WEXFORD handlers kept a tight local grip on the prizes at Ballycrystal last Saturday with six of the seven races being claimed by horses trained in the Enniscorthy environs, including in the day’s centrepiece, which saw the first mares’ open of the new season being run.

Although just four horses faced the starter, the race was certainly not lacking for star power, with two of the leading mares of recent seasons, Longhouse Music and Sliabh Mhuire Lass, crossing swords once again.

However it proved to be their younger rival, The Forge Hill, who staked her early claim to the leading mare crown with a game success.

Sean Doyle’s charge had caused something of a mild surprise when lowering the colours of a four-year-old maiden winner when taking on geldings on her reappearance at Monksgrange last month, and similar front-running tactics reaped rich rewards.

Jordan Gainford guided the Monbeg Partnership-owned six-year-old to a two-length defeat of Sliabh Mhuire Lass.

The former champion pointer and 20-time winner Longhouse Music was well held in third on her seasonal bow.

“I was delighted with that. We always thought loads of her, we just do not know what happened to her after her win at Knockmullen House, she won very impressively but lost her way a little bit.

“She seems to be back into really good form this year,” said Doyle. “Those two runs have been very good, and she looks one of the best mares in that department now.

“She could go for the mares’ hunter chase in Fairyhouse now and will mix it between hunter chases and opens.”

Double

His younger brother Cormac had earlier initiated an across-the-cards double when saddling My Immortal to land the second division of the four-year-old maiden.

A close relation of the 2012 Cheltenham Gold Cup victor Synchronised, the Shantou gelding made amends for a non-completion on his debut at Castletown-Geoghegan three weeks earlier by posting a smart round of jumping under Jack Hendrick to defeat the newcomer Fruit N Nut by two lengths.

“He is a lovely horse that had been going well at home. He missed a few fences the first day at Castletown and Jack (Hendrick) just said to put a line through the run.

“He was a lot better there and will be sold now,” said Doyle of the Monbeg Farm Racing Partnership-owned bay.

THE opening division of the four-year-old maiden saw Barry O’Neill and Colin Bowe continue their scintillating start to the new season when the Milestone Bloodstock-owned Tamgho Borget opened his account at the first time of asking.

A €54,000 purchase out of the Goffs Land Rover Sale, the Martaline gelding showed a good deal of pace in the home straight to snugly account for the Ballingarry runner-up Unanswered Prayers by half a length in a slowly run race which produced a bunched finish.

The pair later combined with Gallow Ford as the Westerner-sired five-year-old quickly followed-up his recent Dromahane maiden success by getting the better of the wide-margin Toomebridge victor Figaro Des Bordes in the winner-of-one contest. The success of the Milestone Bloodstock-owned bay is already a 16th of the season the reigning champion handler.

Denis Murphy had dominated the inaugural fixture at the track which takes place on the lands of point-to-point handler Matthew Flynn O’Connor back in January, and the venue is quickly proving to be a happy hunting ground for his Ballyboy Stables team, with Get Sky High winning snugly on her debut in the five- and six-year-old mares’ maiden.

A half-sister of Andy Slattery’s Cragmore winner Don’t Say A Thing, the Getaway mare benefitted from a very confident Simon Cavanagh ride to defeat the vastly more experienced Res Judicata by a length and a half.

“Her work had been good all along and she was due to have run at the end of March or early April, but the rest is history about that. She is a big mare, so the break did her the work of good in the end and she strengthened up a good bit,” said Murphy of his own five-year-old who will now head to the sales.

The Liam Kenny-trained Kingston King quickly followed up his fourth at Tinahely six days earlier by opening his account in the older maiden, and in the process provided Ferns native Gavin Collier with the first success of his career.

The 27-year-old, who has previously worked for Prunella Dobbs, got a good tune out of Larry Devereux’s six-year-old, with a change in tactics to race up with the pace proving fruitful as the pair got the better of the 112-rated hurdler Precious Bounty by two lengths.

FLAMENCO De Kerser was the only non-Wexford-trained horse to get into the winner’s enclosure on the card when he ran out quite a comfortable winner of a big-field five-year-old geldings’ maiden under Susie Doyle.

The ultra-consistent performer was only narrowly denied on his return at Dromahane two weeks earlier, and the strong-travelling French-bred always caught the eye in running as Doyle confidently delivered the bay approaching the home straight, before kicking clear to an eight-length victory over the Ballingarry runner-up Fully Authorised.

Notably, the victory was a first Irish point-to-point success for his Group 2-winning sire Vendangeur, who stands with Alistair Pim at Anngrove Stud in Co. Laois.

“That was my first ride in a maiden so it was great to win,” said Doyle following the family success with the five-year-old trained by her father Pat and owned by her mother Mary.

“He has always run very well and that bit of nicer ground really suited him. He went close in Dromahane there so we were very hopefully. He is a nice horse.”

Horse to follow

Winning Rascal (John McConnell): This Brian Boru gelding was in the process of launching his challenge before making a serious error four-out and then regrouped to finish third behind two vastly more experienced rivals in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden.