A FILM crew from CNN along with presenter Ally Vance were in attendance at Geesala races on Doolough Strand in Mayo last Sunday shooting footage for a Winning Post programme to be broadcast in conjunction with Irish Champions Weekend.
Ben Coen made sure he will have a leading part in the programme as he came away with the leading rider award after a treble.
Coen opened his account in the 15hh race where he made all the running to win on Mr. Bud for Monasterevin owner/trainer Buddy Harrison.
The rider took the 12-furlong race on another Kildare horse, this time the Marty Page-owned The Ferryman.
He jumped off in fifth place and then moved through smoothly from about four furlongs out to lead from a furlong out and win from Mr. Grey and Andrew Slattery.
TREBLE
Coen completed his treble in the feature event of the day, the Geesala Derby run over two miles, where he sat in fourth early on as top-weight Half Price set a strong pace up front, attempting to slip the field. Coen then came through to lead over two furlongs out with Bash It On staying on to take second place under Philip Byrnes.
Having won the first three races, Coen would have had high hopes of making it four in the 14.2hh race but he found one too good as Pacman got the reward for his long journey from Dromahane in Cork by winning in the hands of Shane Crosse for owner Tom O’Donovan. Crosse swept through inside the final furlong to stretch a couple of lengths clear.
It was a good day for the Gilligan family with Jack and Danny both partnering winners, while nine-year-old Ollie made his pony racing debut in the 14hh race, a race in which Jack made all the running to win on One Of The Girls for the Cork-based Three County Syndicate.
Danny teamed up with Mary Brady to win the mile race on Granda Mac, coming through from midfield to win with plenty in hand.
The most exciting finish of the day came in the 10-furlong race where even the camera was unable to separate the Tim McCarthy-owned Starman from the Johnny Holian-owned Aideen’s Dream.
Sam Ewing cut out the running on Aideen’s Dream while Michael McGuane tracked him on Starman until the two went head-to-head over the final furlong, and though Starman led by a length at one stage, Aideen’s Dream fought back and the resulting dead-heat was a fair result to a great race.
McGuane went on to win the local race on Erin’s Isle who rewarded him by dumping him in the sea for an unplanned swim!
With his rival in The Irish Field National Riders Championship, Dylan Browne McMonagle, drawing a blank, Mikey Sheehy got a winner in the concluding non-winners race where Uppsala got his head in front in the final strides to take the spoils for the Ballyconneely based Errismore Racing Syndicate.
RESULTS
Sunday, August 20th
15 HH Race (12F): 1, B Harrison’s MR. BUD (Ben Coen); 2, M. Finnerty’s CHOC ICE (Andrew Slattery); 3, A. Browne’s DODGE THE BULLET (Dylan Browne-McMonagle).
Open Horse Race (12F): 1, M. Page’s THE FERRYMAN (Ben Coen); 2, M. Finnerty’s MR. GREY (Andrew Slattery); 3, D. McGuigan’s CHASING A DREAM (Mikey Sheehy).
Geesala Derby (2M): 1, M. Finnerty’s MR. JAMES (Ben Coen); 2, C. Byrnes’s BASH IT ON (Philip Byrnes); 3, I. Worrall’s CALL THE GUARDS (Andrew Slattery).
14.2HH RACE (10F): 1, T. O’Donovan’s PACMAN (Shane Crosse); 2, JJ Bailey’s BLAZING GLORY (Ben Coen); 3, D. Donnelly’s LITTLE MOLLY (B. Bromley)
Open Horse Race (10F): 1, T. McCarthy’s STARMAN (Michael McGuane) dead-heated with J. Holian’s AIDEEN’S DREAM (Sam Ewing); 3, D. McGuigan’ FOLLOW A DREAM (Mikey Sheehy).
14 HH Race (1M): 1, Three County Syndicate’s ONE OF THE GIRLS (Jack Gilligan); 2, J. Harris’s DON’T MIND ME (Sam Ewing); 3, N. Gilligan’s BUBALICIOUS (Ollie Gilligan).
Open Horse Race (1M): 1, M. Brady’s GRANDA MAC (Danny Gilligan); 2, G. Boyle’s NEVER SAY NEVER (Dylan Browne-McMonagle); 3, M. Flannery’s BANNED SUBSTANCE (Sam Ewing).
Non-Winners Race (1M): 1, Errismore Racing Syndicate’s UPPSALA (Mikey Sheehy); 2, Three County Syndicate’s PAVLOVA (Michael O’Connor); 3, P. Rabbitte’s OUR SOULS (Conor Rabbitte).
Glenbeigh: Glenbeigh Racing Festival in Kerry takes place on Rossbeigh Strand today Saturday tomorrow Sunday August 27th.
The feature of the weekend is the Glenbeigh Invitational, worth €5,000, run over two miles on Sunday.
North West: The region are racing tomorrow, Sunday in Killygordon (between Ballybofey and Castlefinn in Donegal) with a 2.30pm start.