THE highlight performance of the eight-race card on a sunny Friday in the Kingdom went to Femme Magnifique (4/1) in the two-mile-and-a-furlong Boyle Sports Daily Money Back Meeting Handicap Chase, leading before last and going clear on the run-in to beat The Banger Doyle by eight and a half lengths.

A possible treble had looked on the cards for John Ryan as Drumgill was still in contention before making a bad mistake at the second last.

The winner, trained by Harry Kelly, is owned by the DQ Number Eleven Syndicate, a group set up in memory of the late Tipperary hurler Dillon Quirke, who died unexpectedly after collapsing during a club match in August 2022. Femme Magnifique was partnered by Dillon’s cousin Cian, who gave an emotional interview to Racing TV asking people to support the Dillon Quirke Foundation work to raise awareness of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS).

“It’s fantastic. It’s great for everyone involved, Cian and everyone,” said trainer Harry Kelly.

“It’s a great pot and the lads wanted to come here for this race. They’ve done a great job with the ground. It’s lovely and juicy, the way you want it for every horse. You don’t want any horse breaking down.

“I was just delighted. It’s the Dillon Quirke Foundation and there is a big story behind the syndicate. Dillon unfortunately passed away but something good comes out of everything.

“They are carrying on his legacy here. They are a great bunch, most of Cian’s family. It’s brilliant.”

Surprise double

Cian Quirke made it a double when 33/1 shot Ladies Well ran out a shock five-length winner of the Europe Hotel And Resort Handicap Chase (Div I) for Andy Slattery and owners the Mrs Crogh’s Syndicate. Despite being hampered when The Dara Man took a crashing fall three out, the winner was travelling the best before the last and ran on strongly to beat Mobile Mamma and Love Like This.

“She’s been working better. We brought her over to Kelso and she jumped terrible but the schooling did her good over there,” trainer Andy Slattery said.

“She got no run the last day. She’s a much improved mare this year. She jumped from fence to fence and he said she loved it.

“She’s in at Wexford next Wednesday and she may go there again. If she’s alright I don’t see why not.”

‘This one is the real deal’ - Ryan raiders keep on winning

PETS Georgina (5/1) proved a decisive winner of the two-mile-and-seven-furlong Killarney Grand Mares Maiden Hurdle, making all and staying on strongly from the last for J.J. Slevin, trainer John Ryan and owner Loughlin Harte.

Chisel Hill finished four and a half lengths adrift in second, with favourite Tumbling In in third. Harry Sexton took a heavy fall off Torque De Lune, leading to the second last hurdle being omitted.

“This is a nice mare. I’d say she’s way better than the ordinary and she’s a winter-type mare,” said Ryan afterwards of the daughter of Order Of St George.

“She’s out of a very good mare. This one is the real deal. It was only her third run over hurdles, although you could say it was her second [she had been badly hampered and unseated early at Ballinrobe]. I was forced to go for a bumper as she got an RPR of 120 after being second. Just pure greenness beat her in Kilbeggan or she would have won that novice hurdle.

“I said to J.J. that he was on way the best horse in the race and he said he’d make the running then and do it the hard way.

“She’ll go to Cork next, there is three-mile novice there and also a three-mile graded race.”

Gaffer makes it a Ryan double

JOHN Ryan made it a quick double in the Lee Strand Handicap Hurdle when My Gaffer (5/1) also did it the hard way, making all and sticking his neck out from the last to fight off all comers for a length and a half margin of victory from Hees Dynamite at the post under Michael Kenneally. The winner is owned by Walter O’Connor, who was full of praise for his gelding on Racing TV.

“He’s brilliant around here. Kenneally gave him a savage ride. He thought he was beaten turning in but he’s as tough as nails,” said Ryan.

“He was a good bumper horse and bumper horses usually don’t stop, they are tough.

“He’s a very clear-winded horse, he’s a little smasher. I think he has a 22% strike rate and I don’t spare them, I run them fairly often.” The winner had been second on his debut here in a bumper in 2022 to no less than Marine Nationale.

THE favourite Shadow Paddy (5/4) and Gary Noonan denied Keith Donoghue a stag day winner when he proved too strong for Endless Talking between the last two fences to take the two-mile-and-a-furlong Lee Strand Novice Chase for Eoin McCarthy and owners Complete Package Syndicate.

A son of the Japanese-bred sire Shadow Gate, the six-year-old ran out a four-length winner from Endless Talking, with 16 lengths back to the rest of the field.

“He’s a lovely horse and we hold him in high regard. It’s a great syndicate that owns him,” said McCarthy. “I just felt that he won his beginners’ very easy and going to Galway he just lacked that bit of experience.

“This fell in lovely and it’s all road to Galway now. He’ll run in the Grade 3 novice chase there. He won four last season and two this season, he’s only a baby. We went to Aintree, we felt we’d be placed in a Grade 1, but he had a little heart issue on the day over there. That’s all sorted.”

Terrific finish

The opening Killarney Park 3-Y-O Maiden Hurdle over two miles and a furlong produced a terrific finish with four taking the last together. Private Larry took it in the lead and led on the run-in before the John Nallen runner Minella Buoy looked like coming with a winning run on the outside. But between those two, Darragh O’Keeffe got more out of the 5/6 favourite Cite Florale to get up close to the line for a neck win, with a short-head between second and third. Daniel King was given a four-day ban for careless riding on Minella Bouy.

Robbie Power, representing winning trainer Henry de Bromhead, said of the grey, who ran in the Robcour colours: “We’re delighted with that. Darragh said she was a bit green and got badly hampered three out.

“She showed a great attitude after that to come back. There wasn’t a whole lot of room after the last to the winning post for her to go through and she showed a great attitude to go through that gap.

“Darragh gave her a brilliant ride, she’ll improve a lot for that. She’s got a great jump in her but juveniles first time up can be green and she was green. She’ll improve a lot.”

Wide margin win

Cullenwaine (11/2) and jockey Shane O’Callaghan took over from Oogum Boogum after the third last and made the best of his way home to run out a wide-margin 15-length winner of division two of the Europe Hotel And Resort Handicap Chase over two miles and seven furlongs for the Larrys Dreamers Syndicate.

“We’re delighted. He was a cheap horse that we bought from Philip Rothwell and he’s a fun horse for the syndicate,” said winning trainer David O’Sullivan. “There are lads from Cork and Killarney in the horse. It’s fantastic to win here. He got cast in the box the other night so we were actually at the beach, in Inch, this morning walking in the water.”

The concluding Christy Lucey Transport Mares Finale (Pro/Am) INH Flat Race ended in an exciting finish with Unquite Dreams (14/1, 66s in morning) and David Doyle getting up in the final strides to catch Echoes Of Jane, who had looked the winner inside the final furlong. The rider was given a three-day ban for excessive use of the whip.

“She showed a bit of promise in a bumper in Cork and it turned out to be a very good race,” said trainer Sean Allen of the Forever Five Syndicate-owned mare. “We gave her a bit of time and waited for a bit of nice ground. She’s after coming on leaps and bounds and I’m thrilled with it.

“I’m delighted for Padraig Clancy, he’s a good patron of mine and he hasn’t had it easy recently. When she came past me we had no hope. To hear she’d won it was actually twice as good.”