Codd, Moore and O’Connor among winners on home front
JAMIE CODD was in sparkling form during the past week, with three wins from just four rides for Gordon Elliott, including two bumpers and a success on the flat at Navan.
Jonathan Moore from Adamstown and Ross man, Donagh O’Connor, had a pair of winners each.
Codd’s thirst for winners shows no signs of waning after nearly 20 years in which he has amassed over 210 on the track, including ten at the Cheltenham Festival and a second in the Aintree Grand National, and nearly a thousand in point-to-points.
Codd and his usual ally, Gordon Elliott, came up trumps in the bumper at Tipperary on Wednesday on Mr. Jackman (1/1), and his rare enough win in a flat meeting was at Navan when he made a procession of it on Gordon Elliott’s Felix Desjy (10/11) in a qualified riders’ race to stroll in by eight lengths.
At Bellewstown on Saturday, Codd completed his treble in the bumper on Tullybeg (1/2) for Elliott, beating the man with the famous name, Pat Taaffe, into second.
At Kilbeggan on Monday it was quite a good day for Wexford connections, with
Jonathan Moore recording a nice double on Gavin Cromwell-trained horses, Aprils Joy (4/1) in a maiden hurdle (with Seán Flanagan second on Champagne Diva (8/1) for Noel Meade), and on Moonball (7/1) in a handicap hurdle.
The action moved to Tipperary on Wednesday, and Seán Flanagan was on target with Trigger (11/2) for Ronan McNally in an exciting finish where he edged out Danny Mullins by a head on Ballymac Boy (14/1).
It has been a turbulent few days for trainer Emmet Mullins who had been fined €5,000 some days earlier for entering a meeting without the proper paperwork. On Wednesday, the stewards took serious exception to the first run of The Shunter (2/1) under his care in the opening maiden hurdle.
The horse finished fourth but heavy penalties were handed out under the ‘non-trier laws – Mullins was fined €6,000, jockey Brian Hayes was banned for 21 days, and the horse for 60 days. Hayes and Mullins had a winner later on with Pilbara (8/11f from 11/2 in the morning).
Over the jumps in Britain, Daryl Jacob got off the mark after the re-start with Sabastian Beach (20/1) romping in by eleven lengths for Ben Pauling at Southwell.
On the flat in Ireland, Donagh O’Connor from New Ross kept up his recent good run with a double over the weekend, one of them in the stewards’ room.
On Saturday at Naas he had another for trainer, Johnny Levins, winning the Apprentice Handicap on Eleuthera (4/1f), holding on by three-quarters of a length, and at Fairyhouse on Sunday he won on Rev. De Vol (7/2) for Ger Lyons.
He finished second, a short head behind Aidan O’Brien’s Ontario (11/10), but got it in the stewards’ room after some bumping near the finish.
O’Brien kept an eye on the home scene despite the major distractions abroad. At Navan on Friday, Seamie Heffernan won a two-year-old maiden with Forest of Dreams (a drifting 16/5) before heading for big dates in England and France
Wayne Lordan scored a great front-running win in the Royal County Premier Handicap over ten furlongs on Delphi (3/1), who jumped out and repelled all-comers on the run-in.
Lordan remained at home, and at Naas on Saturday he kept the sponsorship money at home too when coasting home in the €68k Coolmore Stud Group 3 fillies’ sprint stakes on Aidan’s and Ballydoyle’s Mother Earth (10/11).
In the €47.5k Oaks trial, there was a rousing finish between two horses in the Magnier colours, with Lordan coing second on O’Brien’s Laburnum (3/1), a neck behind Even So (13/8f) for Ger Lyons and Colm Keane.
The main races were at Cork on Sunday, and Aidan sent a small team of four but picked up the €50k Group 3 Munster Oaks with Snow (11/4f). The Group 3 Marble Hill Stakes gave Henry De Bromhead his first group winner on the flat with Minaun (7/1 outsider), under Chris Hayes who had a 965/1 four-timer.
In Britain, Pat Dobbs had four for the week from 15 rides – he won at Windsor on Monday on Richard Hannon’s Theotherside (11/2), at Bath on Thursday on Sir Michael Stoute’s A La Voile (16/5), at Yarmouth on Saturday night on Ventura Tormenta (4/6), and on Chindit (2/1) on his only ride at Doncaster on Sunday, both for Hannon.
P.J. McDonald got off the mark for the week at Haydock on Saturday on Dubai Fountain (13/8) for Mark Johnston, ending an unusually long run for him of 19 win-less rides.