April 23, 2025
SIX-SHOOTER
Derek O’Connor fires in half adozen winners on home turf at Quakerstown Reports, page 3
EREK O’CONNOR DE
‘However long you’ve been in the game, days like this are special. So many things can go wrong but occasionally everything falls into place’ Page 2
TWO NEW FIRST-TIME-OUT P2P WINNERS…
4YO
FROST MOON, bred by Marea O’Donohoe, scored at Ballynock last Wednesday for Colin Bowe
5YO JIM THORPE, bred by Patrick Hayes, won at Quakerstown on Sunday for Derek O’Connor
5YO BUSY BEING BUSY, bred by Michael & Alison Fox, won a £30,000 hurdle at Plumpton on Sundayfor Stuart Edmunds to make it 3 straight wins
Harry Lowes sets the ball rolling at Quakerstown for Derek O’Connor (white cap)
DerekO’Connor Straight to thePoint
‘Itwas rightupthere with my best days’
HEALYRACING
IWASthrilledtoget sixwinners on the boardonSundayat Quakerstown,alocal track, and one of my favourite venues.
Howeverlongyou’vebeeninthe game,dayslikethis arespecial. So many thingscan go wrongonany given day. Iappreciate howfortunate Iamtohavenicehorses to ride Occasionally, everythingfalls into place
It wasgreat to sharesuccesswith people who have played amajor part in my career.The first twowinners arefour-year-olds ownedbyJP McManus, who hasgiven me many of my biggestwins on the trackand nowtrusts me to bringonsomeof his young horses
Thesetwo,the Walk In ThePark geldingHarry Lowesand Getaway geldingSound As ABell, have progressed from the Oldtown maiden in whichtheymadethe frame in February.
That felt likeagood race at the time and the Denis Murphy-trained winner,Jet Of Stars,ahalf-brother to 13-time winner TheGame Changer and severalother useful types, fetched£230,000 at the Tattersalls Cheltenhamsale.
My brother Pauricksuppliedmy nexttwo winners, apair of five-yearoldgeldings ownedbyThe Three Dudes syndicate. Timefortom is by Soldier Of Fortune outofa Flemensfirth mare who wona bumper for Gordon Elliott. Master McGarryisahalf-brother by Masterstroketowinners including MasterOfTara, who alsowon a bumper for Gordon. Both will be goingtothe sales
Robert Tynerprovidedmyfifth winner of the day. We go backa long wayand he and his wife Mary have beenveryinfluential in my career
BarryO’Neill and Ihaveboth ridden winners of the Goffs Land Roverbumper forRobert, and it was aneatcoincidence to have awinner for him on the dayhelandedanother
greatsales race win.
Josh Williamson, who hasridden five winners in points this season, gave I’mSlippyastrongand welljudged ride to winthe Tattersalls bumper at Fairyhouse.
Ihad another ride for Robert in the mares’ maiden buthad to settle for adistantfourthbehind Goulmichette,aDonnchadhDoyletrainednewcomer whol kd well aboveaverage in winningby20lengths under RobJames.
Thenextrace was woninfine styleby
‘The first twowinners arefour-yearolds ownedby JP McManus, who hasgiven me many of my biggestwins on thetrack’
tTheGreat Unknown,a talentedmare I’ve ridden to threewinsthis season for SamCurling andhis mother Adelia Greer. Iwasn’t qualifiedto ride in this one (a ladies open!), but couldn’t have done abetter jobthan Toni Quail, who is nowonequal termswith Maxine O’Sullivan and PandoraBriselden in thetitle race
northern point-to-pointcircuit Saturday’sfixture wasnoexception and Iexpecttohearmoreofthe winners of the dividedfour-year-old geldings’maiden.
Eleven runners from agood range of the top yardscontestedeachrace.
Berlais,is aten-year-old who was trainedbyGuillaume Macaireand wonseven of his eightraces over fences,includingthe Grade 1Prix FerdinandatAuteuil.
