Neil O’Donnell

THERE was some stellar fare on offer at Saturday’s eight-race Tipperary Foxhounds fixture at Lisronagh and the Pat Doyle-trained newcomer Danny Kirwan had many of those present searching for superlatives following his stunning victory in a truly-run second division of the Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham & Ascot Sales four-year-old geldings’ maiden.

The subject of favourable reports beforehand and with owner Roddy O’Byrne flying back from the US for the race, Danny Kirwan was sent off the 6/4 favourite. The market leader, having really taken the eye in the preliminaries, never gave his supporters the slightest cause for concern as he disputed the running virtually throughout with Cooldine Bog.

The winning son of Scorpion went on from the third last of the 16 obstacles and there was only going to be one outcome as the Suirview Stables inmate ultimately beat Risky Gold by a comprehensive 11 lengths, with Cooldine Bog securing the minor honours, a further three lengths adrift.

“He’s probably potentially the best four-year-old that I have ever trained,” was handler Doyle’s comment of the bay, who is called after a centurion of the same name that lives in owner O’Byrne’s home village of Kilmacthomas.

The equine Danny Kirwan is a half-brother to Mark Cahill’s dual winning hurdler Pilgrim Way, out of a half-sister to French Grade 3 jumps winner Bingo Bell, and he was bought for €19,000 by O’Byrne’s nephew Timmy O’Byrne at last year’s Goffs Land Rover Sale.

Danny Kirwan’s rider Jamie Codd departed with a two-timer as he earlier combined with long-standing ally Denis Murphy to capture the second division of the Goffs four-year-old mares’ maiden with another debutant in Lust For Glory.

Lust For Glory (2/1-6/4) always travelled with supreme ease as Its All A Lark cut out the running from Cash Me Outside. The winning daughter of Getaway stylishly picked up the running between horses on the run to the final fence and she then quickened clear on the flat to put five lengths between herself and Cash Me Outside.

“She got a bit weak last season and we left her alone as she was always such a nice sort. She has repaid us now,” disclosed owner/trainer Murphy, who added that Lust For Glory is now likely to be offered for sale at Cheltenham in just over two weeks’ time, on November 17th.

FRONT-RUNNING

Likewise bound for the Tattersalls Ireland Sale at Cheltenham is the Aidan Fitzgerald-trained Daylight Katie, who arrived from mid-division to capture the first division of this same contest in the hands of Richie Deegan.

Daylight Katie (6/1) made her way into contention from three out and she led before the last to beat the front-running Three Thirds by four lengths in the colours of Fitzgerald’s Borris-based neighbour Avril Barry.

Handler Vincent Halley sent out the John Barry-ridden Getaway Trump to land the first division of the four-year-old geldings’ maiden.

Getaway Trump (4/1), finished third on his debut at Curraghmore on Easter Sunday, made his way to the head of affairs after the third last to dismiss the promising Arehecan by nine lengths. The Getaway-sired Getaway Trump, is owned by Dublin-based Sarah Keane in partnership with Halley’s father Lar.

STORMED

In a somewhat grief-stricken Sherry Fitzgerald Country Homes, Farms & Estates five-year-old geldings’ maiden, the Louis Archdeacon-trained Duhallow Tornado stormed to the front with Eoin O’Brien in literally the shadow of the post to deny recent Loughrea runner-up Well Tom by a neck in what was the closest finish of the afternoon.

The whole complexion of the race altered at the last as former hurdler Ballyegan Warrior had just come through to overtake Well Tom when falling here. Well Tom was duly left in the lead, but seasonal debutant Duhallow Tornado (5/1), who still had some six horses in front of him after three out, closed with every stride inside the final 50 yards. The Joe ‘Frog’ O’Sullivan-owned Duhallow Tornado then led in the very dying strides to beat Well Tom by a neck.

Well Tom’s handler Aengus King and rider Eoin Mahon won consolation when former track performer Braize recorded a virtual pillar-to-post success in the closing Hotel Minella six-year-old and upwards maiden for novice riders in the biggest field of the afternoon with 13 runners.

Braize (4/1), who gave an exhibition of fencing, asserted between the final two obstacles to dispose of Orchard Hill by five lengths and the victorious French-bred was providing Mike Neville from Castleconnell with an initial success as an owner.

Co Kildare-based owner/trainer Tom Shaw’s Chapter Two, another to impress in the jumping department, showed that she’s in line for a productive campaign by stepping up from her third-placed return effort behind A Decent Excuse at Castletown-Geoghegan three weeks earlier to capture the Athassel House Stud & Thomastown Castle Training Stables mares’ open with regular partner Johnny King.

In a race which saw favourite Presentingprincess exit at the first fence, Chapter Two (7/4) drew clear after two out to account for the five-year-old Bloodstream by six lengths. Chapter Two is a mare that’s improving the whole time and she’s likely to make her presence felt in the hunter chase arena on soft ground this time around.

Owner/trainer/breeder Jim Barry from nearby Fethard sent out Defacto Lady to win the Mikey Ryans Bar & Kitchen five-year-old mares’ maiden under Liz Lalor in a race which saw Gold Runner fall when challenging for the lead two out.

Defacto Lady (7/4) swept past the front-running Yellow Dockets before the final fence to score by three lengths with the pair being the only finishers.

Barry, who also bred the top-class Omerta, disclosed that Defacto Lady is the only horse that he has in harness at present.

Doyle on the mark

PAT Doyle seems to have an outstanding prospect on his hands in Danny Kirwan. A quick glance at the results on the racecard from the 1978 renewal of this meeting, which took place at Clonmel Racecourse or Powerstown Park, show that Doyle was also on the mark at the fixture 39 years ago when he guided Quiet Life to victory in the nine-runner novice riders’ race. The No Argument-sired Quiet Life later won three races on the track and she went on to breed two Gain Mares’ Final winners in Your Life and Myelife. Of even greater is the fact that Quiet Life’s unraced daughter Meelick Lady (by Duky) produced the great Moscow Flyer.