Hackett on the mark at Cork

Aidan O'Brien supplied Wayne Lordan with his first winner since June of last year as the three-year-old Agenda scored an impressive success in the 10-furlong maiden at Dundalk on Tuesday.

Lordan recently returned to race-riding after his fall in last year’s Irish Derby at the Curragh and he partnered the strong favourite to an easy four and three-parts of a length win over the Donnacha O'Brien-trained Huxley.

Paddy Twomey and Billy Lee were on their mark with their potential 1,000 Guineas candidate One Look which made it two wins from as many starts in the seven-furlong median auction race at Cork on Saturday.

Successful in the Goffs Million at the Curragh late last season, the Connolly Racing Syndicate-owned filly was a remarkable 1/20 favourite to make a winning return and she did so without any fuss as she recorded a three-length win over the Ger O’Leary-trained Action Plan.

The winner is in the reckoning for the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket but she also holds entries in the Irish, French, and German equivalents.

The father and son team of Andy & Andrew Slattery landed a double on the day when winning back-to-back races.

Independent Expert was a winner for the fourth time as she battled well to beat the Ger O’Leary-trained Scholarship by half a length in the seven-furlong handicap while the four-year-old Easy had an easier time of it on her first start in seventeen months as she scored a one and a quarter-length win in the Listed Cork Stakes over six furlongs. A 25/1 shot, she led over a furlong from the finish to beat the Donnacha O'Brien-trained favourite Yosemite Valley in very good style.

Out of luck with favourite Two Stars, which was narrowly beaten into second place in the five-furlong handicap, Fozzy Stack landed the concluding maiden over the same distance with the Seamie Heffernan-ridden Shandy.

A strong favourite, the three-year-old was never far off the pace and led inside the final furlong to win by two and a quarter lengths from the Jack Davison-trained Betsen.

At Cork on Easter Sunday, Toomevara trainer Ray Hackett won the concluding bumper with Nowwhatdoyouthink. In the trainer’s own colours, the 9/2 chance led early in the straight under Joey Dunne and was ridden out to beat the Tom Nagle-trained Getamotive by three and a quarter lengths.

Upcoming Meetings

Dundalk – Friday, April 5 (First Race 5.00pm)

Curragh – Saturday, April 6 (First Race 1.45pm)

Leopardstown – Sunday, April 7 (First Race 1.45pm)

Downpatrick – Sunday, April 7 (First Race 2.03pm)