PRIZE money and the kudos of our big meetings continues to increase at home in Ireland. Therefore there is no longer pressure on decent young horses to go to Britain to prove their worth.

As a result, only Paddy Kane, Alan Wallace, Benny Grendon, John Shanahan and the Quills of Kenmare travelled to the billiard table-like field at Dolyrhychain Farm, Tregaron over last Saturday and Sunday.

It’s just as well as there were few Irish runners, as 17 races on both days is a stamina test for horsemen, spectators, bookies and reporters.

Patrick Kane junior covered the diesel money with wins aboard Benny Grendon’s Oakwood Maestro and the Leap-owned American Rebel who had a 14-length rout in a two-horse race.

Irishman in exile, Michael O’Mahony rewarded his followers with a win aboard Geoff Robson’s Im A Happy Fella, a name stolen from a foundation sire in the US.

This column reported two weeks ago on the dominance of ‘Rocker’ and Alexis Laidler at Musselburgh. The quiet spoken driver picked up another plaque of Welsh slate for leading driver.

More importantly, the husband and wife team hoovered up the final of the Welsh Classic, the Free-For-All, a heat in the two-year-old fillies, heat and final of the two-year-old colts amongst other decent performances.

Rocker lowered his own track record with Evenwood Sonofagun (now 2.00.8) but did not manage to pick up the £1,000 bonus that the go-ahead promoters put up for breaking two minutes. Part owner Spink Huschka informed commentator Darren Owen that America is the next goal for the gelding who answers to ‘Gunner’ trainer Alexis.

Joe Sheridan’s former stallion His Alibi got a winner on the board when Alibis Dream took a lower grade event. Crown Manhattan was campaigned for his Welsh owners by John Richardson and the Philips family now have homebred winner due to Talavary Motivator’s win to make a double at the meeting for Schull-born Michael O’Mahony.

Blason (John Henry Nicholson) looked impressive in Le Trot top grade trot and he will stretch Abraham and Vigo De Bassiere if he travels for the VDM.

Another Irish angle was a success in the heat for Pat McDonogh’s One Cool Touch, driven by ‘Rocker’. The Irvinestown man has gotten great mileage out of this son of Kikikolt.

The win in the final was a poignant moment for the Laidlers as Merrington Moving Up (stable name Joey) was an orphan foal. Odds of 7/4 to 6/4 meant that it was poignant in a different way for the 14 bookies in attendance.

Alan Wallace’s Newtown Shadow was an honourable third in the final and had a difficult run in the heat, only seeing daylight in the straight.

A former lodger at Wallace’s Cloghran operation, namely Newtown Jody annihilated the three-year-old fillies in the hands of York-based Vicky Gill.

Bob Lee of Morecambe and son Shane had bad luck when the two-year-old filly Indianas Dream was the moral victor in her heat but was demoted to second for going inside the pegs on the track.

In the two-year-old colts Special Tea (Rocker Laidler for Peter Davidson) was cut to 4/5 for the Delaney at Portmarnock in August following facile wins in both heat and final.

Touch of magic from Stevie Lees

Stevie Lees drove three winners over the meeting and provided a little bit of magic, not related to a race result as such.

The hardy regulars who follow harness racing from Turriff down to Tregaron have a huge respect for Stevie Lees, now in his sixties. The mercurial Lees has endured his ups and downs but happy to report more ups these days.

During the first lap of a Welsh Classic heat there was the usual jostling for position. Somehow Immortal John and driver Lee Price became detached and Price was tipped out of the cart in a tightly bunched field and ‘pull them up – recall’ was announced. This is normal enough at a ‘trot‘. This left a loose horse on the track. With the added variable of a sulky bouncing along behind the ‘faller’, these situations can be dangerous for horse and spectator.

The unflappable Lees drove his horse (Father Ted) close to Immortal John’s knees and calmly grabbed the reins to prevent any further damage and ‘towed’ (a common trick in bigger stables) the horse to the safety of a waiting steward.

Admittedly, Immortal John had slowed nearly to a trot but it still took presence of mind and technique on the part of ‘The Flying Flea’, the latest nickname on the circuit.

Darren Owen spotted Lees catching the loose horse and asked the crowd to applaud the Walsall-born driver. A warm ripple of applause went up on the summer evening, any excuse to cheer Little Stevie.

The driver acknowledged the cheers from the crowd with a slight salute from his index finger. As Lees has stood on sulky seats and leapt from a sulky onto a horse’s withers this was tame stuff. A showman playing to his home crowd.

In conclusion, credit is due to the organisers as the meeting was run with military precision.

Portmarnock results are on www.irishharnessracing.com while Tregaron results can be viewed at www.bhrc.org.uk