Neil O’Donnell

MANY of those present at Saturday’s Kanturk - Duhallow meeting at Dromahane left adamant that they had witnessed a potential superstar in action for the Enda Bolger-trained My Hometown hardly broke a sweat on his career debut in the first division of the Brightwells Bloodstock four-year-old geldings’ maiden.

Well-touted beforehand, My Hometown (evens – 1/2) was bounced out in front by Derek O’Connor and the JP McManus-owned son of Presenting gave a breathtaking display of fencing at the head of affairs. The Affane runner-up Crocodile Dundee tracked the market leader until wilting at the second last of the 13 obstacles.

Runner-up Ben Button was soon in pursuit, but it was to be of no avail as the 2010 Fairyhouse foal purchase was quite simply in a different league to the opposition as he dispensed with Ashleigh Murphy’s charge by a hard-held four lengths to provide the Galwegian with the opening leg of a hat-trick. Gardiners Hill indicated that he should prove capable of landing a lesser type of contest by returning a further nine lengths adrift in third spot.

There was little disguising Bolger’s delight post-race. He remarked of the winning bay that’s an early-May foal, “J.P. (McManus) was at Bruce Springsteen’s concert in Thomond Park last year when Bruce dedicated the song My Hometown to John Thomas McNamara. J.P. then said that he wanted to name a horse My Hometown. I wanted this fellow to start off in a point rather than in a bumper and he’s a very promising sort.”

The former multiple champion then took the second division of this same contest aboard newcomer Fairly Legal, owned by his wife Carol O’Donnell.

In a race that saw a genuine market fancy for at least four of the nine contestants, the Robert Tyner-trained Fairly Legal (4/1) always travelled with purpose as Desertmore Hill and Adeenne De Serves vied for supremacy up front.

The eventual winner unleashed a blistering turn of foot to lead at the second last except that he was headed by last season’s Kilworth runner-up Mustmeetalady over the final fence. The latter then actually went to the front, the winning son of Beneficial though refused to yield and he fought back to lead literally on the line with a head separating him from favourite Mustmeetalady in what was not surprisingly the closest finish of the afternoon.

Tyner later disclosed that he has always thought highly of Fairly Legal, a graduate of the 2013 Goffs Land Rover sale out of a half-sister to 11-time winner On The Other Hand (by Proverb) and the bay will probably be in different ownership whenever he’s seen again.

The former champion brought up his three-timer aboard Ronnie O’Leary’s newcomer At The Doubble in an eventful second division of the Brightwells Bloodstock five-year-old geldings’ maiden.

The well-supported Coole Charmer overtook leader Dark Knight on the approach to the third last and Paul Cashman’s newcomer still appeared to be travelling best on the run to the final fence. Coole Charmer cruelly came to grief here and At The Doubble (3/1), positioned on the inner, was then the one to take advantage by getting away faster from the obstacle as a couple of those pursuing namely Flathertys Gap sustained interference. At The Doubble, representing O’Leary’s wife Vicky, duly came home with three and a half lengths to spare over Edwulf and the winning son of Oscar was due to go through the ring at Brightwells sale after racing at Cheltenham last night.

There was some drama in the first division of this same race as the patiently-ridden Brianogue had cut through the pack like a knife to mount a challenge when coming to grief at the third last.

Long-time leader Definite Outcome though still held the call at that stage and the Pa King-ridden bay forged clear from two out in likeable fashion to repel the staying-on In The Tub by five lengths at odds of 6/1. The towering Definite Outcome, purchased by owner Jer Ryan as a foal, was actually providing former amateur rider Eoin McDonagh from Cahir with a second training success.

Adrian Maguire maintained his stranglehold on the open lightweights in the Cork and Waterford region this autumn by saddling Two Rockers to record an authoritative success in the afternoon’s featured event.

