THERE is flat racing at the Listowel Harvest Festival, but it is essentially a National Hunt meeting, the ratio five days to two over the week with the flat cards positioned early on, out of the way before the jumping starts.

Of those jumps races, the biggest of them all is the Kerry National and, not for the first time, it was dominated from the front, Spanish Harlem becoming the fourth winner in six years to effectively make all.

Being forward was important, but so too was jumping, and while the winner made minor errors on his way round, his jumping was not as bad as some of his rivals, favourite You Oughta Know closing onto the back of the main pack when departing early on the second circuit while San Salvador going as well as any when falling three out.

Those fallers weaken the form a little, and there were no major excuses in behind.

Three Card Brag built on a Galway Plate run where he was better than the form to finish second, without really convincing he is well-treated, while French Dynamite ran well on stable debut for Eric McNamara, though veterans’ chases are probably his best chance of success.

Lartigue Hurdle

The other valuable jumps races at Listowel were over two miles and hurdles, starting with the Lartigue.

This was another race for front-runners, four of the first five ridden forward, with the third and fourth, Elusive Ogie and Shaboozee, shaping better than the result and the early signs for the form are good with Puturhandstogether winning the Cesarewitch three days later.

Elusive Ogie came from further back than the two that beat him after losing a good early position down the back, while a slow jump three out put him on the backfoot.

Outpaced from there, he finished as well as anything, so looks ripe for a step up in trip, his breeding supporting the idea he will be suited by further.

Shabozee tracked the pace down the rail but put in slow jumps four and three out, causing him to lose position and then he got tight for room in the straight. As a horse that stays further, that loss of momentum was costly and there might be more to come granted a stiffer test.

Friday’s feature two-mile handicap hurdle was run at a strong gallop because of Royal Hollow, but even so nothing came from off the pace, Casheldale Lad providing a boost to the Galway Hurdle form with the ever-likeable Lord Erskine in second.

Sequoiaspirit could manage only fifth, but this sharp test was not to his liking, and he also got into a barging match with another horse early in the race. He kept on well late and has had surprisingly little racing over staying trips since winning a competitive race at Navan last November.

McCarthy’s ball

He may not have won any feature races, but top of the trainer charts for the Harvest Festival was Eoin McCarthy with six winners, ahead of Willie Mullins and Joseph O’Brien with four apiece.

All of McCarthy’s winners came in low grade handicap hurdles, each of them defeating at least 14 rivals, a mighty achievement during a competitive fixture.

These successes were coming against the backdrop of a quiet time for the yard; McCarthy had seven winners in all of 2024 and six so far in 2025 prior to last week and he had commented after the win of Carrigg Island at Limerick in April that: ‘that was badly, badly needed. We got a bug into the yard, and it took us a long time to get it out and had snow which lasted for a week.’

That team is back on song now and might yet be able to hit the heights of 18 winners in 2022, with Elusive Ogie one that can help that tally.

Flat cards

Regarding flat racing at Listowel, it is no great tragedy that there are only three flat cards there in the year as it might be the biggest front-end bias track in Ireland.

There are other Irish courses where pace holds up well, but Listowel is extreme and it seems not to matter how hard the leaders go as they often stay there, to the point of unfairness.

On days like the second day of the meeting, it is race over if a horse it not in the first two or three, the layout of the track combining the fresh ground on the inside meaning it is very difficult for horses looking to come late and wide in the straight.

Shaped well

With that in mind, a couple of horses shaped well against the bias. Highbury See See came from further back than the two that beat him in the seven-furlong handicap and was forced out onto the chopped-up ground in the middle of the track early in the straight. He was off a break too, and his ability to handle a slow surface means he may be able to win before the end of the season.

Redemption Road simply looked an unlucky loser in the mile nursery. Dropped out in a small field, he travelled nicely but got caught behind horses turning in before coming wide in the straight. From there, he closed all the way to line despite the winner, who had the run of things in front, coming across him late.

MY main takeaway from the weekend’s flat racing was the weakness of the Moyglare form, just two weeks on from that race.

The second, fourth and sixth were all beaten in spots where they looked to have good chances, and a contest that looked decent form with three Ballydoyle fillies and Venetian Sun involved in the finish, seems anything but.

Composing was beaten at 5/6 in the Goffs Million without any excuses bar her stablemate and winner Dorset having a better track position towards the near side rail.

Of those that stayed far side, New Monarch, Phenomenal Filly and Listentodwindblow all shaped with degrees of promise.

This was the best version of the Million since the race was brought back in 2022, the culling of the six-furlong alternative race a good move, and it drew by far the biggest field of those four runnings with two Ballydoyle runners with Group 1 form taking part.

I am not sure that their taking home €580,000 of the prize pot really captures the public’s imagination but one can’t have everything.

Cesarewitch

The other high value race on the weekend was the Friends of the Curragh Irish Cesarewitch where Puturhandstogether backed up quickly after Listowel and travelled powerfully through the race, coming clear before nearly being caught by Chally Chute who came from a long way back and met his share of trouble.

The runner-up has been a revelation since joining Ross O’Sullivan and has the option of going back over hurdles, while the likes of Sixandahalf and Sirius both shaped better than the distance beaten and have the avenue available to them, too.

Art Power and King Cuan provided a terrific finish to the Renaissance Stakes, the former winning the race for the third time, his most recent success coming in 2022, the latter looking an unlucky loser.

King Cuan didn’t help himself with a tardy start, similar to the one he had at Tipperary last time, but he could not have travelled any better and Billy Lee could have both asked for his effort sooner and gotten a clearer run, either of which might have won the race.

Regardless of the result, Paddy Twomey has him better than ever and he should be winning good sprints before long, while I wouldn’t rule Joe McGrath Handicap winner Gazelle d’Or out of doing the same.

She is only rated 89 after last Saturday’s win but she had more in hand than the bare neck margin, travelling strongly and doing little in front, and should continue on the up over the minimum trip.