WELL CHOSEN
WILLIE MULLINS maintained his dominance on the second day of the Listowel Festival.
After scoring with four winners on Sunday, Mullins added another two yesterday courtesy of Adamantly Chosen (11/8) and Carrigmoorna Queen (6/5).
Adamantly Chosen won in the 2m1f beginners’ chase by eight lengths from Grand Roi.
“I was preparing him for the Galway Hurdle all summer and he disappointed me there,” Mullins told Irishracing.com.
“We decided to change tack and to go over fences. I thought he would need an extra half-mile over fences but his jumping technique is good.
“He jumped a bit right early on but then he settled. Anything between two and two-and-a-half miles over fences while the ground is nice.”
Wrong
Earlier 6/5 favourite Carrigmoorna Queen had landed the mares’ maiden hurdle for the Closutton maestro.
“She probably did most things wrong to be honest. She ran left and right at a lot of hurdles and was quite hard on herself,” Paul Townend said.
“At the second last she just ducked left at the last stride. “I thought I was getting the better of Mark (Walsh on Gaoth Chuil). I believe they are both alright which is the main thing. She will learn a lot from that.”
Meanwhile, Joseph O’Brien’s promising Prairie Dancer showed plenty of class to win from the front in the Liam Healy Memorial Lartigue Hurdle.
“He was lugging a bit to his right on me. I didn’t want to be pulling and dragging out of him so I said I’d leave him (out wide) as he was happy rather than fighting with him,” winning rider JJ Slevin said.
“That forward going rhythm is important to him and I didn’t want to break that by pulling at him too much.
“He’s a hardy horse and once he can get away and once he can get a bit of a breather about four furlongs down, it takes a fair one to get to him.
“I don’t know what the plan is with him.
Busy
“He’s been busy over the summer but has been a great horse for the boys. He owes nobody anything at this stage.”
Meanwhile at Fairyhouse, Seamie Heffernan completed a big-priced treble with Pillar (22/1), Queens Command (10/1) and Beautiful Sunshine (14/1).