Big wins in Navan
Codd and Flanagan in fine fettle
SEAN FLANAGAN and Jamie Codd both had good wins at a testing Navan meeting on Sunday that attracted lots of runners despite the poor weekend weather.
Flanagan scored in the 2m. 4f. novices’ chase for his boss, Noel Meade, on the 3/1 favourite, He’s No Molly, after taking it up five from home and staying on well on the run-in when challenged.
He beat Davy Russell on Gordon Elliott’s Sir Carno (7/2) by 1.75 lengths, with Paul Nolan’s Monotype (6/1) well back in third under Bryan Cooper.
He had finished second of 21 runners in the opening maiden hurdle on Meade’s Momus (10/3), but was well beaten by Jack Kennedy on Elliott’s hot favourite, Battleoverdoyen (8/15).
Jamie Codd won a good quality €27,000 future champions bumper on expensive purchase, Envoi Allen, in the style of a 4/11 favourite, repeating his success of two weeks earlier at Fairyhouse. This one had won his maiden point to point at Ballinaboola last February under Barry O’Neill when handled by Colin Bowe.
A couple of weeks later he was sold at Cheltenham to Cheveley Park Stud for a cool £400,000. Despite the fancy prices, Elliott indicated that the horse may not go for the Cheltenham Festival bumper; ‘he might have one more run this season but he’s a horse for the future,’ was his opinion.
People sometimes question the health and finances of Irish racing. How about this – there was a seven-race card at Doncaster on Friday, one of the elite tracks, and just 27 runners competed for £60.
By comparison, a low grade meeting at Tramore on Thursday saw 95 horses compete in seven races for just short of €80,000, despite there being just six runners in the ladies bumper.
Wexford success was limited at the Waterford venue though Sean Flanagan did get second on a 20/1 shot, The Horsechesnut, for David O’Brien from Piltown and was third on Noel Meade’s Getaway Kid (12/1) in the maiden hurdle, behind a Willie Mullins favourite, Harrie (4/5).
Sean O’Keeffe (Taghmon) got third of 15 on Liz Doyle’s Cordovan Brown (6/1) in the mares’ maiden hurdle behind JP McManus hot shot Getaway Katie Mai (4/9), and was also third of 16 on Paul Nolan’s Crazyheart (9/1) in the handicap chase, just three lengths behind Veneziano Springs.
Across channel, racing concluded for this year at Cheltenham on Friday and Saturday but there seemed to be little enough Irish interest in the meeting, in stark contrast to the March Festival jamboree, with only one Gordon Elliott winner to from a small Irish contingent.
On Friday, Jamie Codd had a spin over the banks on Bless the Wings for Gordon Elliott but could only finish 6th behind a rare English winner in this kind of racing, Jamie Snowden’s Fact of the Matter (6/1) which pipped Enda Bolger’s My Hometown (8/1).
Sean Flanagan went over for a single spin on David Harry Kelly’s (Tipp) Great Trango (11/1) and they led at the last but faded alarmingly up the hill to finish 9th of 13.
Tom O’Brien did manage a couple of places, taking second on Black Tulip for Henry Daly behind Richard Johnson on Gordon Elliott’s Synopsis (13/2) in a mares’ handicap chase, and third for Philip Hobbs on Rolling Dylan in a thrilling finishing behind Cogry for the Twiston-Davies team.
Daryl Jacob had four rides at a weather lashed and largely deserted Cheltenham on Saturday, but the closest he came was second on Le Breuil (3/1) for Ben Pauling in the 25k novices chase, less than two lengths behind Drovers Lane (3/1) for Rebecca Curtis.
Tom O’Brien had a couple at Doncaster, where the surprisingly good going reduced the fields again, and he made a bold bid on Oi The Club Oi’s (16/1) in the 50k juvenile hurdle, third just two lengths behind Quel Destin (8/11f).
The two Wexford riders had begun the week with a short-priced winner each at Musselburgh on Monday, O’Brien on Wolfecatcher (10/11) for Ian Williams and Jacob on Liva (11/10) for David McCain.
At Warwick on Thursday O’Brien scored by 13 lengths on Keep Moving (6/1) for Philip Hobbs, and Richard Johnson won the bumper for Hobbs with Keep Rolling (5/1) for former North Wexford resident, Mick Fitzgerald, formerly a top rider and now a noted TV pundit. Mick spent much of his childhood in the Camolin area.
As a punter you look out for signposts that might indicate a winner, perhaps a stable going a long way for one run; sometimes this works but very often it doesn’t, as illustrated by this example.
JJ Slevin (Kiltrea, Enniscorthy) went over to Newcastle on Thursday to ride Boston Spray for his cousin, Joseph O’ Brien, in a low grade race; the form did not look great and the price was big (9/1), but there must be something in it, you might think. He finished sixth, 30 lengths behind the winner!