Irish Pointing Weekly
Review
by Declan Phelan
Week Three - Aghabullogue,
Askeaton &
Tinahely
3 meetings were held on Sunday, as per usual I was at the Cork meeting which was at Aghabullogue, others also present were David Nicholson and the triumphant Munster rugby team.
Aghabullogue
Left handed track, 16 fences. Each race
begins at start of homestraight, they jump 2 in straight
either side of winning post, then turn uphill to jump 3 in the
back straight on a continuous climb, followed by a bendy run
down to return to homestraight. They jump the first fence 4
times, also the last fence. A good test of jumping in
backstraight.
Going soft, the best so far this year.
6 races no divides
Race 1-- Mares Maiden 5/6
only.
10 went to post but the 2 mares who
dominated in the ring also took control on the track.
Hittin The
City(6 Husyan) lead until the second last when the
favourite Fightallthewayhome(6 Mr Lord)
(2/1-5/4) jumped past and this Robert Tyner trained
individual powered home for an easy win. The winner will contest a
winners race at Dungarvan in a fortnight with the mares final at
Ballynoe her seasonal target. She is a nice big mare with
potential. Hittin The City will have little difficulty winning in
the coming weeks.
Race 2--Geldings
maiden 5/6 only (Powers qualifier)
11 runners. Kings
Equerry(5 Kings Ride) was the well supported 5/4
fav, but I did not like him in the parade ring. John Halley's
debutant Elgatorius(5
Phardante) was the 3/1 second fav, with bits of support for
Dinsey Finnegan &
Our Osca.
Elgatorius ridden by Tom Lombard led from flagfall with Dinsey
Finnegan(6 Fresh Breeze) for company with Kings Equerry tucked
away in third. The latter was in trouble at halfway, and at the
fifth last Elgatorius looked to be going best when falling and in
the process hampered Castle
Doret(5 Executive Perk) and left Dinsey
Finnegan in a clear lead. Jumping 2 out Dinsey Finnegan was less
than 4 lengths ahead of a closing Castle Doret, but rounding the
home turn Castle Doret stumbled badly after interference from
a loose horse, allowing Dinsey Finnegan to come home well
clear.
Elgatorius will have little difficulty making amends and has
track potential. Castle Doret ran well on it's debut, but the fav
Kings Equerry who finished legless in third will need to
improve.
The winner, the well exposed Dinsey Finnegan was greeted in
the winners enclosure by his owner comedian Patrick Kielty.
This is his first horse, he is by Gerry Cully and ridden here by
Damien Murphy.
Race 3-- Open (no
pens)
4 ran. Two no hopers with Gerry Cully supplying the 2 principals--
Legal Storm(2/1-5/1) and
False Tail (1/2--1/5).
Not surprisingly these 2 dominated with False Tail who jumped
stickily early on, warming to his task, and eventually outclassing
his stablemate for an easy success. False Tail gave Damien Murphy a
quick double and run on top of his second to Sheltering last
week, ranks him highly amongst the Open horses and he may even
collect a Hunters Chase in the next few months.
Race 4--Geldings maiden
7+
10 Ran.
Ex Alan King Forest Thyne now with Gerry
Cully(bought at Doncaster), was the 5/4 fav. The well supported
second fav was the locally trained( Fergie Sutherland) Irish Perk(4/1--2/1), and Dromahane
runner up Manfred Mann
was a 4/1 chance.
Outsider Grizzly Activeware was an early faller but played a major
role in the result. At halfway with Manfred Mann
travelling strongly in front with a 10 length advantage the loose
horse forced him off the tracks at the wings of the 8th from home ,
then the loose horse turned around and cannoned into the fav Forest
Thyne knocking Damien Murphy off. This left the
grey Always On
The Line in front of Irish Perk. At the second last
there was little between them, but Irish Perk cracked and then
Bucringboy came from the
next parish to challenge Always On The Line at the last, but Always
On The Line just fended off that rival by a length. This
completed a double for trainer Robert Tyner and jockey Brendan
O Sullivan.
Race 5--Mares Maiden
7+
10 Runners.
Appel Island, Pretty Young
Thing and Jimmy's Pride were the 5/2 co favs.
These 3 dominated to the second last where
Jimmy's Pride dropped away , there was little between the other 2
as the came to the home bend, but Appel Island lost her footing and
slipped up. This left Pretty Young Thing to come home well clear.
Kristina's Lady stayed on past Jimmy's Pride to be a remote
second.
The winner a 7 year old daughter of Yashgan was giving Eoin
Gallagher his 5th winner of the year.
Race 6--Adjacent Hunt Maiden
5+
6 runners.
West Pal one of 2 Gerry
Cully runners was the fav(5/4 -- 4/6) on the back of a good run
last week. There was support also for the Dromahane disappointment
Kilcrea Shyan(4/1--3/1).
Newcomer Father D (6 Mr
Lord) cut out the running followed by Kilcrea Shyan, West Pal and
it's stablemate West Aside. At the 5th last the fav came under
pressure and he quickly dropped out. 2 from home and Father D
continued to lead with both Kilcrea Shyan & West Aside
pestering.
The 3 were in line approaching the last, but Eoin Gallagher
produced West Aside between
horses and he fought off the other pair on the run in. This was
West Aside's(7 Brush Aside) first outing since 1999, and he gave
Eoin Gallagher a double and trainer Gerry Cully a treble.
Kilcrea Shyan( 6 Husyan) produced a better run on this occasion,
but arguably the most interesting performance was that of debutant
Father D, trained and ridden here by Louis Archdeacon( who
produced Lord Noelie), he may be a horse for the future.
