ROUND-UP O’Brien bang in form
HORSE RACING Codd savours victory in Fairyhouse
TOM O’BRIEN in Chepstow and Jamie Codd at Fairyhouse were the Wexford men in form on Saturday, both recording winning doubles in what was otherwise a quiet enough week that featured a rash of seconds here at home.
O’Brien, from the Adamstown area and nephew of Aidan, led all the way to score impressively on Gayebury (4/1f) for Evan Williams in the £20,000 Pertemps handicap hurdle, and he won on Rock the Kasbah (2/1) in the £10,000 novice chase for Philip Hobbs. He was also second on Bold Henry (8/1) for Hobbs in the featured £25,000 chase.
Jonathan Moore was over in Britain through the week for Rebecca Curtis and was also at Chepstow. He contested the lead with Rock the Kasbah for much of the way on Mystical Knight but faded into third late on.
His best result was second in the bumper on Hidden Impact (10/3).
By the way, the British stewards took a dim view of his terrific winning ride on Bigbadjohn at Sandown (reported last week) and hit him with an £800 fine and an eleven-day ban for whip use which will see him miss the opening day of Cheltenham unless it is cut on appeal.
It has seemed to me for a long time that the British stewards are particularly hard on the Irish riders, especially if the races are televised and the sensitivities of the anti-racing section are likely to be offended.
The week began on a positive note for the Wexford lads in Britain on Monday. Daryl Jacob was involved in a remarkable finish in the opening bumper, showing his great strength as he scored by two short heads on Enniscoffey Oscar (9/2) for Emma Lavelle.
Tom O’Brien was equally impressive, winning all out on Tara Mac (5/1) for Tim Vaughan, making his trip for the one ride pay dividends. Pat McDonald scored on Blue Bahia (9/2) at Wolverhampton for Mark Johnston. A few bob on each of them would have paid handsome dividends.
It was just as well they made a good start because the next four days were all blank. Tom O’Brien recently had the shortest priced winner of his career on Finian’s Oscar at 1/16; at Exeter on Friday he probably had the shortest priced loser of his career when jumping blunders caused 1/10 shot Little Miss Poet to be beaten by Cascaye (4/1).
He ended the week at Fontwell on Sunday as he had begun, with his fourth winner, on Wizards Bridge (5/1) for Colin Tizzard.
In Ireland, Jamie Codd had two rides in the closing two races at Fairyhouse on Saturday and pulled off a winning double. He romped home in the Hunters Chase on Aupcharlie (11/10) for Jim Dreaper and Alan Potts, and the horse is now qualified for both Cheltenham and Aintree. Barry O’Neill was third on Dreaper’s Sizing Solution.
In the concluding bumper, Codd was at his strongest on Empire Burleque (a drifting 11/8), for Gordon Elliott and Gigginstown, to hold off Patrick Mullins on Fulham Road (heavily backed 9/10f) for Willie Mullins and the Riccis.
Jamie and Mullins are having a great battle for the amateur riders’ championship and this double puts the Mayglass man one ahead, 29 to 28, and twelfth overall, including the professionals.
At Punchestown on Wednesday, Seán Flanagan was second in the opener on Noel Meade’s Mr. Show Time, behind a J.P. McManus horse, Kilfenora, at 50/1. When was the last time one of his romped to victory at that kind of price?
Mikey Fogarty looked like winning on Rock on Barney (11/4f), for Galway trainer G.T. Lynch, but he was headed after the last by 20/1 shot, Graphic Legacy. Liz Doyle’s Remastered (3/1jf) was well beaten second under Finny Maguire in the bumper.
At Thurles on Thursday it was a day of more Wexford seconds. Flanagan again followed in a 50/1 winner, this time on John Cullen’s Misty Lady (6/1) behind Liz Lalor on Carrigeen Acebo.
Flanagan looked like a winner on Moulin A Vent (15/8f) for Noel Meade in the featured €45,000 novice hurdle but Ruby Walsh conjured a great late run from Tin Soldier (10/3) for Willie Mullins; Fogarty was second on Gordon Elliott’s Shadow Catcher (14/1) in the €26,000 chase, and Paul Nolan’s Mon Lino (5/1) ran well to be second under Barry Geraghty behind Call the Taxie (5/4f).
A pair of seconds was the only reward at Naas on Sunday, for Flanagan on Noel Meade’s Joey Sasa (5/1) in the €46,500 Grade 2 novice hurdle, and for Fogarty in the €47,500 Grade 3 chase on Pairofbrowneyes for Barry Murphy; each of them picked up a handy €9,500 for connections.