Multiple winners for Murphy and Kennedy

IT was a fruitful 48 hours for Kerry racing personnel with prominent wins in the UK, USA and Cork in what proved a memorable weekend for connections. Ascot on Saturday was the setting for the finale of the British Flat season with ‘Champions Day’ glory going the way of Oisín Murphy and Roaring Lion. The partnership continued to grab the headlines when winning the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes to round off what has been a remarkable season.

The Killarney jockey gave the John Gosden trained 3-year-old a peach of a ride in testing conditions over a 1 mile - neither of which was expected to play to Roaring Lion’s strengths.

But the son of Kitten’s Joy timed his run to perfection staying on strongly in the final 100 yards to win by a neck from Aidan O’Brien’s, I Can Fly. The win marked the fourth straight Group One success of the season for Murphy and Roaring Lion, who also took the honours in the Coral Eclipse, Juddmonte Stakes and Irish Stakes.

Murphy has enjoyed a fantastic season notching 189 winners, and also won his first classics in the UK (Coral Eclipse) and in Ireland (Irish Champion Stakes). Following Saturday’s win a delighted Murphy told Racing UK that Roaring Lion ‘hated the ground’ and was never on the bridle.

“He was all heart in the finish. I was running on empty the whole of the last furlong because I had to use him between the third and the second last furlong just to get him into the race. He was very tough in the finish. John [Gosden] gave me so much confidence throughout the year with this horse. I must thank him,” Murphy said.

The Kerry connection was also strong Stateside on Saturday as jockeys Sean McDermott and Jack Kennedy both had major wins at the American Steeplechase meeting at Fair Hills, New York. McDermott had a double on the day with Two’s Company in the $50,000 New Jersey Hunt Cup for trainer Jack Fisher. This was followed with a win on Invocation in the €50,000 Appleton Hurdle. The Ballymac man is a well-seasoned national hunt campaigner in the US having started riding there in 2013. In 2015 McDermott won his first Grade 1 in Belmont Park on Scorpiancer.

The Jack Kennedy/Gordon Elliott partnership was on target in The Gladstone Hurdle, worth $30,000, as Kennedy rode Caldbeck to victory. In the card’s feature race - The American Grand National, which was won by Robbie Power on Jury Duty for Gordon Elliott – Sean McDermott finished fourth on Hinterland, while Jack Kennedy finished eighth on the Elliott trained, Clarcam.

Back on home soil on Sunday afternoon there was no shortage of joy for the Kennedy family at Cork. Trainer Michael Kennedy, with the help of his brother Jack, made it a family double when Smithscorner (14/1) won The Membership Handicap Hurdle over 2m 3f. The Kadeed gelding challenged from two out when making a slight mistake. But after the final hurdle he led and stayed on well. The win is Michael Kennedy’s third as a trainer having won twice in July and August 2017 with Touch of Gold – ridden by his brother, Paddy. Speaking after the race, Michael said: “He is a nice horse. I only got him two months ago from Robert Tyner and he was in good shape coming to me, so he didn’t have to improve a whole lot to win one but sometimes a change of scenery can make a difference to a horse. We’ll probably go over fences with him as he is a fine big horse and we might also look for another handicap hurdle first. That’s my third winner and I have 18 horses in but there are a lot of them young horses, so I will have five or six for the track.”