Tipperary Racing Scene
A narrow runner-up earlier on the card with Mercurial, John Nallen landed a winner at Roscommon where the four-year-old Firebrand captured the 10-furlong maiden.
Making all the running in the hands of Seamie Heffernan, the 100/30 chance had a little in hand as he saw off the Gavin Cromwell-trained favourite Babich by half a length.
Owned and bred by Frank McNulty, Jake Peter won the two-mile handicap hurdle for trainer Mark Cahill at Punchestown on Tuesday. Ridden by Philip Enright, the ten-year-old came through to lead before the final hurdle and he raced right away to score by three and three-parts of a length from the Patrick Hayes-trained Pro Bono.
The Mouse Morris-trained French Dynamite bounced back to his very best to land the Grade 3 BetVictor Chase at Punchestown on Wednesday. With Mark Walsh riding in the Robcour colours, the nine-year-old made much of the running and ran out a convincing two and a quarter-length winner from Henry de Bromhead’s Minella Indo with Hewick, under top-weight, a fine third, a further four and a half lengths away.
Success for the Gavin Cromwell-trained Pachmena at the Curragh on Thursday added more intrigue to the apprentice championship as the 12/1 winner was ridden by Wayne Hassett.
Owned by Rosita Moyles, Michael Meegan and John Moyles, the seven-year-old led inside the final 100 yards to beat the Michael Halford & Tracey Collins-trained Imarajan, a 9/1 shot, by half a length.
David Marnane and Luke McAteer won the earlier six-furlong median sires maiden for two-year-olds with the MRC International-owned East Hampton. A big drifter in the betting market, he was sent off the 7/2 favourite but was well on top at the line as he accounted for the Dmaniac, ridden for Martin Hassett by his grandnephew Wayne, by a length and a quarter.
Wayne Hassett trumped both Adam Caffrey and James Ryan over the weekend to lead the apprentice title race. He rode the first of his winners at Dundalk on Friday where Michael Browne’s The Cola Brasil struck in the opening division of the seven-furlong handicap. Owned by the Greystones & Aircon Syndicate, the 9/1 chance made light of a tardy start when coming through to beat The Eoghan O’Neill-trained Seas And Oceans by half a length.
Ben Coen rode his first winner since returning from injury at Naas six days earlier when partnering the Ciaran Murphy-trained Walhaan to land the second of the 10-furlong handicaps. The Ask Dot Syndicate-owned 5/1 chance got the better of Aidan O'Brien’s odds-on favourite Psalm close to the finish to win by a head, the pair all of eleven lengths clear of the third-placed 9 Gesture, trained by Eoghan O’Neill.
Denis Hogan and apprentice Jack Kearney combined to win the first of the 10-furlong handicaps with the six-year-old Church Mountain. Owned by Joeseph Kelly, the 17/2 chance got home by a length from the Michael Rice-trained trained by Michael Rice.
On the mark with his champion stayer Kyprios at Ascot, Aidan O'Brien totally dominated at Leopardstown on Saturday where he sent out four of the seven winners on the all two-year-old card. Wayne Lordan rode three of them with apprentice Mark Crehan also helping.
Minnie Hauk, the odds-on favourite, was the champion trainer’s first winner at the Dublin track as she won the eight-furlong fillies’ maiden for two-year-olds. She made much of the running to beat Johnny Murtagh’s Subsonic by half a length.
The even-money favourite Serious Contender took the colt’s maiden over the same distance to give O’Brien and Lordan their second of the afternoon. He too scored by half a length when battling well to pip Joseph O'Brien’s Kilcrea Rock.
The Group 3 Killavullan Stakes produced the most impressive winner of the afternoon as the favourite Exactly raced to an all-the-way six and a half-length win over her own stable companion Antelope Canyon to make it three for the Ballydoyle duo.
Mark Crehan had an easy time of it himself as he partnered the Twain to take the seven-furlong maiden. O’Brien landed a 1-2-3 in the race as the 28/1 chance made all the running to beat the Jack Cleary-ridden Mississippi River by six lengths with Lordan’s mount Serengeti, the favourite, a head away in third place.
Trainer Willie Browne won the seven-furlong fillies’ maiden with the Seamie Heffernan-ridden Just Before. A well-supported 8/1 chance, she led inside the final furlong and held off the late charge of the Willie Mullins-trained Candleford Green by a shorthead.
Only three runners went to post for the concluding two-mile three-furlong beginners' chase at Limerick on Sunday and victory went the way of the Liam O’Brien-trained 9/4 chance Well Del, the trainer’s first runner from his new yard in Bennettsbridge.
The field was reduced to just two when Denis Hogan’s odds-on favourite Little Mixup exited at the first fence and Well Del, owned and bred by Jim Delaney and ridden by Donagh Meyler, led from the fifth fence to beat the Terence O'Brien-trained King Of Cong by thirty lengths.
Wayne Hassett brought his tally for the season to thirty winners when partnering Ciaran Murphy’s Titanium to take the eight-furlong handicap at Leopardstown on Sunday.
The win put Hassett at the head of affairs in the apprentice title race, his third win in four days putting him one winner clear of Adam Caffrey with James Ryan the remining championship contender one winner further back in third place.
Titanium, a 9/2 chance, led a furlong from the finish to win by a length from Orandi, ridden for trainer Cathy O’Leary by Sam Coen.
A length and a quarter was the winning distance as Master Dunraven took the 10-furlong handicap for Ben Coen and trainer Johnny Murtagh. The Bryan Murphy-owned 8/1 chance was another to lead well inside the final furlong and he went on to win from Andy Oliver’s Gibbs Island.
Upcoming Fixtures
Navan – Wednesday, October 23 (First Race 1.30pm)
Clonmel – Thursday, October 24 (First Race 1.53pm)
Sligo – Friday, October 25 (First Race 1.30pm)
Dundalk – Friday, October 25 (First Race 5.30pm)
Galway – Saturday, October 26 (First Race 1.58pm)
Wexford – Sunday, October 28 (First Race 1.05pm)
Galway – Sunday, October 27 (First Race 12.50pm)