Young jockeys shine
Good day for Slevin and O’Sullivan
IT WAS a very quiet week on the Irish racing scene with no jumps racing until Navan was run off in pretty awful conditions on Saturday, but it was a good day for two young Wexford jockeys, J.J. Slevin and James O’Sullivan, who ended up in the winners’ enclosure.
Slevin, from Kiltrea, Caim, got his day off to a flyer in the opening novice hurdle when he steered home the very well-backed Tom Taafe-trained Riders Onthe Storm (backed from 11/1 in the morning into 4/1f at the off), ending nearly three lengths ahead of Barry Geraghty on Gavin Cromwell’s Spades Are Trumps.
Slevin had a couple of other rides on the card but was down the field on Colin Bowe’s Lacken Bridge and Richie Rath’s Larkfield Lass.
J.J. (James Joseph) has racing in his blood as his dad, Shay, is a well-known point-to-point handler and many of the son’s 34 points winners were ridden for him. He raced on the track as an amateur for several years before turning professional in August, 2016.
Slevin’s career has progressed steadily since then and he had 25 winners in the 2016-’17 season, and he already has 20 winners in the current campaign.
His highlight so far has undoubtedly been his success at the Cheltenham Festival last March on the Gordon Elliott-trained Champagne Classic in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle.
He is also related to the Aidan O’Brien racing dynasty - his mother Elizabeth is Aidan’s sister. J.J. rides out regularly for Aidan’s son, Joseph, at Piltown and has ridden quite a few over the jumps for his first cousin.
Saturday was a good day also for James O’Sullivan from Ballydaniel, Camolin, who had his seventh career winner, and his first over the bigger fences, aboard Rightback Atya (7/2) for Tinahely trainer, Philip Rothwell, running away from 15/8 fav., Bandon Bridge, in the closing stages. It was his only ride on the card and he made it pay.
James works quite a lot with Rothwell and this was his third winner for him. He also won twice last year for Tom James from Enniscorthy on Soul Season, and he won on Cantkidakidder for Noel Dooly from Davidstown.
The young Camolin rider seems to have a cool head on his shoulders and his future progress will be watched with interest. It was a welcome winner for Rothwell as this was just his third of the season.
Biggest Wexford success outside of Ireland came in far away Dubai on Thursday when Pat Dobbs was in action in the Meydan Carnival which is now getting into full swing.
The carnival runs over ten meetings from January to March and it culminates in the richest day’s racing in the world on the last Saturday in March when $30m is up for grabs, climaxing with the $10m Dubai World Cup.
There is a real exodus of topflight jockeys to Dubai from all over the world for these three months and Pat Dobbs from Enniscorthy has been in the top five regularly in recent years, riding for the powerful Doug Watson yard.
On Thursday he strolled to a five-length victory in the €100,000+ handicap aboard Kimbear, and he could not have been closer to a major double, going down by a nose in the €90,000 One Thousand Guineas trial on Rayya, beaten by Pat Cosgrave on Winter Lightning.
Dobbs has been joined in the U.A.E. by fellow Wexfordman, Jimmy Quinn from New Ross, and both were in action on Saturday, but without making it to the winners’ enclosure.
In Britain, it was a very quiet week for the Wexford connections, with a few meetings falling victim to the weather and many horses being withdrawn from others.
Daryl Jacob had the best result; at the big televised meeting at Ascot on Saturday he was second on the well-backed Oistrakh Le Noir (9/2 from 13/2) for Ben Pauling and Simon Munir in the first, beaten just a neck by hot favourite, Alan King’s Nayati (8/11). They were both lucky as a couple were well clear until falling at the last.