MickandHarryGoffintroducetheimpressive debutante TacticatBallindenisk Rt 23 Reports,pages
‘Friday’s43,572crowdmademorenoisethanI’veeverheardat Punchestownand Ihopewe gavethemtheirmoney’sworthwitha thrillingbattlebetweenWonderwallandItsOnThe Line’ Page4
Unbeaten2-year-old TARANTINA wasa fast-finishingsecondinSaturday’sDanish 1,000Guineasonherseasonaldebut RECORDFROMHISFIRSTCROPWITH 4WINNERSFROM 4RUNNERS
MI D-ANTR IM AT TOOM EB RI DG E SATU RDAY
THE ra ceforthenorthern jockeys’ title isintensifying as a doublefor Noel McParlansaw himmo ve one wi nneroff St ephe n Conno r bef or e thi s we ekend’s tw o season-ending cards inthe region at Necarne
Ge r Qu inn su pplie d bo th wi nnersfo r thefour-tim e champion , sta rt in g wi th Werweiss inthe Caherty Stables five-year-old geldings’ maiden.
Ow ne d by the ra cespons or Philip McBurney, Werweiss had beenhi nder ed by ju mp in g er ro rsinhi sf irst three st arts, including when falling here on the season’s opening day. Those wo es we re lef t behindashe defeated The Stormy Ranger by seven lengths
“H e didth at we ll,” Qu inn said.“We thoughta lot of him coming here in the autumn,and he’d been a bitunluc ky sinc e butI didn’tthinkhe’d bebeaten today. He’ll now be sold.”
Qu innand St uar t Craw ford had betweenthem wonthelast threeed ition s oftheadjacent maidenandthat continued as the tw o ya rd s fielde d the
Werweiss wasnot winning ou t of turnand hehardl y had tocome ou t of second gear to win by seven lengths
ru nnerswhofough t ou t the finishthistime.
Qu inn’s £45,000newcomer
Po rt Gl en On e wa s quic ke r overthefinalfenceas Lougharee ma bl u nde re d an d th at settledthecontest, withsixand a halflengths between them at theline.
St ephen Conno r di d no t leavetheAntrim venueemptyha nded, se cu ri ng thefourye ar-old ma ide n on Mira ge D’Alene
Th e £20,000 so n ofPrinc e Gi bralta r ha d tw o lengths to fin d onthesw ee t- ju mp in g fron t- ru nnerCrushalion approachingthehome straight.
Ho we ve r, wi thhischief ri va l almos t comin g do wn onthe tigh t home be nd,heswift ly se iz ed theinitiativ e, hisfourlengthvictor y sup plyi ng Crawford withhis17th wi n of
the se asonand mat ch in g his best from16 years ago.
“T hat wa sa grea t perfo rmance,” Connor said.“We really liked him coming here andhe wa s ve ry professional. He jumped brilliantly, handledthe track wellandquickenedtothe line withease.”
Ni cole Lo ck headAnder so n didhertitleambitionsthe worldof good asshe edgedtwo winnersclearof EmilyCostello wi ththevict or y of Ro utin e Ex ce llen ce in t heop enf or novice riders.
Picked upfor just €7,000 out of GavinCromwe ll’s st ab le by handler Sam Curling, the tenye ar-old ha d bee n an eyecatcher atBallysteen a week earlier when finishing strongly to go down by a neck
Under a prominent ride, the Ge ta wa y ge ldin g wa s ab leto fendoff stablemate Longhouse Star by alengthanda half.
“N icol e ga ve him a lo vely ri deandit ’s great tohel p her tr y toget the ladies’ titlenow,” Curling said. “Thislad was very toug h tobatt letotheline. He
ranagreat racethelast day but was beaten by good horses.”
Routine Excellence will go to the GoffsUK Spring Sale,as will stablemate Glenmalure Flyer aftersheopene d heraccount inthe ma re s’ ma iden at the 21sttimeofasking.
