Murphy trains 150th winner
Landmark for Ballagh man
DENIS MURPHY, The Ballagh, reached a landmark when sending out his 150th winner as a trainer at Lisronagh in Tipperary on Saturday where Rob James had another treble, and Barry O’Neill rode a double at Broughshane, Co. Antrim. On Sunday Jamie Codd responded with a double while O’Neill had three seconds.
Harley Dunne brought up the 150th win of Denis Murphy’s tenyear training career in the fiveyears-old geldings’ maiden on Sweet As Candy (Morozov-Sweet Nancy) for Maria Byrne.
Rob James has been having a field day on the Munster circuit since Christmas and had another hat-trick at Lisronagh on Saturday. He won both divisions of the fouryears-old maiden, on Everybody’s Talkin (Robin Des Champs-Miss Otis Regrets) for Colin Bowe, and then on Storm Control (September Storm-Double Dream) for Donnchadh Doyle.
He rounded off the treble on Inamina (Oscar-Amber Trix) in the six-years-old geldings’ maiden, again for Bowe.
The Murphy family from Inch took the five- and six-year-old mares’ maiden on Coachella Green (Westerner-Turquoise Green), Luke steering for his parents, John and Miriam.
O’Neill had his 14th success of 2017 with trainer Colin Bowe aboard Aunt Eva (Ask-Nelson) in the five-years-old plus mares’ maiden up in Co. Antrim, and took the Winners of Two for regular patron, David Christie, on Eddies Miracle..
Stable jockey Shane Fitzgerald scored on Michael Goff’s The Holy One (Court Cave-Vickate) in the four-year-old maiden, while Gary Murphy (Ballycullane) was second on Ashleigh and Michael Murphy’s (Duncormick) Getaway Bay in the five- and six-years-old geldings’ maiden.
On Sunday, both Jamie Codd (double) and Derek O’Connor (treble) made inroads on the title race at the Galway Blazers meeting at Loughrea, while Barry O’Neill had a frustrating day at Curraheen in Cork with three seconds and no winner. Codd combined with Denis Murphy again to easily win the four-year-old maiden at Loughrea with Moonshine Bay (Milan-Chantoue Royale), from Rob James on Mellow Ben for Donnchadh Doyle. Murphy’s 20 winners so far is his best-ever seasonal tally.
Codd completed his double on Special Prep (Brian Boru-Schindlers Dame) for his brother, William, and British owner Eric Elliott who was over for the Winners of Two race.
One of Derek O’Connor’s three was on The Lion Dancer (Let The Lion Roar-Shesadoll) for John Paul and Marie Brennan (Camolin) in the five- and six-years-old geldings’ maiden, surprising Codd on Jim Dreaper’s Fresh New Dawn. It completed a great weekend for the Brennans as they won at Punchestown with Need to Know the previous day.
There was one Wexford winner at the Muskerry Hunt meeting at Curraheen, Gary Murphy (Ballycullane) getting up by half a length on Kilbricken Storm (Oscar-Kilbricken Leader), giving owner/trainer Richard O’Keeffe (Taghmon) his third win of the season.
O’Neill’s seconds included a head defeat in the older mares’ maiden on Colin Bowe’s Stetsonsnstilettos in a driving finish, and Malachy’s Girl for Donnchadh Doyle in the four-year-old mares’ maiden.
At the end of all the action, O’Neill leads the riders’ table on 51, with Codd on 43 and O’Connor on 38. Rob James is now joint fourth with Noel McParlan on 33. Colin Bowe is pulling clear in the trainers’ table with 26, from Denis Murphy on 20 and Donnchadh Doyle on 18.
Muskerry Hunt raced again on Monday in Cork; on Saturday they race at Taylorstown, Newry, and on Sunday at Grennan, Thomastown, in Kilkenny, Athlacca in Limerick, and Watergrasshill in Cork.