Wexford men lead three title races
WEXFORD DOMINATED the Galway Blazers meeting at Loughrea on Sunday, with Barry O’Neill keeping up his bid to retain the riders’ title with a treble, being pressed hard again by Rob James who had a double, and Seán O’Keeffe kept up his push for the novice riders’ title.
O’Neill left it late, his treble coming in the final three races for three ‘outside’ handlers - he took the Open race on Jim Dreaper’s Cavite Beta, the Winners of Two with Three Loud Knocks for Brian Mortell, and the concluding Adjacent maiden on Chosen Flame for Galway local M.O. Cullinane.
Rob James has been having a good run and notched two more wins - Ain’t My Fault for former Wexford resident Colin Motherway in the older geldings’ maiden, and Agent Valdez for handler Ross O’Sullivan (married to Katie Walsh), owned by Jamie Codd’s wife, Robyn, in the older mares’ maiden.
He beat O’Neill in that one on Colin Bowe’s Ciara’s Cara.
Rob was second in the four-year-old maiden on Donnchadh Doyle’s On the front foot, behind Kate Harrington’s first winner as a points handler, Story of Friends.
Seán O’Keeffe from Taghmon had his tenth winner of the season with Denis Murphy’s Man of the moment, a Jeremy gelding, and he is three ahead of Shane Fitzgerald in the novices’ title race.
Derek O’Connor kept up his bid to rein in Barry O’Neill with a treble at Dromahane on Sunday, one of them for Denis Murphy, The Ballagh - on Gipsy Lee Rose, out of Walk in the Park, in the four-year-old mares’ maiden. This was Murphy’s second of the weekend.
In the five-year-old geldings’ maiden, O’Connor beat Jimmy O’Rourke on Andrew Latta’s (Ballycarney) Jones Well.
A couple of young Wexford riders scored at the Laois Hunt meeting at Stradbally. James Kenny won the Winner of Two on Our Henrietta, out of Winged Love, trained by his dad Liam at Ballydarragh, Craanford. James was also second in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden on Colin Bowe’s Robin Du Roy.
Jamie ‘Paddy’ Scallan from Tomhaggard won the Adjacent maiden race on Seán Thomas Doyle’s Carlow Farmer for Edward Kearney; this was Paddy’s second win of the season.
The United Hunt raced at Ballindenisk in Cork on Saturday and it was a good day for Mark Scallan from Cleariestown who rode and trained Laura Roche’s Robyndzone to win the four-year-old maiden in a thrilling finish. This was Scallan’s second win as a trainer and third as a handler this season.
He was a head in front of Stewart Crawford’s Milvale which was a further head in front of Harley Dunne on Seán Thomas Doyle’s Eagle De Guye.
Scallan almost made it a double, coming second in the five-year-old plus mares’ maiden on Cloudy Music, which he also trained.
With four weekends left in the season, Barry O’Neill is eight ahead of the injured Jamie Codd and Derek O’Connor, and Donnchadh Doyle is leading handler with 25 winners, ahead of Colin Bowe (22), Pat Doyle from Nenagh (21) and Denis Murphy (16).
They raced at Dawstown in Cork on Monday and we’ll have details next week; they run at Loughanmore in Antrim on Saturday; and at Tallanstown, Co. Louth, and Bartlemy in Cork on Sunday; the Kilkenny Hunt meeting at Borris House is postponed.