WE once again go through all things racing from Limerick and Clare!
Eric McNamara and his son Conor scored a surprise success as Alvaro won the second of the two-mile maiden hurdles at Tramore on Monday. The 66/1 shot wasn’t all that fluent over the final flight but he was soon in front and battled his way to a three-parts of a length win over the John Berry-trained 10/1 chance Taxi Rank.
Cathal Landers continues to enjoy his best season and he reached the 19-winner mark when leading home a 1-2 for Gowran trainer Jimmy Barcoe in the two and a half-mile handicap hurdle. Victory for the Oola jockey came on board Frazel Express which beat Allez George by an easy nine lengths at odds of 15/2. The winning trainer said,
“She had a good run the last day in Naas and came out of it well. Her jumping was very good today and the extra half-mile suited her well. It’s a great day.”
Billy Lee certainly had a week to remember and he set himself up for his first four-timer at Gowran Park on Wednesday with a winner at Dundalk the previous evening. He teamed up with shark Hanlon to land the 12-furlong handicap on 33/1 chance Fascinating Shadow which led in the closing stages to beat the Mark Cahill-trained Jake Peter by a length and a half.
Lee was off to a flyer at Gowran Park where he teamed up with the hugely impressive Star Girls Aalmal to win the seven-furlong conditions’ race for Henry de Bromhead ran out a thoroughly impressive scorer on her first start on grass at Gowran Park on Wednesday. The 2/1 joint-favourite tracked Aidan O’Brien’s front-runner Prettiest in second place before sweeping by at the furlong pole before going clear to win by an easy three lengths. De Bromhead said,
“She’s in the Irish 1,000 Guineas and her part-owner John Phelan and all the lads involved in her are keen to have a go. The plan was to come here and if it worked out ok we’d go on to the Curragh. It was her first run on grass which is always a concern but she handled it well and Billy was happy with her. Her sister Create Belief loved a dig in the ground. She looked like she stayed on well and she should get a mile.”
Lee gave County Longford trainer Paul Flynn his second winner in less than 24 hours when partnering 9/2 chance Plunkett to win the second of the session’s eight-furlong handicaps and rounded off the card with success in both divisions of the nine-furlong maiden on Willie McCreery’s 8/1 chance Bay Of Bengal and the Paddy Twomey-trained Sultanov Swing, the 11/10 favourite, respectively.
Lee rounded off a superb week with an impressive success on the Paddy Twomey-trained French Acclaim in the 10-furlong conditions’ race at Cork on Saturday. He made almost all the running on the 5/6 favourite and pulled right away from his four rivals over a furlong out, beating the Ballydoyle-trained Sussex by nine lengths at the line.
A couple of days earlier, Richard O’Brien took the concluding bumper at Clonmel on Thursday with Shanbally Kid, which is owned and bred by John Hayes. The 9/1 shot made all the running under Eoin O’Brien to win by six and a half-lengths from the Willie Mullins-trained 5/4 favourite Polo Lounge.
Upcoming Fixtures
Fairyhouse – Easter Monday, April 18 (First Race 2.05pm)
Cork – Easter Monday, April 18 (First Race 1.50pm)
Bellewstown – Wednesday, April 20 (First Race 3.30pm)
Tipperary – Thursday, April 21 (First Race 4.25pm)
Kilbeggan – Thursday, April 21 (First Race 4.45pm)
Kilbeggan – Friday, April 22 (First Race 4.25pm)
Limerick – Saturday, April 23 (First Race 2.10pm)
Navan – Saturday, April 23 (First Race 2.35pm)
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