Codd leads the way
Golden oldies hit back over weekend
THE WEXFORD Hunt staged their meeting at Gordon Doyle’s Knockmullen House, near New Ross, on Sunday in a weekend when pickings were lean enough for locally based riders.
Barry O’Neill and Colin Bowe drew a blank, but Jamie Codd bucked the trend with three winners over two days.
He had a double at Knockmullen, starting with Prevaricate for Gordon Elliott in the Tattersalls Ireland four-year-old maiden, from Kalyptra under Shane O’Rourke for Pierce Power (the Hook), and Champ is Real under Barry Stone (Cleariestown) for Ellen Doyle’s Baltimore Stables.
Codd doubled up in the Cooney Furlong Grain Winner of One on Fanamix (Al Namix) for Denis Murphy, eight lengths clear, adding to a win at Tattersalls Farm two weeks earlier.
Conor Moore (Kilmore) had his first winner since a leg-break last season in the Nolan Transport Older Maidens’ race, scoring on First Preference (Publisher) for Vincent and Jimmy Devereux. He was six lengths clear of Jamie ‘Paddy’ Scallan on Seán Doyle’s Local Rogue, with James Kenny third on his dad’s Ranger Kid.
Doyle had second in the Peter Nolan Bloodstock five-year-old geldings’ maiden with Sidewaysinmilan, eight lengths behind first-time winner, Stefan Tobin, on Paul Cashman’s (Fermoy) Prime Pretender. Kenny was third on Colin Bowe’s Sempione Park.
Kenny was second on his dad’s Current Mood in the GAIN Equine Nutrition adjacent hunts mares’ maiden, won by Dan Nevin on Davitt Road Glory for John Clifford (Inistioge).
The Ballywalter Farms Open for Novice Riders also went for export, with Gordon Elliott completing a double with Its All Guesswork under Dan Nevin (Gowran).
The meeting drew a smallish entry of 48 runners but was very efficiently run off by the Wexford Hunt under the strict Covid-19 restrictions.
Codd’s first winner came on Saturday at the Tipperary Hunt meeting at Lisronagh where it was a day for the ‘golden oldies’, as eleven-times champion Derek O’Connor had a treble, including his 1,250th career winner, a remarkable tally.
Codd won the five-year-old geldings’ maiden on Great Heart’Jac for former Wexford native, Colin Motherway
This was a very strong meeting with two divides and 90 runners. So, fair dues to Barry Stone and Ellen Doyle for taking the five-yearold mares’ maiden with Talk Derby To Me (Black Same Bellamy), seven lengths clear of Miss McGugen for the Walshs from Tinahely.
The best of the day for the O’Neill/Bowe combination was second in the four-year-old geldings’ maiden on Brorson, well behind Derek O’Connor on his wife’s Jim Key.
In Division 2, Jamie Scallan took second on Seán Doyle’s Dinghy Young, again behind O’Connor but half a length ahead of Airtothethrone for Matthew Flynn-O’Connor (Bunclody) in third.
Barry O’Neill travelled to Dromahane in Cork and his best effort from four rides was second on Clonmoyle for Aidan Fitzgerald (Borris); his other three were non-finishers. Derek O’Connor added two more to his list.
Next weekend the Wicklow Hunt race at Fairwood, Tinahely, on Sunday, and they also run at Tortulla in Tipperary. They race at Loughbrickland, Co. Down, on Saturday.
Advance notice, too, that the Killinick Harriers race at Lingstown on Sunday week, November 22.
Meanwhile, Barry O’Neill, Colin Bowe and Rob James, who had his first Cheltenham winner last March, are three of the four nominees in point-to-point for the Horse Racing Ireland awards.
Named in other categories are Tony Mullins for his handling of Paddy Kehoe’s horse, Princess Zoe; Aidan O’Brien, as usual, and Seán O’Keeffe in the Emerging Talent section. The awards will be announced at a virtual ceremony next month.