First winner for Nenagh trainer Eoin Seymour
Ben Coen teamed up with Kildare trainer Peter Fahey to win the concluding 13-furlong maiden with Surprise Package at Ballinrobe.
Owned by Paul Leech, the eight-year-old added to three wins over hurdles when getting up on the line to deny Jessica Harrington’s front-runner Stariam by a nose.
Trainer John Ryan dominated with a treble at Ballinrobe on Tuesday where each of his three winners, all favourites, were ridden by different jockeys.
Danny Gilligan was in the saddle as the Templemore trainer’s Drumgill took the opening two-mile one-furlong maiden hurdle. The 7/4 favourite led in the early stages of the race and again on the run to the final hurdle and he battled well to hold the Shark Hanlon-trained Person Of Interest by half a length in Ryan’s own colours.
Danny Mullins carried the same silks to victory on 3/1 favourite Flidais in the handicap hurdle over the same distance. She too led before the last hurdle and was well on top in beating Jimmy Barcoe’s Early Arrival by a length and a quarter.
The Shane Fitzgerald-ridden Kilashee made all the running to take the opening division of the two and three-quarter-mile handicap hurdle. A third win in eleven days for the nine-year-old, she was eased in the closing stages and still had five lengths in hand over the Eoin Doyle-trained Ranger Billy at odds of 15/8 favourite.
Owned and bred by Margaret O'Rourke, 13/8 favourite Royal Hollow won the second of the two-mile one-furlong maiden hurdles in fine style for trainer Andy Slattery.
Ridden by Philip Donovan, the six-year-old led after the first hurdle and hardly saw another rival as she scored by ten lengths from the Jonathan Sweeney-trained Fatal Flaw.
Black Heather, owned and bred by Finbar and Grainne O’Reilly, won the concluding bumper at Ballinrobe for trainer Harry Kelly and Pa King. A 16/1 chance, the five-year-old went to the head of affairs before the straight and stayed on well to score by three and a half lengths from the Willie Mullins’ Steppingstone.
Henry de Bromhead sent out two winners at Wexford on Wednesday where he shared his success with jockeys Rachael Moloney and Rachael Blackmore. Ardnacrusha conditional Moloney won the two-mile opportunity handicap chase on the 7/2 chance Freddie Robdal while Blackmore made all the running to take the two-mile three-furlong beginners’ chase on the 5/1 shot Kudasheva. The six-year-old raced clear before the second-last fence and had all of eleven lengths to spare over Michael Hourigan’s Ballywilliam Boy.
Rathcabbin’s Shane Broderick sent out the seven-year-old Sphagnum to take the three-mile one-furlong handicap chase in the colours of the Peat Moss Syndicate. Dillon Maxwell had the 7/1 chance in front over the final fence and he pulled clear to score by two and three-parts of a length from the Gordon Elliott-trained favourite Sea Aster.
Runaway Royal Ascot winner Bedtime Story had little difficulty in keeping her unbeaten record intact when taking the Group 3 Jockey Club Of Turkey Silver Flash Stakes for Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore at Leopardstown on Thursday.
A 1/16 favourite, she made it three wins from as many starts when readily brushing aside her own stable companion Exactly to score by three and a half lengths. The winner is expected to turn out again in the Debutante Stakes and then the Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Irish Champions Festival in September.
Carrick-On-Suir trainer Kevin Coleman won the median sires series fillies’ maiden with the 80/1 chance Latin Fever. Owned by Adam Potts, Brian Sheerin, and Danny O’Donovan, she was up to making a winning debut under a fine effort from jockey Mikey Sheehy who got her home by a neck from Johnny Murtagh’s 50/1 chance Aleramo which was ridden by his brother Danny.
David Marnane also beat Johnny Murtagh into second place when taking the nine-furlong handicap with 9/2 shot Tokenomics. The Luke McAteer-ridden three-year-old battled well to pip the favourite Shamsuddin by a head.
Rachael Blackmore and Henry de Bromhead were on the mark again at Wexford on Thursday where Lieber Nicc won the opening two-mile maiden hurdle. Owned by the Niccolai Schuster Horse Racing Club, the well-supported 9/4 chance headed Andy Slattery’s favourite Sunchart after the final hurdle and went away to score by a length and a quarter.
Cashel conditional jockey Evan Dwan and trainer Pat Doyle combined to take the second division of the three-mile handicap hurdle with the 8/1 shot Safran Et Bleu. In the colours of the Notions Thirteen Syndicate, the five-year-old led at the second-last hurdle and battled well to hold favourite Gondor, ridden by Colm Murphy by Rachael Blackmore, by a head.
The six-year-old Ixigreczed gave Nenagh trainer Eoin Seymour his first winner when landing the opening division of the two-mile three-furlong handicap hurdle at Kilbeggan on Friday.
A second winner of the week for Philip Donovan, the 14/1 chance, in the trainer’s own colours, made all the running and she held of Philip Rothwell’s 100/1 shot Minority Interest by a length and a quarter.
Paddy Twomey and Billy Lee supplied a winning favourite as the three-year-old Firebird won the six-furlong maiden on her Irish debut at Cork on Friday. The British import ran out the easiest of winners as she skipped clear inside the final furlong to score by all of five lengths from the Joe Murphy-trained chance White Clover.
The Wayne Hassett-ridden 9/2 chance Solar Drive scored a narrow win in the concluding 12-furlong handicap. Trained by Paul Flynn, the Solar Drive Six Syndicate-owned three-year-old led in the final strides to pip Johnny Murtagh’s favourite Our Lil by a shorthead.
While out of luck with his big hope Auguste Rodin at Ascot on Saturday, Aidan O'Brien did land the feature race at Gowran Park on the same afternoon with 6/4 favourite The Euphrates. Ridden by Billy Lee, the three-year-old made much of the running and comfortably held the Jessica Harrington-trained Kinesiology by half a length.
Upcoming Meetings
Galway – Wednesday, July 31 (First Race 4.50pm)
Galway – Thursday, August 1 (First Race 2.10pm)
Galway – Friday, August 2 (First Race 5.00pm)
Galway – Saturday, August 3 (First Race 1.55pm)
Galway – Sunday, August 4 (First Race 1.50pm)