Pl ace d infiv e ofher se ve n
sta rt s this se ason,the Si mon Ry an-o wn ed ma re bounce d bac k fr om a ra re below- pa r effort at Dromahaneafortnight agoasshe overtook Unspokenxpectationinthedying strides toprevail by a ne ck und er David Doyle
There wasa fitting winner to
the Ka tie Si mp so n Me morial older geldings’ maiden, as Noel Kelly,who sponsored the race inmemory of his much-missed fo rm erst af f mem be r, sa ddle d the wi nnerin Un fort unatecharlie A beatenfavouriteinthis race la st ye ar, the se ve n-yea r- ol d
Star performance
Chicks ForFree galloped her ri vals into submission as she clocked a time nine seconds faster thanany ot her race on the card
DEREK O’CONNORproved the ri derto fo ll ow as he st arte da hat -tr ic k by gu idi ng Gran d Souverain,ahorsehetrains,to su cces s in a divisio n ofthe Goffs Spring Saleand Bleahen Family4yo geldings’ maiden.
Fo urthonhisde bu t at Ba llin a boo la in Fe bruary,the Ma rga re t Bl eahen-own ed so n of Cl ov is Du Be rlais ma de muchofthe running en route to a si x- and-a-half-length defe at offello w French-br ed Magellan D’Irlande.
“H e’s ve ry good ; ther e’s no question abou t it Th e re ason he ha sn’t ru n sin ce Ba ll i naboo lais be cau se my horses have beenunder the weather,” O’Connor sa id “The re’s been
nohidin g th at, so thankfull y that’s asign ofthingstocome.”
That didindeed set thetone forwhat wastofollowasthere wa s furtherevidenceofthe O’Connor stable having turned acornerwhen Back In Favour prevailedinafour-way finishto thefive-year-old-and-upwards mares’ maiden.
Th e experience d Sh ir oc co mare had goneclose at Castletown Geogheganlasttime,and she wa s notto be denie d this timeasshehel d offthe ou tsider C hiqueAn ge l by three-quartersofalength.
O’ Connor complete d his day’s wo rk whe n get ting back on bo ar d Sa m Cu rlin g’s Th e Great Unknown to destroy the fieldinthe mares’ open. Own ed by the Ti pperar y handler ’s mother, AdeliaGreer, the sev en-year-old ha d met wi th a su rpris e defea t in Dromahane sevendaysearlier. Thatwasswiftlyleft behindas shebe ca meth e fir sthors e to
wi n se ve n ra cesthis se ason w ithher17-lengthdefea t of Durrow winner Sworn Duty. Freshfrom ridingadouble at Toomebridge 24hours earlier, No el Mc Pa rlanadd ed to hi s hau l whenhecombine d wi th his fa th er Se antoland a divisionofthefour-year-old ge ldings ’ ma iden wi ththe
impressive Drumlee Jet Boughtfor just €9,000 by the wi nnin g ri der, th at pr ov ed a shrew d move onthe evidence ofthe Jet Away gelding’sdebut ashefinishe d aloneafter a dominan t displa y whic h did not surprisehisteam.
“He’sa lovelyhorse and has doneeverythin g so easily at
home,” the young er Mc Parla n said.
“It’sabitfreakishthe way hedoe s things He tr av ell ed an d ju mp ed sa va ge ly ever ywhe re. He wi ng ed thethirdlast,he was goingthat well,and nearly fell over at the backofit.”
That was not the only success fornorthern raidersasAntrim handler Stephen Carlinsaddled hisfirs t wi nnercourtes y of Glen daarsPri nc e inthefiveyear-old geldings’ maiden
Na rr ow lydeni ed on his de bu t at Ol dcastle , St ephen Connorempl oy ed patie nt tacticsonFrank Re yn ol ds ’ homebr ed an d the Ma xi os gelding camehome stronglyto deny Ia n Mc Ca rt hy ’s Ab se nce Of Ego by twolengths.
“He cameonplentyfromthe firstday in Oldcastle,” Connor said “C omin g from a smal l place, it wo uld be ha rd to ge t
the m ri gh t th e fi rst time ou t, buthe’s anicehorse.” St ow linals o pr ov ide d the venueforanotherlandmarkas Kildare rider Max Farrell registered hisfirst winneron Cebu City inth e olde r ma idenfor novice riders.