He’s an interestingstallion prospectsince he’s ason of SaintDes Saints,atop-classhurdler who has sired many top-class chasers, includingDjakadam,Protektorat and Fastorslow.
Thesecond division went to the Sean Doyle-trainedWesterner geldingMisterPessimistic, who had little trouble justifying favouritism under Jamie Scallan. Hisdam Gracemount, adaughter of Beneficial, wonthree races on the trackfor Sean.
BarryO’Neill home and dry in title race
After the break,Iwas refreshed ho ride thewinnerof onfinedmaiden in e colours of my wife Carol.She and the children were there, and Ihopeitwill givethem good memories for when they’reolder
Therewereplenty photographs taken. asright up therewith tdaysinpoint-topoints
More to come from both four-year-old winners
Thetwo-dayEastermeetingat Loughanmoreisoften one of the mostinformativeoccasions on the
Theearly pacewas quitesteady in thefirst heat beforeNoelMcParlan raised the tempo three outonthe GerQuinn-trainedLoveSign D’Aunou. He gota little closetotwo outbut wasclever enough and won decisively from GinTonic, whoseinformtrainer Matthew Flynn O’Connor saddled four-year-old winners at Ballyknocklast Wednesdayand in the north on Easter Monday.
IanFergusonand Philip McBurney paid €70,000 for Love Sign D’Aunou at lastyear’s Goffs Arkle sale Pedigree experts mightcorrect me, butI would guesshis profile is highly unusual in that he’s by astaying chaser outofaListedsprintwinner by the sprinter Anabaa HissireGoliath DesChamps, a half-brother to the Willie Mullinstrainedhandicap chaser James Du
I’M SLIPPY,bredby Thomas Stanley,won the Sales Bumper at Fairyhouse on Sunday for Robert Tyner.Last year’s winner was KOPEK DES BORDES!
OUT, bred by Close Holding Ltd,won his maiden at Loughanmore by 6½ lengths on Monday for Matthew Flynn O’Connor
After nine winnersoverfivefixtures in nine days,Barry O’Neillis effectively home and dryinthe race for the title,leading RobJames 48-30. Atreble shared with ColinBoweat Ballyknock’s midweekmeeting includedfour-year-old wins on WingsOfEaglesfilly First Moon and No Risk At All geldingSpeculateur On Saturday, he teamedupwith David Christie to recordadouble at Loughanmore, andhewas backat the venueonMonday, steering the stable star Winged Leader to afrontrunningwin in amatch In between, he rode the BowetrainedGrangeclare Park to winat Curraghmorebyawide margin.By all accounts,the Walk In ThePark geldingisalovely, big, chasingtype. After mentioningMichael Kenneallyinlastweek’scolumn, I wasdelighted he kept up his good runofformwith adouble at Curraghmore. He wonthe five-year-old geldings maidenonthe JohnnyCollinstrained Kent De Thaix,ahalfbrothertothe 2024 Prix la Barka winnerJeu De Thaix,and took a mares’ maiden on Hilltop Duchess forSam Curling.
DerekO’Connorlands histhird victoryatQuakerstownonboard Timefortom,the first of twowinners trained by hisbrother Paurick
COUNTY CLAREATQUAKERSTOWN SUNDAY
FORthe fifth time in his career DerekO’Connor rode six winners on the same card but his firstinmorethana decade
Threeofthe winners at his localtrack were trainedbyhim, twobyhis brother Paurickand one by longstandingfriend Robert Tyner.
HarryLowes wasthe firstto strike for the 11-time champion in the first splitofthe Goffs Punchestown Sale four-yearold maiden.
Namedafter the handcrafted cho cola tes at ow ne rJ P McManus’sAdareManor hotel, the Walk In TheParkgelding, who hadbeenboughtfor €75,000 at the sponsor’s Arkle sale last June,improved on his debutfourthatOldtown in mid-Februar ybybeating Donnchadh Doyle’s€105,000 buyMightyParkbya length and ahalf
TheOldtown race proved key in deciding the outcomeofboth divisionsofthe four-year-old maiden,asO’Connor’s Sound As ABell,who hadfinisheda length and ahalf in frontofhis successful stablemateatthe Dublin venueonhis debut, advertised that formwhen he justifiedhis odds-on favourite’s tagbyaccountingfor the Ge or gie Be ns on-r idden Boycetown by sixlengths “Hewas very good andI just happenedtohit on those two horses today,”O’Connorsaid “Thankfully, we hadbeautiful racingconditions,abeautiful trackwith competitiveracing.”
