THERE was an excellent atmosphere at Sunday’s Avondhu Foxhounds fixture at Knockanard, and the Michael Mangan-trained What Path lit up the afternoon by winning the open that was staged over the banks course.
What Path (7/4 - 2/1 favourite), a former 135-rated hurdler for Willie Mullins who won three races for the Closutton maestro before an unproductive track stint in Britain, was having a first start over banks, and he was always close to the pace in mid-division.
The winner moved second behind Lord Of Kerak from after the fourth-last of the 27 obstacles and went for home on the ascent from two out. It was all relatively plain sailing thereafter, as the nine-year-old stayed on determinedly to account for veteran Call The Tune by two lengths in the hands of Ross Sugrue, who has now forfeited his 5lb-claiming allowance.
This was a real Kerry success as What Path is trained outside Knocknagoshel by Michael Mangan for Ballymacelligott native John Griffin, with Sugrue hailing from Tralee.
Class horse
Mangan’s son Gerry reported of What Path: “He is a class horse. We took him to a cross-country course that’s near us twice recently, and he was brilliant.”
Punters largely experienced the better of the exchanges, and the 12 bookmakers present once again came out on the wrong side, as The Happy Huntsman (5/4 - evens favourite) sauntered home under handler Alex Ott’s son Luke Burke Ott in the older for novice riders.
The Happy Huntsman, runner-up in two adjacent hunts’ maidens at Dromahane already this season before finishing a respectable fourth in a Clonmel hunter chase last month, moved into second spot from five out, and he eased past long-time leader Twoplustwoequals immediately after the second last.
Swept clear
The six-year-old son of Idaho then swept clear to contain Twoplustwoequals by 11 lengths in the silks of the Tarrants Together Partnership.
Ott’s elder son Andy commented of The Happy Huntsman: “He’s a nice horse and he deserved that. He might now go for another hunter chase.”
This was, however, a poignant success as The Happy Huntsman is called after his joint-breeder Maria Withers’ late husband Ger Withers, the former huntsman of the Duhallow Foxhounds, who sadly passed away in December 2019.
Merry dance
Sam Curling is in virtually unstoppable form as he leads his rivals a merry dance in this season’s handlers’ championship, and the Skehanagh Stables operator brought his tally for the campaign to 29 following the success of Mybluesuedeshoes (evens - 5/4 favourite) in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden.
Mybluesuedeshoes, having pulled up on his only previous start behind Golden Current at Dromahane in late December, moved into second on the climb from two out, and he then blundered at the final fence. O’Connor, however, remained unperturbed as he brought his Walk In The Park-sired mount through to narrowly overtake the front-running War Officer 100 yards out to score by a head in the day’s closest finish.
The absent Curling later remarked of Mybluesuedeshoes, a €75,000 purchase on behalf of owner Mrs Trish Hyde at the 2024 Derby sale, that’s a brother to three track winners: “I don’t know what happened that he pulled up at Dromahane as we always liked him at home. He’s a nice staying type that will now go to the Cheltenham sales on Friday.”
THE Sean Doyle-trained Well Achieved (4/1 - 5/1) booked his passage to yesterday’s Tattersalls sale at Cheltenham by making a taking winning debut under Jamie Scallan in the four-year-old maiden over two and a half miles.
The Milan-sired winner, an embryonic chasing type who is an early May foal, led or disputed the running until edging into a couple of lengths advantage from five out, and he was being closely attended to by Buck N A Quarter when he was crucially the faster away from the penultimate of the 12 obstacles.
Well Achieved was always in pole position thereafter and, whilst runner-up Flick Of The Wrist closed on the flat, he was still a neck adrift of the €16,000 Goffs Arkle sale graduate at the line.
Handler Doyle, celebrating his initial four-year-old success of the season, reported of the Monbeg Partnership-owned bay, who is out of a half-sister to former Grade 1-placed chaser Empire Of Dirt: “He’s a big, galloping horse with a stayers’ pedigree and fair play to James Sheehan for giving me plenty of encouragement to buy him at the Arkle sale last year.”
THE locals had plenty of cause for celebration as Eamonn Gallagher, who tends to a small string outside nearby Conna, sent out his second winner in as many Sundays, as Oh My Jenny (5/2 - 7/2) continued her clear upward trajectory by capturing the mares’ winners of one in the hands of Johnny Barry.
Oh My Jenny supplemented her Ballindenisk maiden success last month by edging closer from after two out, and she surged past Time In A Bottle after the last.
She then kept the rallying Sworn Duty at bay to oblige by one and a half lengths in the colours of the Dee Lads Partnership, who hail from counties Cork and Tipperary.
Time In A Bottle meanwhile secured the minor honours, a further three-parts of a length adrift.
“She’s a mare that’s as tough as nails, and she is improving. It would be nice to go to the Gain Mares’ Final with her on soft ground next month, that’s provided that she is not sold,” said Gallagher of the six-year-old Oh My Jenny.
Ambition
‘Trixie’ Barry has always harboured an ambition to win the Silver Fox Trophy that’s presented to the winner of the adjacent hunts’ maiden, and that dream became reality on Sunday as the Rathcormac-based handler saddled his wife Mary Hayes’ mare Lucky Valley (11/4 - 2/1 favourite) to land the closing event.
Lucky Valley, runner-up on her return to action at Dromahane in November, got into a lovely rhythm in front and she made all the running with Cal Shine to defeat newcomer Time To Invest by one and a half lengths.
Persian Palace (P. Cashman): This son of Old Persian stayed on to purposeful effect from before the last to be beaten a shade over two lengths into third on debut in the two and a half mile four-year-old maiden.
Hailing from the same family as Cooldine and Fists Of Fury, the bay was due to be offered at yesterday’s Cheltenham sale, and he should effortlessly develop into a track winner going forward.