IT was a landmark day for apprentice Dylan Browne McMonagle who notched up his first victory on the track from just his sixth ride as Jumellea, who is trained by the jockey’s master Joseph O’Brien, bolted up in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Handicap.
A dual national pony racing champion, the 16-year-old rode a total of 218 winners in that sphere, and just a couple of weeks after finishing second on his first racecourse ride he was able to showcase his talents on the Anne Marie O’Brien-owned daughter of Zoffany. Jumellea’s last win came over a mile and a half at Limerick, where she beat One Cool Poet, but she coped well with the drop back to a mile on a day where the conditions put a premium on stamina.
The 20/1 shot stormed clear of the favourite Mean Fomhair in the closing stages to score by half a dozen lengths under her Letterkenny-born rider.
There are often some smart types on show in the two-year-old maidens at the last couple of flat meetings of the season at Navan and Degraves signalled that he could be a force in good company next season with a likeable success in the mile maiden for juveniles. Joseph O’Brien’s son of Camelot came here off two decent runs in Curragh maidens and did everything right here.
Donnacha O’Brien’s mount, who carries the colours of Lloyd Williams, got the better of Crassus just inside the last furlong and went to the line well to score by two and a half lengths from the newcomer and fellow 13/8 joint-favourite Chiricahua.
The tough and reliable Aleef (13/2) notched up his third victory of an industrious season in the five-furlong handicap. Ken Condon’s charge, for whom all ground seems to come alike, struck the front for Shane Foley nearing the last furlong and maintained a useful lead inside the distance to defeat Medicine Jack by a length and a half.
“He’s been a great horse for us this season and has been placed a number of time as well as winning three. He takes his racing well and seems to handle most types of ground and if he comes out of this ok he will run at the Curragh on Sunday,” declared Condon who trains the winner for the Cinco Partnership.
COLIN Keane inched ever closer to a second century of winners in an Irish flat season with a double which concluded on Strong Johnson (7/2) in the five-furlong maiden. The David Mooney-owned and bred winner progressed markedly from his first two runs to take second in a Down Royal maiden in late August and did better again to defeat Golden Eye Diamond by a length and three-quarters.
This was the latest winner for Kieran Cotter in what has been his best season to date and the trainer has now won with seven of the 14 horses that has run this season.
“He’s a big, raw horse but he’s smart enough and hopefully he’ll make up into a horse for some of those better handicaps next season. He could easily run again this season, Colin thinks that he’d handle Dundalk,” declared the trainer.
Earlier, the Keane-ridden Flaming Moon justified his position as the 11/10 favourite in the median auction maiden over an extended five furlongs. As he looked to build on a fine debut second at Fairyhouse last month this son of Born To Sea took charge of this race entering the final furlong and lasted home by a neck from the strong-finishing So Suave.
The first half of Colin Keane's double was Matthew Smith's Flaming Moon \ Healy Racing
This was trainer Matthew Smith’s first two-year-old winner and the colt is owned by his father, Kevin.
“He’s a really nice horse who has been working well at home with the likes of One Cool Poet and it’s nice to see him do that. It’s very testing ground out there and Colin just said that he got a little tired in the last half furlong,” reported Matthew Smith.
Andy Slattery is embroiled in a tight battle with Oisin Orr for the apprentice title and he picked up a valuable winner as Captain Corcoran (5/1) defied top weight in the five-furlong nursery.
This Anjaal gelding is trained by Johnny Murtagh for his wife Orla and, having contested the first two-year-old maiden of the season and finished second in the first nursery of 2019, he was getting off the mark at the seventh attempt.
Captain Corcoran came through late to defeat the favourite The King Of Kells by half a length and he could now be bound for the Goffs Horses In Training Sale on Tuesday week.
Two up for Sheehy
AT the track where he rode the first winner of his career last month, Mikey Sheehy notched up his second success as Ross O’Sullivan’s 10-year-old Doonard Prince ended a two-year spell without a win in the 45-65 rated apprentice handicap over five furlongs. Now a nine-time winner, the 20/1 shot relished the return to soft ground and he could return to Navan on Wednesday week for another sprint handicap. Doonard Prince is owned by the trainer’s long-time supporter John Bowden. The winning rider picked up a one-day whip ban for his efforts.
Mikey Sheehy had his second ever win with Doonard Prince won for trainer Ross O'Sullivan (left) and owner John Bowden \ Healy Racing
The afternoon concluded with a victory for Andy Oliver and Billy Lee as Bear Claws (7/1), who had shaped with promise on a number of occasions this season, landed the 45-65 rated 10-furlong handicap. The Madeline Burns-owned and -bred colt did well to overcome an outside draw in a field of 24 and he got the better of the well-backed Early Strike who looked a likely winner for much of the straight.