MOORE’S FINE FIRST
Four Wexford winners on a big day
MONDAY OF last week was a big day for Adamstown rider, Jonathan (Jonny) Moore, who scored a first Grade 1 success in his ten-year career with a brilliant ride in the €100,000 Christmas Hurdle at the Leopardstown Festival.
In fact, it was a good day for Wexford racing in general as there was a second winner at the Dublin venue for Liz Doyle and James O’Sullivan, and a double success also at the Limerick meeting for trainers Paul Nolan and Seamus Neville, supplemented by a couple of seconds and a few other decent runs.
Top billing belongs to Moore. He had high hopes of his first Grade 1 a couple of days earlier on the highly regarded Cheltenham Champion Hurdle third, Darver Star, and made a brave bid but was collared in the final 200 yards, as reported last week.
There was no mistake this time on board the Gavin Cromwell-trained Flooring Porter, the cheaply-bought Galway syndicate horse whose rise up the ranks has been comparable to that of Paddy Kehoe’s Princess Zoe on the flat.
Despite romping away with a €90k handicap at Navan on December 5, he went off as one of the outsiders (11/1, but in from 16s in the morning) in a quality field and was given a great tactical, front-running ride which drew rave reviews for the jockey.
Moore bounced the five-year-old off in front from the start and he dictated every step of the gruelling three miles.
He had lots left to surge away impressively at the finish by six lengths from The Storyteller (7/1) and Sire Du Berlais (11/4). The Adamstown man was delighted to have made his Grade 1 breakthrough.
‘What a horse!’ was his elated reaction after the race.
‘I felt I was always in my comfort zone out there.’
Just how difficult it is to pick up Grade 1 honours is illustrated by Niall ‘Slippers’ Madden who retired on New Year’s Eve after 20 years in the saddle and nearly 5,400 winners – but just two of them were Grade 1 rated.
He did win the Aintree Grand National in 2006 on Numbearsixvalverde. His first winner was Teknash at Wexford on July 1, 2002, when just 17.
Moore has a strong partnership with Cromwell and was appointed stable jockey 16 months ago after they had shared a number of good wins. This could be the first of many more to come.
He has been on board for all but three of Flooring Porter’s runs, and all five wins, since his first outing 18 months ago.
Flooring Porter was sold as a foal for a mere €6,000 and was led out of the sales ring unsold for €5,500 two years ago. His winnings now exceed €150,000. Dreams do sometimes come true in racing.
He has certainly repaid the faith of his syndicate owners, who forked out a €10,000 fee to supplement him as a late entry to this race.
They, and Jonny Moore, are relishing the prospect of a Stayers’ Hurdle Cheltenham date with the now on six-year-old rising star.
Liz Doyle and Camolin claimer, James O’Sullivan, made it a Wexford double with Burlesque Queen (8/1) in the next 20-runner race, a modest but attritional two and a half mile handicap hurdle which saw twelve runners pulling up in the closing stages.
O’Sullivan and his willing charge showed real guts and stamina up the home straight when he several times looked in trouble. He switched out to the right at the last but ploughed on relentlessly to see off the persistent challenge of Western Boy (18/1).
Doyle was delighted: ‘I’m very proud of her. The good pace today really suited and James gave her a beautiful ride; he does get on well with her.’
This was O’Sullivan’s 25th win since taking to the track in 2016 and he is certainly on an upward curve.
Seán Flanagan fell in for a couple of plum chance rides for Gordon Elliott in the absence of Jack Kennedy but could not capitalise.
He was on Fury Road (13/8f) in the three-miler won by Moore and faded back into fourth towards the finish.
He was unluckily unseated at the ninth fence when still going well when the 170 rated Delta Work (6/1) stumbled on landing in the €150,000 Savills Chase. This horse won the Pertemps at Cheltenham in 2018 and was fifth to Alboum Photo in this year’s Gold Cup.
He was a well-beaten second in the opening maiden hurdle on Mr. Incredible (10/1 from 16s), for Henry De Bromhead and was also second in the beginners’ chase on Cedarwood Road (4/1), ten lengths behind The Big Getaway (4/5) for the dominant Paul Townend/ Willie Mullins pairing. Not a bad day’s work but probably expected better.
Down in Limerick where racing resumed after losing out on Monday due to waterlogging, the small Wexford contingent had a winning double, and a couple of disappointments.
Paul Nolan got on the board for the weekend with handicap debutant Itsnotinit (5/1jf) in a two-mile five-furlong hurdle, under Philip Enright, winning by nearly five lengths.
Trainer Seamus Neville (Bridgetown) picked up his fourth win of the season and completed a treble with the fancied Notice to Close (5/4f) in a gruelling three-mile handicap hurdle, under Barry Foley.
He was up front most of the way but looked like being swallowed up when joined two fences out, but he rallied to regain the lead and held on under pressure to get there by a length and a quarter – a gutsy performance, adding to wins at Cork and Clonmel in the last six weeks.
Jamie Codd rode the well-backed Song of Earth (12/1 into 11/2) into second in the Auction Maiden Hurdle but was no match for Henry De Bromhead’s Heather Rocco (9/1).
Colin Murphy’s 6/4 favourite, All About Joe, was in contention under Mikey Fogarty into the finishing straight but emptied out quickly and was pulled up.
Codd was on the hot favourite, Where It All Began (10/11), in the bumper and he was at the forefront all through but was unable to repel Lucky Tenner (4/1).