A UNIQUE piece of history was created at Sunday’s well-attended Doneraile Harriers fixture at Dromahane as the meeting featured the most valuable point-to-point race ever staged.
It was in the form of the winners’ event, which came complete with a total prize fund of €5,000 with the Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee most meritoriously sponsoring the bonus of €3,250.
On an afternoon that saw good ground conditions, nine horses hailing from five individual counties went to post for this race that was confined to six-year-olds’ and upwards that were maidens at the start of the season and it was Wrong Direction (6/4 favourite) that was sent off fancied.
The market proved absolutely spot-on as the Seamus Spillane-trained nine-year-old, who still held every chance when falling two out on his previous start in the Limerick hunters chase won by Glorious Galway last Christmas, recorded a bloodless success in the hands of regular partner Johnny Hurley.
Wrong Direction owned by his handler’s wife Breda, was having just a third career start, made his way to the front on the approach to the third last of the 14 obstacles and was always possessing too many aces for Decor Irlandais with four lengths separating the pair at the line.
The Spillanes’ former amateur rider son Dinny remarked of Wrong Direction: “He was a little sore after his fall in Limerick at Christmas. We gave him a bit of time off after that and he came right again. It’s great to win this pot and he will probably now run in another hunters chase.”
Susie Doyle moved onto the four-winner mark for the season – she now leads Liz Lalor by one in the lady riders’ championship – by steering her father Pat Doyle’s Samanntom (6/4 favourite) to a breathtaking front-running success in the novice riders’ open.
The 11-year-old, a former four-time track winner who was posting a seventh points success here, gave a polished round of fencing and stormed clear from before the third last to beat All Hell Let Loose by a widening 10 lengths.
A stewards’ enquiry was quickly called and All Hell Let Loose was disqualified as his rider Tim Hyde failed to draw the correct weight, having lost the lead cloth in the closing stages of the race. Sea Light was then promoted to the runner-up spot.
Handler Doyle indicated that his wife Mary’s Samanntom, a horse with a preference for good ground, will be kept on the go in points until the end of the season.
DISQUALIFIED
The stewards were also busy following the running of the opening four-year-old mares’ maiden as they disqualified first-the-post Noreen Bawn in favour of runner-up Tucanae (7/1), the pair both newcomers.
That duo were always close to the pace as At First Glance took the 13 contestants along. Tucanae picked up the running with Luke Murphy three out only to be headed by Mikey O’Connor’s mount Noreen Bawn at the final fence. Noreen Bawn then maintained a slender advantage to the line to account for Tucanae by a neck.
The enquiry found that interference that occurred between the two principals in the closing stages was sufficient to alter the result with Tucanae being promoted to first spot and Noreen Bawn being demoted.
The Richard Black-trained Tucanae, owned and jointly-bred by Gary Hadden’s Eclipse Bloodstock Limited, possesses a pedigree second to none as she’s a Yeats-sired half-sister to Paul Nicholls’ former Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Dodging Bullets.
Noreen Bawn’s handler Brian Jordan didn’t leave empty-handed as the south Co Wexford-based operator later struck with The Bull McCabe (12/1) in the five-year-old maiden, the race that attracted the biggest field of the afternoon in 15 runners.
The Bull McCabe, having fallen or pulled up on his two previous starts, was always well positioned under Benny Walsh and he quickly moved into second spot once the favourite Defuture Is Bright picked up the running after the fourth last.
Defuture Is Bright maintained a slender advantage from three-out, but he had no reply once The Bull McCabe swept past inside the final 100 yards to win going away by one and a half lengths in the colours of Noel Kevin Casey.
Jordan disclosed that he bought The Bull McCabe as an unbroken three-year-old at the 2017 Fairyhouse August Sale.
There were three Co Wexford-trained winners altogether and Monageer-based Ellen Doyle continued her terrific season by sending out newcomer Skatman (6/1) to capture the four-year-old geldings’ maiden in the hands of talented 5lb claimer Barry Stone.
The physically-imposing Skatman, a close relation to Grade 2 chaser winner One Four Shannon, who was a £34,000 acquisition at last year’s Goffs UK Spring Sale at Doncaster, overcame a fifth-last fence blunder and he was sent in pursuit of fellow debutant Barbados Buck’s after four-out.
The Mustameet-sired Skatman, representing the Baltimore Stables Syndicate, overtook Barbados Buck’s at the second last and he duly returned with two lengths to spare over Luke Murphy’s mount with a six-length break back to Lieutenant Rocco in third spot.
The 15 bookmakers present received some further cheer when the previously once-raced Desertmore Glen, whom Denis Leahy trains for long-standing patron Brendan O’Brien from Ballincollig, sprung a 6/1 surprise with Jimmy O’Rourke in the closing six-year-old and upwards maiden.
Desertmore Glen and James O'Rourke (left) beats Top Question to win the six-year-old maiden Healy Racing Photo
The gelding, absent since pulling up when sent off favourite for an April 2018 Dromahane maiden won by Hill Sixteen, tracked Top Question virtually throughout until moving through to join issue with the front-runner from the third last.
The son of Sulamani took the measure of Top Question at the final fence to eclipse Louis Archdeacon’s charge by three-parts of a length.
Leahy indicated that his British-bred will now be targeted at a winners’ race.
HORSES TO FOLLOW
BARBADOS BUCK’S (Richard Black): This well-related newcomer by Getaway and whose dam is a half-sister to Big Buck’s, went for his race after the fourth last in the four-year-old geldings’ maiden. Although headed two-out by the winner Skatman, he still went down fighting and was ultimately beaten by just two lengths into second spot.
The gelding was responsible for injecting fresh pace into the race from four-out and he should have little difficulty in sampling track success next season.
Credit to INHSC
MASSIVE credit is due to Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee for sponsoring the €3,250 bonus that came with the winners’ race, an event that carried a total prize fund of €5,000.
This contest was confined to six-year-olds’ and upwards that were maidens at the start of the season and Philip McLernon, who was representing the INHSC, was fittingly on hand to make the presentation to the Spillane family after their horse Wrong Direction returned to the coveted number one slot. It would be nice to see another race or two of this calibre taking place again next season.
Scallan appreciation
HANDLER Brian Jordan was keen to pay tribute to stable rider Mark Scallan after the victory of The Bull McCabe in the five-year-old maiden. Cleariestown-based Scallan wasn’t present at Dromahane as he opted to travel to Monksgrange to partner one of his own horses.
Black success
RICHARD Black was understandably keen to praise Gary Hadden of Eclipse Bloodstock Limited following the success of the Co Wicklow-based outfit’s Tucanae in the four-year-old mares’ maiden. Black also recalled winning a Borris mares’ maiden last season with Sinoria, whom he purchased as a three-year-old from Hadden. Sinoria has gone on to make her mark at listed level over hurdles for Henry de Bromhead this term.