Train ed by his bos s So nn y Carey,the18-year-old sent the seven-year-old,who had been placed five times, intothelead inthehome st ra ig ht andthe pa ir be at the ma re Sp ec ia l Protector by fivelengths. Luke Murphy saddled the first oftw o fo ur-yea r- old we eken d winnerswhen Chicks For Free dominated the mares’ maiden Making muchofthe running under her handler, she galloped clea r in thefinalmileto be at Maxi Mirage by 13lengths “S he ’s a ma re wi th a bi g engine Sh e wa s ju mp in g and travelling sowellafter a mile I lether bo wl alon g,” Mu rph y said. “She eyed upever y fence and hasagreat attitude.”
Pictures:HEALYRACING
suffered a narrow defeat at Kirkistown in November There was nochanceofhim being denied lateon for a secondconsecutive timeasOran McGill guided him toan11-length defeat of To m Told Me So
“I’mdelighted,” Kelly said. “I sponsored the raceinthe name of we e Ka tie Si mp so n,who worked withus, so tocomeand winitforhermeanteverything tome .I di d re ally fanc y him and he willbe offered for sale, bu t wi nnin g th at for Ka tie meantmorethananything.”
IT WA Sa thr ow ba ck to a bygoneeraasnofewerthan90 hor se s onthenine- ra ce ca rd withproceedingsdrawing to a close just before6.30pm.
Mi ck Go ff , wh o sta rt ed of f Ja ng o Ba iein po ints , ha s anothersmar t so rt in Ta ctic who made a scintillating debut underher handler’s son, Harry, in a divisionofthe ITBA fouryear-old mares’ maiden.
Th e daughterofPrinc e Gi bralta r ma denearl y allthe running and,while jumping out to the left on oc ca sion , esp eciall y at th e se cond-las t, st il l drewclear fromthe final fence to beat fellow debutant Qualitymerchandis eby tw o lengths inthe st yl e ofon e we wi llbe hearinga lot more about.
“We tookhertoDromahane afew weeks agoanddidn’t run her,” Go ff sa idof Ta ctic , who runsinthecolours ofhis wife Caitriona. “She was bought in Franceasa yearlingand,while she ran green there, she hasa huge engine.”
Ad amsto wn ha ndler Su e O’ Go rm an se nt ou t her firs t f o ur-year-old wi nnerwhe n Lak e Na gamb ie la n de da divi sio n of this ra ceinthe handsof Shane O’Rourke The Jet Away-sired Lake Nagambie, ow ne d andbr ed by Se an Ho wle tt , ca me fr om off the pac e tota ke upthe ru nni ng thr ee ou t andaccoun te d for Allez Jacqueline by five lengths.
“S he ’s a lo ve ly st ra ig ht forwa rd fil lywho ju mp ed ve ry we llandshe’llno w go to a sa le,” O’Go rm an sa idofLak e
Star performance
Sue O’Gorman sent ou t her third winnerin four week s withthe victor y of debu tante Lake Nagambie
N ag ambie , whos e damis a ha lf -s istertoGrade2-place d hurdles mare Celtic Cailin. Trainer/rider Rob James was onth e ma rk wi th ne wc omer MaxiTwist in a divisionofthe four-year-old geldings’ maiden. Ma xi Tw is t, re presentin g the Ma tchmaker Sy ndic at e, ca me throughto overtake runner-up Su rr ou ndmecomrades at the lastand drew away to score by four lengths
“H e’s ve ry raw and I didn’t wa nt to get toth e fr on t to o soon,” Jamessaidofthe€27,000 De rby Salegraduate, whois a so n of Ma xi osandclosely re late d toGr ade2-place d novicechaser Moscow Breeze Cor ma c Do yle ke pthis su pporter s happy by sa ddling
Th e Hi gh St oo l to lan da divisionofthis race The High Stool atoned for pulling upon hi s Cu rr ag hmor e de bu t on Easter Sunday by coming from welloff the pace to lead at the final fence. The son of Nathaniel thenas se rt ed fo r Do na l O’ Conn orto be at fa vou ri te Vedivici by fourlengths
Pr os An d Cons su pplemente d his su cces s inthe Dromahaneadjacen t hunt s ma identw o we eks ag o by showing his rivals a cleanpairof heels under owner/trainerAlex Ott’s son Andy Burke Ott in the
wi nner-of-one
Th e fiv e-y earoldtookcommand tw o out to deny Commander King by three parts of a length
Denis Murphy’s string hashit a ri ch ve inof for m andthe ow ner/t ra iner, fr es h fr om se ndin g ou t fiv e wi nnersthe previous weekend, was onthe ma rk wi ththe Sh aneCotterri dden Ai rforc e Ma rshal in a divisionofthe fiv e-y ear-o ld geldings’ maiden.
