Karl Hedley assesses the recent action
Cheltenham may have come and gone but now we can focus on another couple of big meetings – the Fairyhouse Easter Festival and the upcoming meeting at Punchestown. There have been plenty of abandonments in Ireland over the last month with the horrific weather but there were still plenty of horses who caught the eye who may well head to either of these two huge meetings in the coming weeks. For all the latest odds, make sure you head over to William Hill.
Punchestown was the first meeting to get the go ahead in March and it threw up some notable performances the first of which came in a maiden that was won by Panda Boy. He took a massive walk in the market and drifted from 12/1 out to 33/1 before the off but the horse didn't know that. The fiveyear-old grey gelding rallied into contention at the penultimate flight of hurdles and he soon had Chinx Of Light and Il Courra well within his sights. Il Courra gave way when challenged andall Panda Boy had to do was reel in Chinx Of Light. His stamina kicked into overdrive and Ricky Doyle swept him past the Barry Fitzgerald trained outsider to record a successful debut.
Trainer Martin Brassil said afterwards: “That was a pleasant surprise. I've been waiting all winter to get a bit of nice ground to run him as he is just a big, leggy, weak horse and has really only started to flourish over the last six weeks. It's hard to know what you will meet in these maiden hurdles and maybe we were just lucky to come across a more moderate one. His future is probably over fences and he's by a sire who gets stayers (Valirann). It's lovely for the owners. Andy Geraghty bought this horse at the sales for his cousin. We'll find another race before the end of the season and see what that tells us.”
Denise Foster looks to have acquired a useful sort in Coach Carter. The five-year-old son of Sholokhov made his debut for the Cullentra operation back in October where he was third to Teuchters Glory. He was put away for a spring campaign and the market vibes were abysmal. He opened as short at 9/4 in the betting ring and drifted all the way out to 16/1. As with Panda Boy, he wasn't to know and despite the odd mistake he stretched out to record a three and a half length win over James Fort.
He was as far back as fourteenth place when jumping the third last but began to motor and scythe through his rivals one by one. He came to the front full of running and just put in a misplaced step. He managed to get away with it and will learn for the experience. His jockey Jack Kennedy said: “He's done that very well. He jumped great and travelled well. He picked up well on the turn for home. He's a nice horse and he'll hopefully keep improving.”
In a remarkable turn of events, Martin Brassil found himself back in the winners' enclosure the following day having taken another maiden hurdle. This victory came at Gowran Park and the horse that provided it was An Epic Song. This son of Authorized was placed in France as a juvenile before moving to current connections. He showed dogged determination on the bottomless ground to record a three-and-a-half length win over the Brian Hamilton trained Easca Peasca.
He was held up in the mid-division before making significant progress to challenge three from home. Having come under a brief period of pressure, Darragh O'Keeffe coaxed his mount forward and the pair kept on best on the run-in. The rider commented afterwards: “The ground is very holding and deep and it was very hard work for these four-year-olds. Looser ground would suit him much better.”
His trained added: “I'd say that was a fairly weak looking race. He's a horse that put in an ordinary run in France and I got him to train. I wasn't sure how he would handle the ground, although it seems that he does appreciate a bit of cut. We'll find out more in a day or two. I was hoping to finish in the first six or seven, so hopefully he can continue to surprise me. He looks like a horse that will improve with time.”
There was a strong looking handicap later on the card in which Street Value found himself at the head of the market. He was niggled along before six out and came under a ride from the third last. Unfortunately for him, there was no such pressure being applied to No Grey Area's. The six-year-old trained by Martin Hassett had poached a useful lead coming to the second last and made it a third win in four starts. He clearly loves the soft and heavy ground on offer at the moment and that showed with a clear fifteen length victory here under Pa King.
Martin Hassett said after the race: “at “He needed the run as he'd missed a few pieces of work with frost. He's a stuffy horse and you can't miss work with him. He's a serious horse and we've always held him in high regard. It was the same in Clonmel; the day he won there we were going to hold him up a bit, but he decided he was going to the front and Pa let him off. I don't know what the handicapper is going to do to him, but it's a good day for us. Pa has been brilliant on him. We could put up a professional but he knows him.”
