Annaghmore Saturday

ANNAGHMORE on Saturday past saw another demolition job by Harry Knows and a driving treble by Jonny Cowden and a double by Sean Kane, two regulars at the top of the charts in recent years. The top 10 drivers nationally have all started the season well and The Irish Field drivers’ title could be more open than 2024, when Patrick Kane junior ran away with it.

The fixture showed an increase in numbers of runners, but it will be this weekend before the first ‘premium’ weekend of the year gets going. The Irish American weekend will straddle both Saturday and Sunday. Cork will not host a meeting this weekend, so the Armagh venue should get plenty of horses. The race framers opted to put Harry Knows in with only two other rivals, Hope De Guinnette (Billy Roche) and the newcomer Karia Style (Martin Loughran). Hope De Guinette was sold from the Loughran yard to the Roche yard last year.

The eight-year-old chesnut is talented but headstrong and Billy Roche is still figuring him out. Harry Knows was set to give the gate horse 70 yards. The top trotter in the country made up the handicap at the halfway. Hope De Guinette trotted well to get within two and a half lengths.

The win brought Harry Knows close to €50,000 lifetime earnings. Even before he increases his bankroll, this must surely be a record for a ‘Trotteur Français bred in Ireland’.

Cowden’s treble

Jonny Cowden’s treble included a win in the Grade A to E handicap by last year’s most successful pacer Always Skye, now owned by the trainer Lawrence Stewart. The Cork runner Bequest was second for Patrick Kane junior in the fastest time of the day, 2.03.2.

“I’m aiming for a leg of the STAGBI broodmare race with her,” said Lawrence before adding: “She’s stronger and well within herself this year.”

Readers of this column should remember that Ederney-based trainer Neville Martin spoke well of David Curtin’s Just A Moment in our stable tour. The market couldn’t separate The Groomsman, driven by Patrick Kane junior and the Fermanagh runner driven by Jonny Cowden. The Groomsman led, but Cowden eventually reeled him in for a 2.04.8 victory.

Martin trained a double on the day as his own Sweet Dreams (touched 5/4) won the Grade F pace in 2.04.8. The rangy Big Bets from the Stewart yard attempted to make all, but Jonny Cowden loves to pounce late and did so for a win in 2.04.8.

Specialists

Patrick Kane’s uncle Ger and cousin Sean are effectively specialists in French Trotters. The father and son team brought up a double with Jeremiah O’Mahony’s Lieutenant Dan and their own Just In Time.

Just In Time (6/4 to 4/6) appears to be back in form. “It’s about time he started running well again,” said Sean Kane of the six-year-old, who was winless last season.

Martin Loughran, ‘The Cooley Magician’, was on the buying panel that selected I Want You Back in France. The seven-year-old led out, made all and shook off the attentions of Kermesse du Crocq (Sean Kane for the Meadowbranch Stud) in 3.14.3 for a mile and a half.

Replays can be watched on IHRA’s You Tube channel. Results and racecards can be viewed on www.irishharnessracing.com This weekend’s racing is funded by the ‘Invest in Ourselves’ programme, whereby American owners such as Eric Cherry, Bill Donovan and Casie Coleman made top sires available by artificial insemination at a reduced fee. Said fees to be put back into sponsorship.

The details of many of the runners in the racecard did not include the horse’s breeding, which is a backward step. Hopefully, this will be addressed going forward.

Appleby

THERE were no Irish runners at the 95th Appleby Spring Harness Races in Cumbria last weekend. Nevertheless, the decent-sized crowd was treated to some great racing at this natural amphitheatre, shaped like the field at Slane Castle. It’s always nice to report some victories by smaller stables. The Saturday final was won by 17-year-old Lawrence Lee Coulson from Durham with Newmoors Joseph. The Sunday Final was won by Willie Patterson’s Chief Red Cloud driven by ‘The Nugget’ Willie Greenhorn. Patterson is married into the Moncrieff family, a Scottish dynasty. The Stirling man has done much to keep harness racing alive in Scotland.