Th e Do ye n geldin g, whois re late d toAndy Du fres neand
wa s pu lle d uponhisonl y previous st ar t in a Fair yhous e ma ide n po int ju st ov er a ye ar ago, madehis way back tothe fr on t to be at Wa te r Mi ll by threequartersofalength.
The closest finish oftheday camein a divisionofthis race asthe Ni ck St okes-t ra ined Jet To Lo nd on fla sh ed home for Ad am Fe ene y toleadinthe shado w ofthe pos t andden y Ro nd Po in t– who stu mb le d two out– by ashorthead.
Ow ner /trainer Ro be rt
Tector ’s Spring Waltz fulfilled thepromis e ofher sec ond at Li sron ag h in No ve mb er by takin g command fr omthr ee ou t for Ja ck He ndric k inthe fiv e-y ea r- old-and-up wa rd s ma re s’ ma idento ea sily be at HillviewLass.
On anexcellent afternoon for We xfor d-trainers , Ja mes Kenny’s Maganey madehis way home fr omthr ee ou t inthe older geldings’ maidentohold Th e Ga llan by tw o lengths under James Murray
ALL roads led to Dawstown for thetraditional Ma y bank holida y meetingand Jo hn Mu rph y ke pthis su pporte rs happy by sending out Hunting Call to recorda popular success under Jo hnn y Ba rr y inthe Ma sterlin k fi ve -y ea r- old geldings’ maiden. The Poet’s Word gelding, who ha d pu lle d uponhisonly previous start when favourite at Dromahanein December, was switched off towards the rearof the14- ru nner field wi ththe €25,000 De rb y Sa legraduate coming throughtoleadtwo out.
Runner-up Ballintrane Duke closed from thelast but Hunting Ca ll wa s innomo od to be denied ashe came home threequar te rsof a lengthclearof
Star performance
North Tipp quickened clear on a day where few winner s were ab le to separate them selves from the pack
Willie Murphy’s charge “Ith inkhe ’s goo d andhe likesthisnicergr ou nd,” the wi nni ng tr ainer sa id ofthe Hi gh for t Pa rt nership- ow ne d Hunting Call.
Th e fiv e-year-old,an ear ly Ju ne foal, is a ha lf-brotherto three winners, including Glen Fo rsa , who wo na Grade 2 novicechasefor Mick Channon and was rated150 at his peak.
De nis Mu rph y ca n dolittle wron g at presen t andthe ow ner/ train er st ru ck wi thth e
ShaneCotter-ridden newcomer North Tipp in a divisionofthe four-year-old geldings’ maiden.
No rt h Ti pp, by Pill ar Coral , tookthe eyetowardsthe rearof the field and, havin g su ffered i nt er ferenceonthe be nd ju st before three out, led fromtwo out. He threwthefaster jump at thelas t and sto rm ed clearon theflat to beat fellowdebutant Orderly Watch by th re e and a halflengths.
