O’brien crowns his meteoric rise to top
THE FIXTURE list for the coming year has been unveiled with a number of alterations made to previous years. The Shillelagh & District Foxhounds get the season under way a week earlier than normal in 2013 with a meeting on January 6, followed two weeks later with the Wexfords racing on the 20th at Ballinaboola.
This gives us a two-week break to February 3 with the Island Hunt racing at Ballydarragh and sees two fixtures in the southeast,with the Kilkenny Foxhounds on February 24 and the Bray Hunt on March 3 before we switch back to Lingstown on March 10 and conclude at Monksgrange on March 31 for the Bree Foxhound meeting.
With 87 scheduled fixtures concluding on June 3, it won't be long now until winter is over and we have the sunshine of Whit weekend!
REVIEW OF THE WEEK
The promise that the Jim Bolger-trained ‘Loch Garman’ showed on his first start was well placed as the two-year-old son of ‘Teofilo’ stepped up to Group 1 class at Saint Cloud in France when taking the Criterium International under Kevin Manning on November 1. With real talent in the yard including ‘Dawn Approach’ and now this fellow to work with, 2013 cannot come quickly enough for the Master of Coolcullen.
With the flat season over, Bolger did saddle a nice treble on the final day on November 4 with wins for ‘ Bunairgead’, ‘ Lady Wingshot’ and ‘Miracle Cure’, while Aidan O'Brien struck with ‘ Foundry’ while also saddling ‘ George Vancouver’ to win the juvenile Breeders Cup at Santa Anita.
Over the jumps Andrew Latta booted home ‘ Blossom Gate’ to win at 10/1 for John Kiely at Cork on November 4, with David Casey winning again on ‘Baily Green’ at 5/4 at the same meeting.
Fairyhouse on November 7 saw Colm Murphy win with ‘ Aladdins Cave’ under Robbie Power at 3/1, while Myles Sunderland finally got a winning tune out of ‘Best Of Bocelli’ on the following day at Thurles. Ridden by Michael Doran, this 15/2 winner led all the way in an all-Wexford finish from the Richie Rath-trained ‘Edmundo’ and the Liz Doyle saddled ‘Reality Dose’.
BETWEEN THE FLAGS
David Cogley, an 18-year-old from Ballintubber, New Ross, rode his first winner on the point-to-point scene when ‘Artic King’ won the older geldings’ maiden at Grennan on November 4. This Kilkenny Foxhound meeting saw Cogley stride clear on the seven-year-old ‘Carrolls House’ gelding in the colours of his father, Aidan, and trained in Gusserane by Seamus Larkin.
This meeting also saw John Walsh and Gary Murphy team up to win with ‘Elmbridge Squire’, with the five-year-old ‘Insatiable’ gelding now heading to the track after this eye-catching performance.
Also on the mark at this meeting was Ger Corrigan who saddled ‘Oscar Amy’, a fiveyear-old by ‘Oscar’, to win in the hands of Barry O'Neill.
Jamie Codd recorded his 12th winner of the new season when partnering the John Berry-owned and trained ‘Shingle Bay’ to win, with the possibility of a Hunter Chase now being on the cards for this fellow.
O’BRIEN NEW FLAT CHAMP
It really has been a meteoric rise for Joseph O'Brien, the son of Ballydoyle supremo, Aidan, and his wife, Anne Marie. O'Brien was crowned Irish champion jockey 2012 following the finish of the summer flat racing season on November 4 at Leopardstown having ridden 87 winners, three clear of Pat Smullen.
Two years ago he battled out a share of the apprentice jockeys’ title, last year he rode his first classic winner and won a Breeders Cup race, and now this title. Where now for the 20-year-old?
His father was again given the title of champion Irish trainer with 94 winners and just over €3.5m in prize money, while Jim Bolger was placed third with just under €1.5m. Bolger’s wife, Jackie, was the third most successful owner behind Coolmore and the Aga Khan with just over one half of the prize money for the yard in her name.