Victories three and four came on brother Paurick’s horses in divisions of the Tattersalls Ireland MayP2P and Horses in Training Sale,Dan McInerney, Conor Engineering five-year-old geldings’maiden.
Timefortom wasalwaysto the foreinthe firstsplit,and the Soldier Of Fortunegelding
THERE is no sign of Jamie Scallan’sbestseasonslowing down as he broughthis tally for the campaign to 28witha double.
It beganwhen Mister Pessimistic createdafavourable impression in division twoof the Dennison Commercials fo ur-y ear-old ge ldin gs ’ maiden.
Bred by Alan Kavanagh,a figure well known on the Wexfordpoint-to-pointcircuit, outofhis family’strackwinningracemareGracemount, the baytook ashare of the lead three outand after burningoff the attention of Gaelic Roverearly in the straight he wasabletoreturn four and ahalflengths clear of Kershaw.
“He’salittlehorse,very uncomplicated, butI’d sayhe’s gotabig engine,” saidhandler Sean Doyle.“He’salovely horseand thefurther he goes, the better he is.He’ll probably
O’Connor hits fifthsix-timer
Star performance
HarryLowes clockedthe quickesttimeonthe card in araceinwhich twosmart prospects pulled well clear
made his move for home from the second-last, stealing first ru no nt he Fr enc h-br ed Katarcice to open his account at the third time of asking by twoand ahalf lengths.
TheGalway handler had partedwith €65,000 to buy Master Mcgarry at the 2023 Derbysaleand his patience wasrewarded when the sonof Masterstroke made theperfect starttohis career in the second division.
Striking thefront on the run to the penultimatefence –despite havingatrioofchallengers bearing down –hewas able to repelamuch-improved Poetic Glorybyalength
“Wethink alot of him.I bought his brotherout of the DerbySaleand his sister is out of thefieldthree weeks ago,”
O’Connor said Winnumber five came on Stanners Glen for Tyner in the Dinny Gould, PNCasey,O’Neill Bookmakers,AengusKing Racingolder geldings race
Second on his debutat Ballynoe, the David Cotterownedson of MountNelson narrowly denied the locally trainedDiamond Hunter as the pair foughtout athrilling finish.
O’Connorsignedoff on his firstsix-timer since LoughanmoreinOctober 2011 and landed his first treble as a
handler when JimThorpe made awinning debutinthe O’ Con no rF amily, So lo Ha lpi n’sS er vi ce St at io n confinedmaiden.
“Itturned outthat Paurick hadtwo nice horses in the fiveyear-old maiden so we decided to split them this wayand it worked out,”O’Connor said.
“I boughtJim Thorpeasa foal and I’mfiveyears waiting for today.Iboughthim from PatHayes and I’dsay he rings me everytwo weekstosee how he is.He’salovely manand this horsewas boughtlucky.”
Chiroquio Princessproved to be O’Connor’sonly ride on the card not to winwhen she finishedfourthinthe ITBA and Turkey Trotters mares’ maiden, arace that wasturnedintoa procession by Goulmichette
A€40,000 purchase as a st ore, her su pe ri or clas s became clear when RobJames began to stretch the field and by the line Donnchadh Doyle’s mare had20lengthstospare over the moreexperienced SurvivorsSister
Toni Quaildid herriders’ title aspirations no harm when TheGreatUnknown moved her on to the four-winner mark level with PandoraBriselden and Maxine O’Sullivanatthe top of the ladies’leaderboard, by landing the Connolly’sRed Mills ladies open.
