ADO McGuinness took the training honours with a double on the beach at Laytown on Thursday evening in front of a packed crowd.

Distillate (6/1) raced prominently in the O’Neills.com Handicap and was sent on by Adam Caffrey racing into the final quarter of a mile. She stayed on well in the final furlong to see off Punk Poet by a length and a half.

The trainer said: “We love it here and the boys (owners Mark Devlin, Nigel O’Hare and Philip Smith) love it. They are great supporters of mine. This means a lot to them to get a win down here.

“It wasn’t a plan until we got her third (place) last week as she wasn’t going to get in. We were delighted after Bellewstown that she got third as she was guaranteed a run.”

Exquisite performance

McGuinness doubled up when Exquisite Acclaim won a battle with Finsceal Annie for the Tote, Never Beaten By SP (Q.R.) Handicap over seven furlongs.

The well-backed 9/2 chance tracked the leaders and got on terms at the halfway stage. She held the lead a furlong down and, despite being strongly pressed by Finsceal Annie in the closing stages, shaded the verdict by a short head for Thomas J. O’Connor and Ms Hazel McGuinness.

McGuinness said: “Yes he has (enjoyed the beach) and 12lb lower on the grass makes a difference. We will campaign him in Dundalk. He will get a break and then kick on with him, he won’t go on soft ground.

“All the horses have run well - we had two wins and Clonmacash finished second. There’s a great crowd of people here, people down here to enjoy themselves and the atmosphere here is unreal.”

ASSISTANT trainer and owner, Alan Delany, savoured a long-standing plan that came to fruition with Lohengrin in the Pride Of Place Maiden.

This 6/1 shot made all for Jordan Gainford and refused to relent as the pair crossed the line two lengths clear of Yes Oui Si (6/1).

Delany said: “It is absolutely brilliant. Our family are long associated with here. I honestly thought we would run very, very well. The last winner for the family here was in 1965, trained by my grandfather Eamon Delany and ridden by Francis Flood, which was obviously 60 years ago today.

“It was one I wanted to get on the CV (winner in Laytown) and Pat from Malahide Bloodstock pointed this fella out and I think we bought him in June in a claimer in Limerick. He was third in this race last year, so Pat said he could be the horse for us. I’m very thankful to him.

“Dad (trainer Eamon Delany) is at home and he is not in the best of health, and this is better than any medication. You can’t get this medication.”

Blazing a trail

Lismacbryan Hill (6/1) burned off her rivals by five lengths for a breakthrough success in the Tote.ie Claiming Race over six furlongs. Colin Keane raced her in second and the pair took over with fully three furlongs to go. The four-year-old filly powered clear in the final couple of furlongs and cruised in for owner Dolores Magee.

Trainer Patrick Magee said: “I always find that it is very hard with a low-grade sprinter in this country as there are 22 runners in most fields - Navan, Cork and Naas, and all those (tracks).

“She was actually impressive. We do a lot of work on the beach actually, so she knew where she was going! Coming off the box there today, she was in hi doh, so it was great.”

The winner was claimed by James McAuley to be trained by Denis Hogan.

McAULEY and Hogan teamed up for a winner with Dontspoilasale (15/2) in the Download The New Tote App (Q.R.) Handicap.

The five-year-old gelding was always to the fore under Adam Ryan who kept him up to his work to repel a keeping-on Clonmacash by half a length.

Hogan said: “The boys (James McAuley and James Gough) are very good at it (claiming horses). They are so sharp, they are sharks on form and upcoming races! They are placing them and they are a joy to train for - they do a lot of the work for me!

“I just have them healthy and fit on the day. They are always looking ahead, they don’t just claim a horse in the dark. You could see the angle with the turf rating. To run off the turf rating here is unusual and, to me, it (beach) is an all-weather surface. Adam gave him a lovely ride and the 5lb (claim) was a big help.”

Uncertain future

Amanirenas clocked up her sixth career success when landing the Gilna’s Cottage Inn Handicap by a neck. She faced a stern challenge from Cu Chulainn moving into the final furlong, but rallied for Dylan Browne McMonagle to get up close home at 13/2 for the NC Past Pupils Syndicate.

“She just lost her way, for whatever reason, I don’t know,” trainer Michael Grassick said.

“I’d say it was just the beach and she is well handicapped on last year’s form. She seems to like the beach - we brought her up a few weeks ago, for a couple of weeks, to Donabate and she seemed to like it.

“We said we would give it a go (in Laytown), so the plan was to give her a last run here today and see how we got on. Whether we are tempted to run her again, I don’t know.”