The Red Mills Steeplechase was the feature race on the card, a Grade Two event over two-and-a-half miles. Willie Mullins had sent Bachasson into action for this and was trying to win a fifth consecutive race with the ten-year-old grey. Having been available at around evens early in the morning, his price collapsed and he was eventually sent off at prohibitive odds of 1/3. Punters who got on early never had a moment's worry as he moved to the front with four fences still to negotiate.
Mullins said: “He's just an extraordinary horse. He's a real advertisement for what we would call a handy horse. It just shows that they come in all shapes and sizes. He was bought as a bumper/hurdle horse, but he has such scope and is so brave. Paul (Townend) said he was absolutely loving it out there today. He's in love with the game even though he has done a lot of racing. I'd imagine we'd look for a similar contest, but he can go back over hurdles if the conditions are right.”
In the following race, the market principles battled out a good finish to the beginners' chase. The well supported favourite was Cedarwood Road and he managed to outgun the game Antey from the Willie Mullins yard. The two horses came close and bumped each other on landing, but the eventual winner didn't seem to be at fault and no enquiry was called.
A dual winner as a novice hurdle, the six-year-old is being brought along steadily and trainer Gearoid O'Loughlin feels he is now ready for a step up in class. He said: “I'm glad to get that out of the way. He didn't like the ground and would rather go the other way around. I would love to have tried him at Leopardstown but we felt the ground may have dried out too much for a young horse like him. It's only the sixth run of his life and Derek (O'Connor) said he was still babyish. He'd be entitled to go for the Grade One at Fairyhouse. I'm not saying he'd win it, but he would be entitled to run there.”
Action returned to Fairyhouse the following Saturday and the opening maiden was taken by a smart-looking sort from the yard of Willie Mullins. RambranIt'jac is a French import and he put in a good round of jumping under Paul Townend. Sent straight to the front by his jockey, he soon found himself attended to by the second favourite, Hamundarson. Rambran-It'jac just kept on finding and the Denise Foster trained runner-up will have learned plenty as a result.
Paul Townend said of the winner: “It was a nice performance and we've been trying a long time to get him on the track with balloting and everything else. He was very professional in what he did. He was a bit fresh early on having been off the track for so long. He's deadly to jump and he is a nice horse.”
Five Helmets was backed as though defeat was out of the question in the second division of the maiden and he duly obliged for his supporters. He won at middle distances on the flat in the UK when trained by Ian Jardine, but he has failed to cut any ice since joining Gavin Cromwell. He was beaten twenty-five lengths on his previous start at Limerick back in December.
The five-year-old gelding made steady headway after the third last to move into contention on the outer sweeping the home turn. He travelled well and had a share of the lead two out with a staying on Tech Talk at the second last but dived at it. Tech Talk grabbed a narrow edge but Five Helmets took over at the last. Despite another error, Five Helmets knuckled down on the inside to get his head in front with less than 150 yards to go.
Gavin Cromwell said: “We've done a lot of schooling with him, but I don't know if his jumping is ever going to click. It was a bad race, but it's nice to get his head in front. He will need to improve again.”
A few days later at Leopardstown a valuable handicap produced another cracking finish. Sent off as joint favourites, Livelovelaugh and Mitchouka locked horns in a thrilling dash to the winning line. Despite jumping twelve fences over an extended two-and-a-half miles there was only a neck separating the pair come the finish.
Having enjoyed success with Cedarwood Road a few days earlier, Gearoid O'Loughlin was again in the winners' enclosure as his Mitchouka prevailed in the rousing finish. “It isn't often you beat the Champion Trainer twice in a week,” quipped the handler. “He's a quirky little horse, but I knew he was well and we seem to have found the key to him. The secret is to not do too much to with him.
“We dipped our toe in the Paddy Power over three miles just to see if we could have another option. On soft ground it stretched him and I wouldn't say he doesn't stay either on better ground. He could go to Punchestown now. The Galway Plate would be a target as well.”
