Wednesday, May 7, 2025
BIG TICKET GOOD VALUENOW
Buyers missed achance to snap up Big Ticket last summer and that looks an opportunity lost after his devastating Stowlin debut Reports, pages 2-3
EREK O’CONNOR DE
‘Although Its On The Line has his quirks he’s aproper battler when it comestothe crunch andIstill have faith he can win at Cheltenham’ Page 4
Another impressive 4YO bumper winner!
FLYINGTRIX, bred byWilliam & JenniferColeman, scoredfirsttime out at Down Royal on Monday “HecouldwinontheFlatIthink,hehasabitoftoe…..Hewillmakeabeautiful dual-purposehorseintime.”Trainer Arthur Moore
DerekO’Connor Straight to thePoint
‘Punchestown
–big crowds,great atmosphereand athrill to ride’
THERE wasagreat atmosphereamong the bigcrowdsat Punchestown last week.
As an amateur,it’salways areal thrill to ride at the major festivals and Punchestown is a specialplace formeand my colleagues because of thenumberof opportunities we’regiven in bumpers,the Champion Hunters’ Chase, the Ladies’Cup,and the BishopscourtCup
Besides allthat, there’sthe La Touche and the cross-countryrace on the final day, tworacesopento professionals butregularly wonbyan amateur rider
My highlight waswinningthe Champion Hunters’Chase for the thirdyear in succession with ItsOn TheLine. Ihavetothank Emmet Mullins and his team for producing him in fantastic shape.
I’ve hadnopartingetting him ready for his races as Emmet and I decidedhis work couldbeso deceptivethat it’s better to ride him as Ifind him on aparticular day.
Anyone familiar with his styleof runningwill knowhe’sa horsewith his ownway of doingthings.Hewas flattothe boards fora longway last Friday, yetinthe end Iprobably gotto the fronta bit sooner than ideal as he didn’t do much from the last.
Full credit to OliveNicholls and Viroflayfor settinga strong gallop that burnedoff all the othersalong wayfromthe finish,but when Isaw Viroflayget the fourth-lastwrong I began to be confident aboutpegging him back. Although ItsOnThe Line hashis quirks,he’saproperbattler when it comes to the crunch.He’s only eight, andIstill have faith he canwin at Cheltenhamwherehe’s finishedsecond three yearsinarow in theFestivalHunters’Chase
My other bigmomentofthe week wasridingBud Foxtowin the bumper for Gavin Cromwell on the openingday.I’vealwaysliked this youngster by Walk In TheParkout of aFlemensfirthmare, andIwon a maiden with him in February. Gavin hadbeenpleased with his work andI wasconfidentfromhis time with me that he hadenoughpace to wina good bumper
Another race that gave me alot of pleasurewas the BishopscourtCup wonbythe IanMcCarthy-trained Fountain House, ridden by Eoin
Mahon, who plays abig partinmy yard.He’sdeveloped abrilliant partnershipwith Fountain House, ridinghim to winall five races in points since lastOctober, as well as a maiden hunter chase.
Eoin is atall lad and an excellenthorseman, as he proved in Friday’srace Fountain Housemade abad mistakeatthe thirdfence.Eoin lost an iron and initially
‘EoinMahon
hasdeveloped abrilliant partnershipwith Fountain House, riding himtowin all five racesinpoints sincelastOctober,as well as amaiden hunter chase’
got himself in a tangle He didn’t panic,retrievedthe iron, and was patientineasinghis mountbackinto anice jumpingrhythm.Fountain Housewas acut abovethe opposition and although it mayhave looked easyinthe end it could have gone terribly wrongif Eoin hadhurried him alongtoo much after theerror
for the O’Keeffe stable,since Richie saddled the 13-year-old Vital Island to winonSaturday, twodaysafter finishingfourthinthe La Touche Vital Island’swin continuedagreat runofformfor the new eastern region champion rider BarryStone, who roundedoff the weekend with a double at StowlinonSundaytobring his seasonal total in points to 27.
Tony Doyle is a point-to-pointrider of the traditional sort who takes partina handful of races every year for nothingmore than enjoymentofthe sport. He rode his first winner on Transprintfor Richie O’Keeffe afew seasons agoand his second came on Turnupdevolume for the same stable in amaidenat Tattersalls Farm lastmonth. Richieran both horses in the Ladies’Cup,with Tony on Transprint and BarryStone on the much shorter-pricedTurnupdevolume.In an excitingfinish,Transprintbeathis stablematetogive Tony afirstwin under rules.Itwas abrilliant week
Mullins’top performers point the way
TheFrench-bred pair GalopinDes Champs andState Manwerethe stars at Punchestownfor Willie Mullins. Thechampiontrainer wasalsoableto call on severaltop performerswho started in point-to-points Cheltenham winner Bambino Feverconfirmedshe is the best of the bumper division by landingthe Grade 1Champion Flat Race for Jody Townend. Almostexactly ayear ago, I rode the favourite in the maiden at Stowlin in which NickyStokes introducedthe daughter of Jukebox Jury.Bambino Feverwon by ahuge margin and is nowunbeaten in four bumpers.She should make atopclassnovicehurdler.
double
TheAlbertBartlettwinner(and last year’s Champion Bumper winner at Cheltenham) foundenoughtobeat Aintreewinner Honesty Policy in the three-mile Grade 1contest.Hewas a debutwinner for StuartCrawfordat Loughanmoretwo seasons ago. Gordon Elliott’sHonesty Policy deservesplentyofcredit.Hehas done well in ashorttimesince finishing second at Castletown-Geogheganlast October forPat Doyle Patwas alsoresponsible for the early career of Champ Kiely, who caused an upset when beating stablemateBallyburn in the Dooley Insurance GroupChampion Novice Chase. It wasagreat waytoend the season for Pat, whosegraduateNick Rockett made all the difference for Willie’s challengefor the trainers’ title in Britain by winningthe Grand National.
And FinalDemand, who wona pointatLingstowninMarch lastyear for Matthew Flynn O’Connor, landed the Champion Novice Hurdle for Willie
Jasmin De Vaux wasanother Mullins runner to complete a Cheltenham-Punchestown
ItsOnThe Line andDerek O’Connor take thelastonthe wayto winningPunchestown’s Champion Hunters’ Chasefor athird time