“Shane gave himasmashing ride;he rodehimcold. I think he’ll be a lo ve lyhors e go in g for ward,” Murphy saidof North Tipp,agrandsonofthe Listedplaced hu rd ler Lo ughader ra Da meand ha ilin g fr omthe samefamilyas Strong Promise. Do na l O’Connorpartnered
his second winnerinas many days whe n co mb ini ng wi th owner/trainer Luke Murphy to collectthe sec onddivisionof this raceonanothernewcomer in Wo rk s Fo r Me Th e Workforce gelding, an€11,000 foalwhotraces to Flashthecash and On Th e Ne t, ov erto ok long-timeleader Se eking Sika at thelas t and st ro declearto beat the staying-onDream On Max by twoanda halflengths.
“We’ve been waitingfor good gr ou nd wi thhimandhe ha s reallyblossome d overthe last month,” Murphy said.
The Wexford mancompleted anunusualdouble at Dawstown ashethen st ee re d the Pa ulPie rc e-traine d newcomer Park Hall home in
the five-year-old-and-upwards mares’ maiden.
Th e Wa lk In Th e Pa rk ma re wa s alw ay s onthe pac e and, havin g throw n the fas terlea p three out, she madethe best of her wayhometoshrugoff Fine Thing by a half-length.
It wa sa sp ec ialda y fo r 18-y e ar-old Ma rk Wa lsh from Do neraileashe wo n his firs t ra ceonex-trac k ma re Annie Que stions for his fa ther Brendan Wa lshinthe hunt s maiden.
Th e eigh t- ye ar-old, ow ne d by the winning rider ’s mother, Ro se Wa lsh, ste ppe d up from her recent fourth atBallysteen by leading at the lastto master long-timeleader Ballintemple King by alength.
Er ic Me lleric k br ou gh t his careertallytothree by joining for ces wi th ha ndlerAndrew Le e tocollecttheolder ge ldings ’ ma idenon Bo we r Ho us e Bo y Th e lightly ra ce d gel din g tookcom ma nd at th e lastto beat Kalico Leader by a length. It’s probablethat Bower Ho us e Bo y, re presentin g Coun ty Cl ar e ow ne r Ma ri a Hi nfe laar, wi llno w con te st a winners’ race.
Supreme Force isonaclear upward trajector y and ow ner/ trainer Ro be rt Te ctor ’s fiv eye ar-old re corde da thir d success ofthe seasoninbrave fashioninthe winners-of-two. Su preme Fo rc e ca me fr om off the pac e totouchdown in fr on t ov erthe last fo r Ja ck
LASTweek’sPunchestown festivallived up to expectations,featuring top-drawerperformances intheGrade 1races, competitiveracingacrossthe board, fine weather,good jumpingground andbigcrowds.
Friday’scrowd of43,572 made morenoisethanI’veeverheard at Punchestown.Wegavethemtheir money’sworth,I hope,ina thrilling battleforthe UniquelyChampion Hunters Chasebetween Wonder wall, ridden by RobJames,and my mount ItsOnThe Line.
Biddingtowintheraceforthe fourthconsecutiveyear,Its On The Line went down fighting, failingby only aneck. Asalways, he gave his all. It wasagallantdefeat, andthe distance wasthe sameaswhen Wonder walldeniedusinlastyear ’s championship race at Cheltenham.
SamCurlingreckonsthat heleft Wonder wallslightlyunderprepared forCheltenhamthis yearafterthe cancellationofthe Lisronagh meeting, wherehewould have hada prep run. Awin at Dromahane broughthimto apeak.Fullcreditto Emmet MullinstooforproducingIts On TheLineinsuchgoodshapeafter oneofhis rare baddays at Aintree.
Iguessit wasfittingthatSamwon this raceforthefirsttime.Hehas had amassiveimpactonthe point-topointseason. He leadsthe handlers’ table by 46to 19and hasinfluenced allthree riders’championships significantly.
We sawa good exampleofthatat the weekend. Histhree winnerswere partnered by Nicole Lockhead Anderson, David Doyleand by me, allthree ofusleadersinour respectivecategories,withtheendof the seasonnotfaroff.
