Neil O’Donnell

THE two-day South Union Foxhounds meeting started at Farrangalway outside Kinsale on Saturday evening and the Michael Winters-trained Theatre Princess continued her upward trajectory by effortlessly winning the Good Fish Company mares’ open in the hands of talented 5lb claimer Chris O’Donovan.

On an extremely wet and miserable evening, Forever Eva took the five runners along with Theatre Princess (5/4), an authoritative winner at Dromahane in late-April, in her slipstream virtually throughout.

The eventual winner edged past on the incline from the third last of the 15 obstacles except that the previous Saturday’s Tralee winner Without Wings was soon in pursuit. Theatre Princess, by King’s Theatre, was clearly in command from two out as Without Wings couldn’t raise her effort with four lengths ultimately separating the pair. Forever Eva, the only other finisher of the five runners, returned a further 10 lengths behind in third spot.

Theatre Princess, owned by Winters’ near-neighbour Eamon Tarrant, continues to improve and the five-time winning pointer will now return to handicap hurdle duty.

JUDGE

Proceedings opened with the Celtic Ross Hotel mares’ winners of one with the judge unable to separate Jonathan Sweeney’s Barnahash and the Robert Tyner-trained Scoop It, and awarded a dead-heat between the pair.

Robert Tyner’s Scoop It (5/1) made most of the running with Derek O’Connor until Ambrose McCurtin sent Barnahash (6/1) past after three out. Barnhash came under pressure at the second last and Scoop it went into pole position at the final fence. She then drifted slightly right as Barnahash valiantly came back with a renewed effort on the flat to join issue literally on the line. Bell’s Cross posted an effort rich in promise by returning a further one and a half lengths behind in third spot.

Scoop It, representing the Patient Syndicate from Bandon headed by Pat Barry, is now likely to embark on a hurdling stint, while Sweeney has a similar campaign in mind for the Michelle and Keara O’Connor-owned Barnahash.

HANDLERS’ TITLE

Colin Bowe forced a dead-heat with his former protégé Donnchadh Doyle in the handlers’ championship, the pair concluding the campaign on 28 winners apiece, by sending out clear form-choice Theatre Mole to oblige with Barry O’Neill in the MSL Motor Group five and six-year-old mares’ maiden.

Theatre Mole (evens-4/5) made progress from four out as Goulane Ruby and Cloneen Lady vied for supremacy up front.

The market leader and Gersjoeycasey went on from the third last and the last-named threatened to spoil the party by edging ahead two out, where Theatre Mole actually blundered.

The wining daughter of King’s Theatre is however a quite tough sort and she mastered Gersjoeycasey on the flat to beat Shane Fitzgerald’s mount by a head in the familiar Little King Robin colours of Maria Kavanagh from Arklow.

Luska Lad remains a massive credit to all concerned and Shark Hanlon’s former 10-time track winner supplemented his facile success at Inchydoney the previous Sunday by running the opposition ragged in the Blackwater Motors four-mile open lightweight.

Luska Lad (6/4), who was fitted with cheekpieces, was bounced out in front by John Fitzpatrick and the duo had runner-up Vanguard as their only threat from the fourth last of the 20 obstacles. Vanguard couldn’t raise his effort from the second last as the veteran bounded clear to oblige by eight lengths and by doing so, he was actually recording his fifth success of the season. Fourth Class more than acquitted himself by returning a similar margin adrift in third spot.

Hanlon was understandably elated with Luska lad and he hinted that the Barry Connell-owned chesnut could be trained with a banks campaign in mind next season.

JIMMY MANGAN

The Vanguard connections of handler Jimmy Mangan, owner Karen O’Driscoll and rider Jamie Codd combined to collect the concluding Bandon Co-Op & Finders Inn Restaurant five-year-old and upwards confined hunts maiden with Bandon Bridge.

The five-year-old Bandon Bridge (6/1) made smooth progress from four out to track Fly West from the third last. The ultra-consistent Fly West still led two out, but Aidan Kennedy’s charge had no reply once Bandon Bridge blitzed into the lead at the final fence with five lengths duly separating the pair.

Mangan later described Bandon Bridge, who will now be left off for the summer, as a late-maturing sort and it wouldn’t be at all unreasonable to witness further progress from the O’Driscolls’ homebred son of Presenting next term.

Get Rhythm vindicated the promise of his fifth-placed effort behind Jack The Wire at Dromahane in late-April by readily landing the O’Leary Insurance Group five-year-old geldings’ maiden, the race that attracted the biggest field of the day in 15 runners.

The hooded Get Rhythm (6/1) made his way from off the pace into fourth spot at the seventh fence and the winning bay went for his race at the fourth last with Damian Murphy. The victorious son of Kayf Tara forged clear on the run-in to beat recent Ballindenisk third Icantsay by two lengths.

Get Rhythm runs in the Mrs Eileen Barry colours of Our Katie and it is her husband Pat, whose family own the Bartlemy point-to-point course, who trains the relation to Franchoek who now seems well up to making his presence felt on good ground over the summer months.

HORSE TO FOLLOW

FLY WEST (A. Kennedy): This son of Westerner occupied the runner-up berth for the third time by chasing home Bandon Bridge in the confined hunts’ maiden. He ran significantly better than being beaten five lengths would indicate and he could be suited by one of the less-demanding circuits.