Also successful at Ballindenisk just six days earlier, Two Rockers (4/7) was bounced out in his customary front-running role by Declan Queally. Whilst blundering at the sixth fence and again five out, the hooded seven-year-old once again showed the class that enabled him to win three hurdle races for Alan King by forging clear from two out to slam Last Time D’Albain (who unseated on his penultimate track start in this year’s Aintree Grand National) by 10 lengths, much to the chagrin of the 13 bookmakers present. Maguire later confessed to being more pleased with Two Rockers than he was at Ballindenisk the previous weekend and the son of Milan is likely to be seen in action in points again early in the new year.

Another winner to benefit from the application of a hood was Liam Cusack’s former hurdler Graces Benefit who made every post a winning one on her points debut in the five-year-old and upwards mares’ maiden.

Despite jumping noticeably out to her right virtually throughout, Graces Benefit (5/1) seemed to be travelling best at the second last. Although quite understandably tiring somewhat under Kevin Power from the final fence, she still dismissed the eye-catching newcomer Kilty Caul by three lengths. Cusack later intimated that the Denis Dunne-owned/bred Graces Benefit, a half-sister to Too Scoops, would now contest a winners’ race.

TOUGH TO BEAT

Michael Winters and Mikey O’Connor are always a difficult combination to beat and the pair combined to collect the six-year-old and upwards geldings’ maiden, the race that attracted the biggest field of the day in 16 runners, with pointing debutant Clounts Meadows.

Runner-up on his career debut in a Cork bumper last December, Clounts Meadows (6/4 – evens) certainly gave his many supporters cause for concern by blundering at the first fence. It wasn’t the only occasion that the former southern champion had to sit tight aboard the winning son of Wareed. However, the victorious seven-year-old is a quite classy recruit to the pointing sphere and he stormed to the front at the final fence en-route to obliging by a length from Red River Gold in the colours of Mary O’Sullivan from Rathmore. Winters is now hoping to run Clounts Meadows in a winners’ contest at Dromahane on Tuesday, December 30th.

The five-year-old Everest atoned for a slightly-disappointing effort behind Heron Heights at Affane almost three weeks earlier by readily putting his rivals to the sword in the closing adjacent hunts maiden.

Partnered by Ciaran Fennessy in place of his handler Eugene O’Sullivan’s daughter Maxine who sustained a first-fence fall from Galloping Gander in the previous race, Everest (5/2) moved past Butch O’Hare before the third last and he then found plenty from the final fence to defeat seasonal debutant Danmurphysdoor by five lengths.

The elder O’Sullivan intimated that Everest, which sports the same Joe Buckley silks as recent Affane mares’ maiden winner Um From Umbridge, will now be prepared for a two and a half mile maiden hurdle over the Christmas period.

HORSES TO FOLLOW

BEN BUTTON (Ashleigh Murphy): This white-faced bay by Double Eclipse didn’t appear overly ready on his career debut in the first division of the four-year-old geldings’ maiden. He was patiently-ridden, but still gave a good account of himself by staying on for a more than respectable second spot behind My Hometown. Points success is assured, but this fellow also stays well and possesses the necessary pace to make his mark over hurdles with two and a half miles his most likely trip.

NEWS +

Full of promise

HOW good is JP McManus’ My Hometown? Who knows? But, it’s extremely rare to see a horse win in the style that Enda Bolger’s charge did in the first division of the four-year-old geldings’ maiden. Team McManus are always prospective customers for any good horse that comes on the market and full marks to John O’Byrne for snapping up My Hometown for €27, 000 as a foal at the 2010 Fairyhouse November National Hunt sale.

Hood help

IT was interesting that Adrian Maguire chose to fit Two Rockers with a hood in the open as the giant-sized bay had no such head-gear on at Ballindenisk just six days earlier. Maguire said: ”I thought in Ballindenisk that he was just doing a bit too much and the hood has helped him to settle today. I still think that there’s massive improvement in him although we won’t be going jumping park fences just yet.”