Nicoleleads EmilyCostello12-10 inthe raceforthe women’stitle. David hasa one-winneradvantage over Shane Cotter, whomovedonto the13 mark withvictories at Ballindeniskand Dawstown for Denis Murphy’sin-form team. And my titlehopes were boosted with atrebleatStowlinonSaturday, completedbyTheGreatUnknown,a mare trainedbySamforhismother AdeliaGreer.That leaves mesix aheadof Barr yO’Neill andgivesme achanceIdidn’texpectfor muchof the season. However, it’s farfrom over.Ifeelwecould have aGordonv
Willie-typesituation, with Barr ywell capableof puttinginastrongfinish overthenextfew weeks
TheGreat Unknown’s winbrought hertotalforthe seasonto seven, one morethanthe IanMcCarthy-trained HeartsAnd Spadeswholostout to thefront-running Jetbobinthe BishopscourtCup atPunchestown onFriday. Jamie Scallantook advantage of anuncontestedleadon the JetAwaygelding, whosetrainer Sean Doyleand owner Henry Chamneytookthe2024 editionofthe race with PrivateRyan. Defeat for Hearts
‘Sam Curling ha sh ad a ma ssiveeffect on thepoint-topointsea son’
WonderwallandRob James(nearside)jus tgetthebet ter of It sOnThe Lineand DerekO’ConnoratPunches town
And Spades wasashock. Still, it was agreat weekfor Ian,who saddled Fountain HousetowintheLadies’ Cuponthefirstday andturned him outagaintotake the much more competitiveHowdenCross Country on Saturday’scard. It wastoughluckfor Eoin Mahon, who wasinjured andmissed the rideson Fountain House. Eoin has riddentheeight-year-oldto winall nine point-to-pointraceshe has contestedsince November 2024and partnered him to winlastyear ’s Bishopstown Cup. RobJames, who deputised, continuedabrilliant runofformwitha winononeofhis ownhorses at Ballindeniskon Sundayand ahunter chaseonCatalanifor Jack FoleyatDownRoyalon Monday. Aninjur ywasalsoinvolved inthe
stor yoflastweek’sGrade 1bumper. Barr yO’Neill,due to ride With Nolimit,was ruledout.Gordon ElliottandtheGigginstown team calledupyoung Josh Halfordforthe five-year-oldwhofinishedninthin theCheltenhamChampion Bumper. Joshtimedhischallenge well down the outside to beat Noel Meade’s Cheltenham winner,The Mourne Rambler.Iwasthirdonthe Cheltenhamfourth Boycetown,who proved heisnotfaroffthe best of this bumpercrop,finishing nicely clearofDromard, best offour Willie Mullins-trainedrunners.
Theformlooks strong, andit was good to see the racedominated by horseswho startedinpoints.With Nolimit wonfor JonathanFogarty at Liscarrolllastseason, TheMourne Ramblerfinishedsecondfor Pat Turley at Portrushearlyinthis season’sautumn campaign,and Boycetown wasrunner-up at Quakerstown just over12 months agofor PeterFlood.
Thestrengthof Thursday’sGoffs Saleafter racingwasanother importantaspectofaweekthat was aperfectend-of-season advertisementforIrish jump racing. Denis Murphytookthemain headlinewhen JP McManuswentto €500,000to secureWalkonseas,a Walk In TheParkgeldingwholooked astarinthe makingatLisronagh on theSunday beforethefestival. Thesameowner paid€320,000for NightLeague,making ita memorable weekforthe Fogarty stable.Iwas impressed by theOrder Of St George four-year-oldwhen I rodehimto winatBallysteen. Therewas adepthof quality to the sale,withtenhorseschanginghands for€200,000ormore. Thetoplotis outofaPresentingmarecalled WhereDreamsBegin. Fingers crossed that dreams turninto reality forlastweek’ssuccessfulbidders. Withanyluck, we’ll see afewofthe purchasesinactiononthetrackat thefestivalinthe yearsahead.
CHICKSFORFREE, afirst Coolmorecrop4YO, wontheopenerat StowlinonSundayby13lengths
EBN, Tuesday5thMay
Boastsa remarkablysimilarprofileto sire-of-the-moment MAXIOS