Results.
Race
1
(1) Fightallthewayhome (B O Sullivan)
(2) Hittin The City
(3) Gerties Dream
10 Ran
Race
2
(1) Dinsey Finnegan(D Murphy)
(2) Castle Doret
(3) Kings Equerry
11 Ran
Race
3
(1) False Tail (D Murphy)
(2) Legal Storm
(3) Desertmore
4 Ran
Race
4
(1) Always On The Line ( B O Sullivan)
(2) Bucringboy
(3) No Conscience
10 Ran
Race
5
(1) Pretty Young Thing (E Gallagher)
(2) Kristinas Lady
(3) Jimmy's Pride
10 Ran
Race
6
(1) West Aside (E Gallagher)
(2) Kilcrea Shyan
(3) Father D.
6 Ran
Askeaton
The first Limerick meeting of the season was
held at Askeaton on Sunday.
This meeting was in doubt due to frost and eventually went ahead
half an hour late, but some trainers including Enda Bolger withdrew
their runners due to concern with the prevailing conditions.
The meeting proved to be a bonanza for jockey Davy Russell who recorded a 4 timer. He
had an easy success on the Thomond O Mara trained Commanche Country in a weak 3 runner
winner of one contest. The winner had little difficulty dismissing
the challenge of Le Cabre D'Or.
In the 3rd race Davy steered Father Andy to an easy success in
the Open, and the jockey teamed up with that ones trainer Michael
Hourigan to win race 4 the confined maiden on newcomer Mighty Monefacto who got the better of
Muskerry Express in a tight finish.
Russell's 4 timer was completed in Div 2 of race 5 the 7+ geldings
maiden when the well exposed Bucks
Son finally got his neck in front, precisely
by that margin.
The trainer of Bucks Son Brian Moran had himself partnered the
winner of the first division of race 5 on the impressive debutant
Lord Reynella who trounced
the Flavin trained Times
Past and Inis
Eile(6 Peacock,M Hourigan).
Jockey James Carroll also had a day to remember recording his first
ever point to point double with River
Bailiff in Race 2 and Corso
Umberto in the concluding mares maiden. River
Bailiff(5 Over The River) trained by Ron Flavin's father had ran in
3 good quality 4 year old races last year, and certainly looks up
to making his mark as a chaser on the track proper, I wouldn't be
surprised to see him with possibly Phillip Hobbs sooner rather than
later.
Results
Race 1 Winners
Of One
(1) Commanche Country(D
Russell)
(2) La Cabre D'or
3 Ran
Race 2 Geldings
Mdn 5 yr only
(1) River Bailiff (J Carroll)
(2) Tobar Phadraig
(3) Back On
Schedule
6 Ran
Race 3
Open
(1) Father Andy (D Russell)
(2) Danikar
(3) Mugshot
3 Ran
Race 4 Confined
Maiden 5+
(1) Mighty Montefacto (D Russell)
(2) Muskerry Express
(3) Country Thyne
7 Ran
Race 5 Geldings
Maiden 6+
Div 1
(1) Lord Reynella (B Moran)
(2) Times Past
(3) Inis Eile
13 Ran
Div
2
(1) Bucks Son (D Russell)
(2) Carry's Clover
(3) Hairoil Hannigan
12 Ran
Race 6
Mares Maiden 5,6,7.
(1) Corso Umberto (J Carroll)
(2) Samac
(3) Much Birch
16 Ran
Tinahely
The initial Leinster meeting of 2001 also
just survived the frost to go ahead at Tinahely in Wicklow.
There were only 6 races with no divides, surprising for this
popular track.
Last years Listowel Hunter Chase winner Tenshookmen (7 Cardinal Flower) won the
Open for the second year running just outpointing
Over To Bensby a length.
The Wexford regions top trainer for many years Padge Berry got off
the mark for the year when Ruby
Gate (6 Rashar) landed a good Powers Qualifier at
the expense of newcomer Perouges Prince. Ruby Gate is a
fine strapping chasing sort who was pulled up in his only 2
previous outing last year, having shown a deal of promise in both.
A winners race now beckons.
Padge Berry was hoping to complete a double later in the afternoon
with last years Lingstown winner Moral
Justice (8 Lafontaine), but he hadn't the
ammunition to cope with Orlando
Magic in the winners of one.
Pat Cloke told me at Lisgoold that he had a decent mare in
Forgeside Express (well bred
6 Insan), and true to his word Pat partnered( and trained) her to
any easy win in the 6 year old mares race. Its a pithy I wasn't at
Tinahely to get some of the 6/1 that was available about the mare
in the ring!!.
Gordon Elliott also got off the mark for 2001 in the older mares
maiden when producing a calm piece of riding to steer
Pats Darling (7
Supreme Leader) home. This win will no doubt boost the paddock
value of this full sister to the highly regarded but ill fated mare
Patsy's Darling.
Results
Race 1
Open
(1) Tenshookmen (W Codd)
Race 2
Geldings Maiden 5/6(Powers)
(1) Ruby Gate (D Whelan)
Race 3 Mares
Maiden 6 only.
(1) Forgeside Express (P Cloke)
Race 4 Winners
of One
(1) Orlando Magic (J Boland)
Race 5 Geldings
Maiden 7/8.
(1) Jump For Fun (D Murphy)
Race 6 Mares
Maiden 7/8.
(1) Pat's Darling (G Elliott)
Next
Week
Killeagh, Co Cork, 12-30, one of the big meetings of the
year.
Castletown Geoghegan, Co Westmeath,12-30.
Scarteen outside Tipperary Town,12-30.