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Wednesday, February 1, 2023 racingpost.com
Derek O’Connor Straight to the Point
Ewing on a roll as Rock My Way hits number one at Cheltenham
H
OME and away, Saturday was a good day for Warren Ewing. He saddled two winners at Tyrella and Rock My Way, one of his winning graduates from the autumn campaign, captured a Grade 2 novice hurdle at Cheltenham on only his second start for owner-trainer Syd Hosie. As I’m sure everyone knows, Warren produced last season’s brilliant Supreme Novices’ winner and potential superstar Constitution Hill, who finished second in a maiden point at Tipperary before being sold for £120,000 at the Goffs UK Spring Sale in May 2021. Now it looks as if he has another horse to fly the flag for him in one of the Grade 1 novice hurdles at Cheltenham. Rock My Way is entered in the Ballymore and the Albert Bartlett. He ran twice in points last season. He was pulled up first time out at Ballycahane before showing plenty of promise with a third place behind It’s For Me at Loughanmore in the middle of April. Anyone paying attention to this season’s bumpers will appreciate the significance of the form because Stuart Crawford’s ten-length winner It’s For Me is now heading to Cheltenham after a brilliant display at Navan on his first start for Willie Mullins. Warren had Rock My Way ready for the start of the season and he put his experience to good use when beating a Colin Bowe-trained favourite at Castletown-Geoghegan. He made £90,000 at the sales in November and started for his new stable with an excellent run in a maiden at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day. He was a 66-1 chance but threw down a big challenge to the favourite, Weveallbeencaught, another ex-Irish point winner, who was Grade 2-placed behind Hermes Allen in November. When I noticed that Rock My Way is out of an unraced mare by Old Vic I had a look further back in the pedigree. I didn’t expect to find a connection with one of the greatest jumps trainers of all time and one of the world’s top Flat jockeys. Sometimes you come across odd little gems of information when doing pedigree research. This was
EDWARD WHITAKER (RACINGPOST.COM/PHOTOS)
Ismael, a Coastal Path gelding bought at the Goffs Land Rover sale, made a bright start to his career at Ballyvodock. Trained by Declan Queally and ridden by Chris O’Donovan, he made almost all to win by 12 lengths. The five-year-old maiden at Cragmore was won in good style by the Colin Bowe-trained newcomer Workahead. He’s a son of Workforce, the 2010 Derby winner, who came back from Japan to stand at Knockhouse Stud in 2017 and is making a good reputation. He’s responsible for one of the most exciting maiden winners from the autumn campaign, Working Away, who took a mares’ maiden at Tattersalls Farm in October for Denis Murphy and was sold to join Gordon Elliott for £330,0000. The mare she beat, Bold Reflection, is another success story for the Ewing nursery. She changed hands for £140,000 at Cheltenham in November and made a perfect start for John McConnell when winning a bumper by nine lengths on the first day of Limerick’s Christmas meeting.
Breakthrough winners for Nugent and Hyde
Rock My Way, a graduate of Warren Ewing’s academy, takes the last on the way to victory at Cheltenham on Saturday
one such case because Far Rock’s dam was Miss Fara, who won the Cesarewitch for Martin Pipe in 2002, ridden by 5lb claimer Ryan Moore. As far as I know, it was his first major winner. And
‘Dara McGill, who rode Rock My Way to win at CastletownGeoghegan (above), brought his total for the season to nine with a Tyrella double’
now this may be the first time Ryan has got a mention in a point-to-point column. Dara McGill, who rode Rock My Way to win at CastletownGeoghegan, brought his total for the season to nine with a Tyrella double on Warren’s pair, newcomer Bective Abbey in the five-year-old geldings maiden and Brain Power in the open. Four of Dara’s wins have come on Brain Power, winner of the 2019 American Grand National Hurdle at Far Hills during his days with Nicky Henderson. He wasn’t an immediate success in point-to-points during the 2021 autumn campaign, but turned a corner with a Tyrella win 12 months
ago and has gone from strength to strength. He beat Hardline at Borris House in December and was much too good for Samurai Cracker in Saturday’s race. He deserves to take his chance at Cheltenham. Bective Abbey, by Mahler out of a Flemensfirth mare, made a good impression. Her dam, Sizing Kimberlite, ran only once for Henry de Bromhead in the colours of the late Ann and Alan Potts, but has a lovely pedigree. From the family of Cab On Target, she’s a half-sister to Kilmurry, who won a point-to-point at Lismore and was a talented novice chaser, first for Henry and then for Colin Tizzard, before suffering a fatal injury when battling it out with Finian’s Oscar in the Kingmaker Chase at Warwick. Sunday’s five-year-old maidens also featured good performances.
I’m always happy to see young riders becoming established, but I got a special kick out of a first win for 20-year-old Evan Nugent in a maiden at Cragmore on Sunday, on account of the fact that I trained his mount, Now Is The Hour. Evan is a hard worker and deserved this success which came on his ninth ride and after three seconds on a mare called Finding Fame. Sunday was also a big day for Daniel Hyde, who rode his first point-to-point winner on Focus Point, trained by his grandfather Timmy Hyde, at Ballyvodock. He has ridden two bumper winners and is following a great family tradition. Among the senior riders, Johnny Barry took the main honours, with a winner at Tyrella and a treble at Ballyvodock, including two winners for handler Maike Magnussen, who is having a good season. Her six-year-old Ivawood gelding Busty Boy has now won three of his last four races, and her first-time-out maiden winner Bridget Mary is a promising mare out of Leanne, who won four races over fences for the late Bill Harney.