Thyestes Chase win for Darragh
Doneraile jockey, Darragh O’Keeffe said he was ‘on top of the world’ after claiming another significant title last week, this time at the Goffs Thyestes Chase.
The race in Gowran Park, County Kilkenny saw the field face into 17 fences for the threemile one-furlong race. More than 8,500 punters turned out for what was the first major attendance at an Irish race meeting since the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
The rising local star, who is the season’s leading jockey, took the Thyestes trophy, crossing the line on the Martin Brassil trained 9/ 1 shot Longhouse Poet. Darragh, who was recently awarded the Horse Racing Ireland ‘Ride of the Year’ award for 2021, took the penultimate fence neck and neck with the Willie Mullin’s 15/2 charge, Franco De Port. In the end however, O’Keeffe took the win on the eight-yearold by three-quarters of a length. For trainer Martin Brassil, it was his first win at the Goffs Thyestes Chase since 2005 with Numbersixvalverde.
LEADING JOCKEY
In a post-race interview, Darragh said he was ‘on top of the world’.
“In fairness, Martin had him (Longhouse Poet) in great order for today. It’s only his second ever run at a handicap. He winged the first and I was able to slot in. From there on in I was always travelling in my comfort zone. Coming up to the last, I still had plenty of horse left and he was good and gutsy when I needed him,” Darragh said.
As of Friday, January 28th O’Keeffe remained the season’s leading jockey on 49, 4 clear of his nearest rival, Paul Townend (45), closely followed by Mark Walsh on 44 and Rachael Blackmore (43).
As a retained jockey for Sean and Bernadine Mulryan, the win was another success for the promising local jockey who was already a Grade One winner following the 2020 Savills Chase with A Plus Tard.
The Goffs Thyestes Handicap Steeplechase carries a €100,000 prize for Grade A along with the Perpetual Silver Cup. Darragh said he was ‘ over the moon’ to secure the win for the Mulryan’s.
When asked whether Aintree might be on the cards for Longhouse Poet, the Doneraile man didn’t knock the idea, stating, “It’s great that we got a big day today, let’s see what happens next”. Watch this space...