TRAINER Danny McLoughlin had a night to remember as he saddled his first group success when stable star Duckadilly landed the Group 3 Brownstown Stakes. For the Co Kildare trainer and the Duckadilly Partnership, it was a memorable victory.
Birthday boy Scott McCullagh recorded his second Group 3 success of the season as the 4/1 daughter of Churchill was victorious by half a length from 6/4 favourite Phenomenal Filly.
The 24-year-old trainer was quick to praise his team afterwards, saying: “She was my first winner as a licensed trainer and, as I said the last time, every year she has put me on the map. She won a rated race last year and, obviously, she got her stakes win in a listed race at the start of this year
“Scott is my best friend. His family helped me massively. They were as good as my family, bringing me through early when I didn’t have much of a background in racing. My uncle Paddy and my grandad got me into it, but Scott’s family brought me into it and got me involved.”
Mullins strikes gold
The Willie Mullins-trained Thread Of Gold took out the Nasrullah Handicap with a fine performance for owners Team Valor International LLC & Gary Barber and jockey Wayne Lordan.
The three-year-old son of Ghaiyyath took advantage of his opening handicap mark of 88 to land the €100,000 contest by a length and a quarter. It looked as though 85/40 favourite Jamestown would pick up the prize, but after being held up in rear throughout, Thread Of Gold (7/1) was poised for the run, holding the late lunge of Diego El Queso.
Wayne Lordan said: “It went smooth. He’s quite a nice horse. I just let him find his feet early. He’s a big-striding horse and he changed his legs a bit.
“When you leave him find his feet, he gets into it and he comes home well. He rides a little bit babyish so I think there’s plenty of improvement.”
GER Lyons-trained Maire Rua (13/8 favourite) made a sparkling impression with an impressive victory in the Irish EBF Stallion Farms Fillies Maiden. Despite being wide throughout from stall 14, the daughter of Frankel showed a professional attitude to score by two and a half lengths from Bellesque under Colin Keane.
Speaking after the race, Lyons said: “She’s a nice filly. As Colin says, and we said it all along, if we have a good one at home it’s her. The ultimate dream in Glenburnie is always to try and win a Moyglare. Hopefully, if you win a Moyglare, you know you have one of the main characters for next year’s classics and that’s what the dream is.”
Lyons and Keane combined again in the following BoyleSports Pick Your Place Handicap as the consistent Watch Tower (4/1) finally got his head in front to gain his first success, beating the fast-finishing Invincible Will by a length and a quarter.
Lyons said: “He’s been promising to do that. It was a long time between drinks with him. He’s just maturing into himself. Hopefully there is another one of them in him. Fast ground is the key; seven (furlongs) to a mile.”
Pickle proves best
The Sneezy Foster-trained Frank Pickle (8/1) enjoyed the drop back in trip to land the Harry Meighan Memorial Handicap for jockey Ben Coen. Having travelled sweetly throughout the contest, Coen made a race-winning move to send his mount to the lead early in the straight, and the son of Free Eagle duly obliged by taking the contest by three-quarters of a length from Dark Viper. Speaking afterwards, Foster said: “He’s been running over one-mile-four and one-mile-two. We worked him in the Curragh last week and he worked so well. The owners are brilliant. They are fantastic owners, the Newells. They are very patient and he needed patience.”
MURAT was an impressive winner of the Hurling For Cancer Research QR Race for owner/ breeder/ trainer Peter Lawlor and jockey Harry Swan.
Swan elected to allow his mount to race in front and, without much pressure on the lead, got a breather into his horse before kicking clear into a three-length advantage heading into the straight.
It looked as though the Patrick Mullins-ridden Delta was going to reel him in over the final 200 yards, but Murat battled on to win by three-quarters of a length.
Speaking afterwards, Lawlor said: “Straight to Galway now. I’ll stick to the hurdles there. I’m not too sure what race he’ll run in down there. When the rain comes and he gets yielding ground, he’ll be even better again. He’s a big horse and he wouldn’t want it too quick.”
Deserved success
The Paul Flynn-trained Nibras Rainbow (13/2) showed a fine attitude to add another victory to his strong summer record at Leopardstown with a neck success in the Mervue Equine Handicap.
Leigh Roche ensured his mount was always prominent, sitting third throughout before engaging in a fierce battle with the Peter Fahey-trained Alto Sax. He just edged his head in front of this rival in the closing stages to gain a deserved victory by a neck.
Flynn said: “It probably suited him, the stiffer mile here. I know he’s won in Killarney but he’s been so lucky with the draws down there. I think if he got a bad draw there in Killarney he’d find it hard. He doesn’t like being boxed in. He’s in great old heart.”