A FAMILY that served Johnny Murtagh so well during his riding days yielded further cheer for him as a trainer as Chicago Bear got him off the mark for the winter season with a display that bodes well for this colt’s prospects in 2021.

From one of the great Aga Khan pedigrees which supplied Murtagh and John Oxx with a trio of Group 1 winners in the 1990s, which came courtesy of Ebadiyla, Enzeli and Edabiya, the Samuel Mencoff-owned Chicago Bear won the seven-furlong two-year-old maiden. The 15/2 shot had finished eighth on his debut at this track earlier in the month when contesting a hot-looking maiden won by Lough Derg and he looked to be all the better for that run. Ben Coen produced the Siyouni-Ebalista colt with his effort inside the last quarter of a mile and the pair got the better of the front running favourite Shackleton Hero in the closing stages to score by a neck.

“He was very green the first day he ran when he missed the break but he’s sharpened up a lot from that run,” said Coen. “He’s got the speed for seven furlongs but you could see him staying a mile and a quarter next year and he should be a nice horse for next season.”

The card concluded with a pair of desperately tight finishes to the 45-65 rated handicaps over an extended 10 furlongs and both involved Chris Hayes who firstly got home by the narrowest of margins on the John Geoghegan-owned and trained Chateau Musar.

The well-backed 100/30 chance had it all to do as he had just two rivals behind him approaching the straight in a steadily run affair. To his credit though Chateau Musar finished off with quite a rattle to edge out the 66/1 shot Quiet Desire on the line and he appeals as being able to progress further this winter.

Half an hour later Hayes produced the Sheila Lavery-owned and trained Mrs Thompson, who was returned at 100/30 having been 8/1 in the morning, with a strong last-furlong charge but this time honours were shared between that one and Solar System (9/1). The latter was ridden by Kevin Manning and was making her first start for Leanne Breen having been bought out of Jim Bolger’s yard after a run here a fortnight previously.

JOSEPH O’Brien’s winter team have been making quite an impression lately and he kept up his fine strike rate on the polytrack with another double which was completed by the hugely impressive Winner Takes Itall in the apprentice rider’s handicap.

This J.P. McManus-owned gelding, who contested a premier handicap on Irish Champions Weekend on his last flat outing, was operating on a different level to his rivals in a ten-furlong contest. He was travelling especially strongly for Mikey Sheehy when he loomed up on the outside early in the straight and the 15/8 favourite’s rider was still sitting motionless by the time he edged ahead nearing the last furlong. The five-year-old only needed to be nudged out for a three and a half lengths triumph and he looked every inch premier handicap class.

Impressive

Another impressive O’Brien winner came in the shape of the Annus Mirabilis Syndicate-owned Bluebeard’s Castle (15/8) who dominated the mile-and-a-half maiden.

Hugh Horgan made all the running on this son of War Front who reached the line five lengths ahead of S’all Good Man in a decidedly one sided affair. The 79-rated four-year-old certainly wasn’t winning out of turn having reached the first four in six of his first seven outings and he is a half-brother to the high class Just Wonderful and a brother to the talented sprinter Lost Treasure.