TrainedbySam Curlingand ownedbyhis motherAdelia Greer, theWalk In ThePark mare waseight lengths too good for the favourite IMasked DuPotier,riddenbyBriselden.
WATERFORD AT CURRAGHMORE
THE Col in Bowe -traine d Grangeclare Park hadmany watcherssearchingfor previously unused superlatives after an impressivedebut.
Thephysically imposing son of Walk In TheParkcruised home by 18 len gths in a division of the Tattersalls Ireland MayP2P and Horses in Tr ainin gf ou r- ye ar -ol d geldings’maiden.
Th eG ra ng ec lares tu downed-and-bred winner is certain to attract plenty of attention if sent to the sales.
He wasalwayspositioned closetothe lead by in-form BarryO’Neill –who looks certain to earn his eighth riders’ title–beforestorming clearfromthe second-lastto beat fellownewcomerMinella Jackpotby18lengths
“We’ ve ha dh im si nce Christmas andhe’sa lovely horse, oneofthe real nice ones,” Bowe said of Grangeclare Park,whose unraceddam is a ha lf -s is ter to Chr istian Williams’2019 Welsh Grand Nationalwinner Potters Corner.
Minella Jackpot’shandler, John Nallen, hadbetter fortune wi th de bu tan t Mi ne lla Ma chin e in th es ec ond division of the race
MinellaMachinestill had fivehorses in frontofhim three outbut made smooth progress to challengelongtime leader Ba nde Or ga nis ee at the second-last.
Thewinningson of Blue Bresil hit the frontwell before the lastbut Bande Organisee ralliedand wasonly half a length behind when falling, leavingMinella Machine to come home alone,24lengths clearofFeelNoFear.
“Itwas MichaelMoorewho encouraged me to buyhim from FionaMagee at the sales,” Nallen said. “He’salways
SUNDAY
GrangeclarePark stunsondebut
Star performance
Grangeclare Park galloped his11rivalsintothe ground in averyimpressive winning debut
worked well and he’s agood jumper.He’ll nowgotoasale.”
Minella Machine,who cost €62,000atlast year’s Goffs Arkle sale,isahalf-brother to Paul Nicholls’recentListed novice hurdle winningmare JubileeAlpha.
Minella Machine’s rider
Adam Feeneywentontoride a double on Liam O’Brien’s improvingmareLonely Dancer in the TramoreRacecourse winners-of-one
ThefrontrunningLonely Dancer,who made awinning return to action at Liscarroll last month,came clear of favourite Park Blue after the second-last to winbyfivelengths in the coloursofLaurence Murphy from Campile O’Brien said: “She haskept improvingand it wasoriginally inmyheadtogofor the mares’ hunter chaseatCork. We’llgo to the trackwith her now.”
Michael Kenneallyalso landed adoublewith the Dungourneyrider excellingon owner-trainer JohnnyCollins’ Kent De Thaix,bringinghim from off the pace to winthe John PFlavin Laketour Stables five-year-old geldings’maiden.
Kent De Thaix,runner-up on his penultimateeffortatCastlelands,took command from the sec ond- las tt os ee off
Scallanmarches on with double
Star performance
Mister Pessimistic showed classina strongly run race at avenue synonymouswith throwingupasmartwinner
end up in Punchestown for the sale now.”
Thewinning rider doubled his tally by teamingupwith fellowWexfordnativeSue O’Gorman to land theBarclay Communications five-year-old mares’ maiden with Mornington Beach. Thirdinher twoprevious outings,the Sean HowlettownedKingstonHill mare was the classact of the field and she beat Port And Brandy by seven lengths.
“She should have wonthe last dayaswellbut I’ll takethe
blame for th at, an dI ’m delighted to repaythe lads for leavingmeonher,” Scallan said.
“I missedone down the bottomand wenttothe frontagain too s so we rode h cold today, and she showed a lovely turn of foot.”
Sc allan’ s co un tym an, BarryO’Neill, move dastep cl os er to t h nationaltitle a addedtohis purplepatch with twowinners supplied by David Christie HathawaysCottage was their firs tw in ne ro ft he afternoon when she turneda competitive-lookingPeggy
HaganMemorialmares’open into aprocession.
