Cork jockeys and trainer enjoy on course success
CORK jockey Wayne Lordan landed back-to-back winners at Dundalk on Friday night where he was on the mark for both Joseph O’Brien and Tony Martin. He had an easy time on both winners, much to the delight of punters who latched on to Chess Grand Master in the 2m conditions’ race. Joseph O’Brien’s runner was backed from 100/30 to 5/2 and came home nicely clear of Kerosin.
Drakensberg landed quite a gamble in the opening division of the 12f handicap for Tony Martin. An opening show of 10/1 didn’t last long and the five-year-old was eventually sent off a 5/1 chance before recording a six-length success from outsider Magic Sea.
Paul Townend maintained his lead in the jockeys’ championship with two winners during the week. At Clonmel on Thursday, he teamed up with the in-form Edward O’Grady to land the 2m 6f maiden hurdle with Bootlegger. In the famous blue colours of Mrs Sue Magnier, the 8/1 shot had a little in hand as he recorded a threeparts-of-a-length success over the Gordon Elliott-trained Extrapolate with odds-on favourite Spyglass Hill a neck away in third place for Henry De Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore.
Townend made it 82 for the season with a runaway success on the Willie Mullins-trained Pravalaguna in the Listed Opera Hat Mares Chase at Naas on Saturday. She impressed with a 14-length success, and despite a terrible blunder five fences from home, the 8/13 favourite was in a class of her own and gave Mullins his third win in the race in the last four years.
It’s a rare thing for a trainer to win the Grand National Trial at Punchestown in consecutive years, ten different trainers had won the race for the previous ten years, but Gordon Elliott was a dominant force in this year’s renewal as he saddled the first and third home having won the race with Folsom Blue last year. It was second season chaser Dounikos who drew clear to win in the end. He took it up jumping the last for Davy Russell and with all the momentum on his side he quickly forged clear to beat the Joseph O’Brien-trained Wishmoor into second place with his own stable companion General Principle close in behind.
Cloyne trainer James Motherway landed the concluding bumper at Punchestown on Sunday with the Declan Lavery-ridden Dinny Lacey. Owned by Robcour, the 7/1 chance battled well to hold off Fire Away, building on the promise he had shown at Limerick over Christmas.