SEAN Flanagan recorded his first treble at Cork on Friday where Noel Meade’s retained jockey also won the featured 20 Year Celebration Dowling Security Hurdle on the Colin Kidd trained prolific winner Rashaan.
The Aga Khan-bred gelding disappointed in a Grade 3 contest at Tipperary latest but bounced back to form today when producing another game-as-you-like win, when out-battling Pique Sous from the second last flight.
Flanagan was completing his treble on Rashaan afterwards Kidd stated “myself and Sean (Flanagan) go back a long, long way and I’m delighted to be part of his first treble – he’s riding out of his skin.”
Regarding Rashaan, he added: “he has some attitude and it just proves last week that he just hates going left-handed and easy-fix hurdles. We examined him and found absolutely nothing wrong with him and was bouncing out of his skin all week so I said we’d run again.
“Two miles over hurdles is now too sharp for him and he’ll go for the Amateur Riders Handicap at Galway next. I’ve nobody booked to ride yet but we’ll see what weight he gets, although off a rating of 86 on the flat he should be competitive.
“Without a doubt I’d like to step him up to three miles rather than back down to two (miles) and that’s nine wins now. He’s unbelievable and keeps coming back for more but we’ll never go left-handed with him again.”
Flanagan began the day by winning the opening Family Fun Day August 7th Maiden Hurdle on the Shay Barry trained Abraham (11/2). The gelding, running for owner Colm Herron, had blundered Flanagan out of the saddle on hurdles debut at Gowran recently but made no mistake today when scoring a three-length win over Artiste Celebre.
Barry later said “he unseated Sean (Flanagan) at Gowran so I was hoping he’d get down over the first couple today!
“At home he jumps well but he was wide at Gowran when we said we’d give him a little light and he ducked left and right but Sean said he was good today. I’m delighted with that and he’ll come on a tonne from it as he is still a big baby.
“He’ll run on the flat at Galway next – in the race he was beaten a short-head in last year – and will then mix it for the rest of the summer.”
Appropriately the middle leg of Flanagan’s treble was supplied by his employer Noel Meade, whose Major Destination (11/4f) won the mallowprint.com Maiden Hurdle in the colours of Mrs Patricia Hunt.
Meade wasn’t present but Flanagan subsequently said: “he has done it well in the end but had a look at last flight but kept on going well.
“He has had his ups and downs but we came here hoping everything would fall into place and it did. He’ll improve for it, I’d say.”
Earlier in the day, jockeys’ championship leader Davy Russell moved on to the 30-winner mark for the new season when steering the 14-month absent, John Kiely-trained Deor (3/1) to win the Team Matchbook Goes Racing Maiden Hurdle.
The winner carries the colours of RTE and ITV presenter Brian Gleeson and following the race Kiely stated: “it’s nice to get him back. He had a slight injury and we thought we’d bring him back and let him enjoy himself. It was always the intention to go hurdling but we could get another flat race out of him again.
“He always showed ability and seems to have retained it now and jumped well and got a nice ride. Galway is an option but we’ll have to see how he comes out of the race first.”
Classic-winning trainer Adrian Keatley’s horses have hit form in recent times and his Mr Champers made a winning handicap hurdle debut in the Buy Online @corkracecourse Handicap Hurdle under jockey Roger Loughran.
The son of Marienbard raced with the pace throughout and while he fluffed his lines with a mistake when leading at the final flight, rallied well on the run-in to peg back Silent Sun for a neck win.
Keatley wasn’t present for his fourth winner in the last 16 days. It was a sixth winner for Loughran this season.
The concluding hurdle on the card, the Matchbook All-Star Break (M) Handicap Hurdle, was won by the Colin Bowe trained Pixie Lane (6/1), who was herself gaining a maiden win, under jockey Ricky Doyle.
The daughter of Gamut tracked the frontrunners and moved past leader Lockeen Girl at the third last flight. From there, Doyle kept the seven-year-old mare going to beat Gold Smoke.
Bowe, recently crowed Champion point-to-point handler for the fifth time, wasn’t present. Doyle rode his 15th career win.
The concluding Cork Racecourse Festival INH Bumper was won in fine style by the Willie Mullins trained newcomer Katie Connell (a well-backed 2/1f, in the colours of Mrs Caren Walsh), who went clear of her rivals inside the final furlong for a comfortable win under the Champion Trainer’s son Patrick Mullins.
Mullins junior later reported “she was very very green all the way. She doesn’t show an awful lot at home but is obviously better on the track and I think there’s improvement in her.
“She loves that ground and I’m not sure what the plan is now and whether she goes for a hurdle or winners’ bumper. She has a bit of ability and it is hard to say if she will be a winter mare but we will keep going with her until she tells us to stop.
“That (11st 3lbs) is about as light as I can do although I see there’s a few nice ones entered in the Havasnack next week in Killarney at 11st!”
ACTING STEWARDS
P. McLernon, R.E. Rohan, Ms J. Farrell, E Flannery, S. Quinn.
horse to follow
BOSTON SPRAY (J. O’Brien) seemed to see out the trip well in the three-mile maiden hurdle and looks well able to win a similar staying maiden in the coming weeks.