Givenaneasylead, Ray Nicholas’sseven-year-old had victorywrapped up entering the home straight as she Bestaline by 24 gths
Th at wa sa thirdvictory of the campaign, afeatmatched by her stablemate MyLife BeLike when e broughtupa -trickinthe Specialist Cars winners-of-two.
TheGetawaygeldinghas beenarevelation since joining Christie’s Fermanaghstable midway through the campaign and he followed up consecutivevictoriesatKirkistown and
Portrush by beating Only For OurMan by four and ahalf lengths.
Noel McParlanwas the third rider to land adouble when Rathkenny took the opening division of the Connolly’sRed Mills five-year-oldgeldings’ maiden.
Just touchedoff by the narrowestofmargins at the Antrim venueonhis debut in October, the Masked Marvel geldingmade amends when accountingfor NotFor Passin by three lengths
It wasthe second winner that McParlanhad ridden for the Ge rQ uin na nd Ph ilip McBurneycombination, as Love Sign D’Aunou (left)had madeawinningdebutinthe first division of the four-yearold geldings’maiden.
Boughtfor €70,000 as astore,
Bellharbour debutthirdKoalys Dubreaubyalength
“I’vehad him alifetime,” laughed Collins of thehalfbrother to French Grade 1 jumpswinner JeuDeThaix.“I boughthim as afoal in France and if he’s not sold, he’ll go for awinners’race.”
Kenneally then wononhis first ride forthe absent Sam Curlingonnewcomer Hilltop Duchess inthe Kilbarry Lodge Stud five-year-old-and-upwards mares’ maiden.
Thetoweringdaughterof Kingston Hill, who is ahalfsister to four trackwinners,led twoout and washolding Boulder Creekwhen the latter fell at thelast.
TheDenis Murphy-ownedand-trained newcomer Lime On Gi n to ok the Go ffs Punchestown Sale four-yearold mares’ maiden under Jack Hendrick.
TheDoctorDino-sired Lime On Gin, athree-quarterssister to Gin On Lime,took the measureoflongtime leader Ha lfthew or ld away at the second-lasttowin snugly by three and ahalf-lengths James Coffeyrodehis fourth winner on Con McSweeney’s seasonal debutant Corbally Cross in the Kent Homes older geldings’ maiden for novice riders.
Corbally Cross,who wasthird twice last season, foughtoff As TheLad Says by twoand ahalf lengthsinthe silks of longstandingpoints supporterJoe O’Sullivan.
the Goliath Du Berlais gelding wasleft clear when It’s Party Time ranout at the lastwhile holdingevery chance.That allowed him to beat GinTonic by alength and ahalf Lennon Grove setupthe DerekO’Connor stablefor a weekend to rememberwhen she claimed the Tattersalls Ireland MayP2P and HorseIn Training four-year-old mares’ maiden
Second on her debutat Kildorrery,Eoin Mahon’s mountdeniedMillstatt Abbey apassage up her inside to prevail by half alength That wasalsothe winning margin for Dubhain in the second division of the fiveyear-old geldings’maiden, as StuartCrawfordnarrowly deniedhis brother Ross’s more experienced Ballyedwardina thrillingconclusion.
For reports from Ballyknock on Wednesday and Loughanmore on Monday see racingpost.com
Triple Group 1 winner By Frankel
Leadingbreedersusinghimthisyearinclude:
Exactly the type of horse to produce a 2YO store or 3YO jumper for the changing marketplace.
FOALS IN 2025
Dr Bryan Mayoh, Frank Motherway, Yellowford, Deirdre Cashman, Drumlin, Thistletown Stud
Eoghan & Oliver Loughlin, Martina Doran, Noel & Valerie Moran, Bective Stud, Cathal Ennis
Pat Fennessy, Ballinaroone Stud, Caroline Berry, Luke Barry, Martin & Marie Doran, Parkville Stud, John Halley