Island (16/1).