Neil O’Donnell

THE first Cork and Waterford meeting of the season took place at Dromahane last Sunday, the Duhallow Foxhounds fixture attracting a respectable crowd on what was a quite blustery afternoon.

There were some 48 runners on the six-race card and Louis Archdeacon’s admirable 11-year-old Mountain Lough lit up the afternoon for many by making a winning return to the fray in the ladies’ open.

The former three-time track winner, Mountain Lough (9/4) went to the head of affairs with 19-year-old Stella McGrath, who guided her mother Jacqueline’s mare Eala Beag to three victories last season, at the second fence and the duo made the rest of the running, setting a generous pace in the process.

Veteran Jadanli moved through to almost join issue at the fifth last and he gave chase until wilting after two out. The eventual winner however was showing no signs of stopping as Forjoetheplumber went second with Sheila Ahern on the run to the last.

The latter closed all the way to the line, but he was never quite going to get there as the winner held on grimly to score by a neck with an eight-length break to the third-placed Pocket Reader.

Banteer-based handler Archdeacon, who started off the former Royal & SunAlliance Chase winner Lord Noelie in points, revealed that his wife Michelle’s Mountain Lough is now qualified for the Aintree Foxhunters and the Liverpool race is naturally enough his ultimate seasonal objective.

Derek O’Connor, having drawn a blank from his six rides at Loughanmore the previous afternoon, partnered a double and he got off the mark aboard Michael Griffin’s well-touted newcomer Moonman in the Doncaster Bloodstock Sales five-year-old geldings’ maiden.

The Pelder-sired Moonman (5/4), representing Griffin’s wife Kay, always travelled with purpose and he eased through on the outer to assume command from two out with four lengths ultimately separating him from General Mahler.

Griffin later paid tribute to his nephew Colm Griffin and Brendan O’Sullivan for their assistance in preparing Moonman, who’s now sales-bound, for this assignment.

O’Connor doubled up aboard odds-on shot Brianogue, a first runner of the season for former champion points handler Robert Tyner, in the closing six-year-old and upwards geldings’ maiden.

Brianogue (4/5), who didn’t look at all likely when dropping to fifth after the fourth last, made progress from three out where Off The Grid sustained a crashing fall when lying in second spot.

Brianogue, a son of Brian Boru, who finished a creditable fourth to Vinalhaven at Kilworth last November, stormed into the lead at the final fence and he was too strong for Shuil Teacht Anair on the flat with the winning margin being a length. Brianogue, owned by Kevin Barry from Bandon, will now be prepared for a tilt at a winners contest.

Close finishes were the order of the day with the winning margin in five out of the six races being a length or less. The judge however was unable to separate Megabucks and Burrenbridge Hotel, ultimately awarding a dead-heat in the four-year-old geldings’ maiden.

The Kieran Purcell-owned/trained Burrenbridge Hotel (7/2), a runner-up at Lisronagh last term, set out to make all with Declan Queally and he had Denis Murphy’s quietly-supported newcomer Megabucks (6/1) as his closest pursuer throughout.

While any one of seven horses realistically held chances on the turn into the home straight, the two principals stylishly pulled clear from the penultimate of the 13 obstacles.

SLENDER ADVANTAGE

Burrenbridge Hotel seemed to hold a slender advantage at the last but Jimmy O’Rourke forced Megabucks, running in the colours of Murphy’s partner Maria Byrne, through for a share of the spoils with the pair returning fully 10 lengths adrift of the third-placed Poetic Rhythm.

Both winners are now on the market and the likelihood is that they will be seen at some of the forthcoming sales in Britain.

The 13 bookmakers present had plenty of cause for cheer when Milan Lady completed a memorable weekend for handler Colin Bowe, the highlight being the success of Shantou Flyer at Cheltenham two days earlier, by springing a 7/1 upset with Barry O’Neill in the opening four-year-old mares’ maiden, the race that attracted the biggest field of the day in 12 runners.

The favourite Wilms Warrior led from after four out but she started to thread water on the run to the final fence. Milan Lady, who had the benefit of four previous starts, then took up the running shortly after the last and she had sufficient reserves of stamina left to beat the previously once-raced Melrose Lady by a half-length.

CLOSING STAGES

The likeable Wilms Warrior faded in the closing stages to return four lengths further adrift in third spot of Milan Lady, who sports the silks of joint-breeder Paul Gibbons.

Shouting Hill stepped up from his creditable third-placed return effort at Castletown-Geoghegan three weeks earlier by landing the five-year-old and upwards adjacent hunts maiden for the O’Sullivan clan. Shouting Hill is trained by Eugene and was ridden by his 19-year-old son Eoin while the gelding is owned by the teenager’s sibling Maxine. There were just seven runners in the line-up, but competition was intense and Fortune Bound led until he was closely pressed from three out.

Shouting Hill (3/1) made his way to the front early on the flat and he dug deep to contain the renewed effort of the unexposed Bullzeye by a half-length with Fortune Bound a mere head adrift in third spot.

Dead-heaters catch the eye

Owner-trainer Kieran Purcell has always held the four-year-old geldings’ maiden dead-heat winner Burrenbridge Hotel in high regard. The son of Ivan Denisovich was in action on the first Sunday four-year-olds’ could race last season for he was probably going to finish in the frame but for falling at the last in the Oldtown maiden won by Gunnery Sergeant.

The Lamogue Stables inmate then finished second to Stage One at Lisronagh in March and Purcell admits that in hindsight it was probably the wrong choice to make to then run him in two summer bumpers.

It could happen that Burrenbridge Hotel will now be able to make a triumphant return to track duty while Megabucks, whom he dead-heated with, is a particularly imposing physical individual by underrated sire Well Chosen that’s bound to attract plenty of attention on his forthcoming sales date.