LARNE trainer Stuart Crawford sent out two winners in Britain over the past week, the first at Perth last Sunday when the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned Condesa landed the four-runner two-mile novices’ hurdle at odds of 2/1.
Ridden by J.J. Slevin, the seven-year-old Sholokhov mare, who was having her first start in 809 days and her fourth in total, saw off the Gordon Elliott-trained favourite Jay Jay Zee by seven lengths, with the third home being all of 35 lengths further adrift.
Condesa finished second, beaten by a neck, when making her debut in March 2021 in a bumper at Ayr and was then third in a listed mares’ bumper at that year’s Easter Festival at Fairyhouse. Disappointingly, she finished 13th of 14 in a Grade 3 mares’ bumper as the season came to a close at Punchestown at the end of April 2021.
Condesa is out of the unraced Presenting mare Five Star Present, a full-sister to the multiple Grade 1-winning hurdler and chaser First Lieutenant. She is dam of two other winners including the four-time scorer Lieutenant Rocco, a 2015 Shirocco half-brother to the Crawford winner.
Bring me Sunshine
On Tuesday at Southwell, the Crawford-trained Sunshine Girl (14/1) landed the concluding extended three-mile mares’ handicap hurdle by one and a half lengths. The six-year-old chesnut was a first winner in her own colours for Sophie Bell whose fiancée, qualified rider Stephen Connor, was in the saddle.
Sunshine Girl was bred by Hugh Suffern who used to stand her sire Conduit. She is the third of five registered foals out of the Robin Des Pres mare Miss Sarenne, a winner over hurdles and fences in her native France, whose 2014 daughter, Fair Minded (by Flemensfirth), visited the winner’s enclosure once in the colours of J.P. McManus.
Other locally-bred winners over jumps in recent days included the Callie Berry-bred eight-year-old gelding Highland Charge (Fame And Glory – Full Of Birds, by Epervier Bleu) who recorded his third success over hurdles at Kilbeggan last Friday.
On the same evening, but on the flat at Chester, the McCracken Farms-bred Golden Trick, who is trained by Hugo Palmer, won the six-furlong EBF restricted novice race for two-year-olds under Hayley Turner. This was a second start for the Galileo Gold colt who finished third on his debut at Ayr last month. The chesnut is the first of two recorded foals out of the Oasis Dream mare Duplicitous whose own dam, Eleanora Duse (by Azamour), numbered the Blandford Stakes (Group 2) among her three wins while she was also Group 1-placed.
Six foals
The following afternoon at Navan, the Elzaam gelding Mr Mills landed division two of the concluding 10-furlong handicap by three parts of a length in the hands of Robbie Colgan. This was a second win in 13 starts for the bay who is trained in Co Meath by Chris Timmons for his Co Down breeder, Jim Magill. The five-year-old is the third of six foals out of the three-time-winning Iffraaj mare Juara who comes from the family of Pain Perdu and Royal Dolois.
On the jockey front, Brian Hughes rode just one winner at Stratford on Sunday but managed to complete a double on Tuesday at Southwell. Also on Tuesday, Patsy Cosgrave landed the six-furlong novice race for two-year-old fillies at Lingfield on the George Boughey-trained Band Of Joy while, on the same day, Oisin Orr won the 10-furlong handicap at Beverley on the Lucinda Russell-trained Rory The Cat.
RACING takes place at Down Royal on Friday next, July 28th, when the gates are due to open at 4pm for those who like to be well in time for the first race which is scheduled for 5.10pm.
There are two €20,000 races on the flat card, via the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Median Auction Maiden for three-year-olds and upwards over an extended 10 furlongs and the ASG & Partners Handicap for three-year-old and upwards fillies over an extended 12 furlongs.
Winners
Last season, the corresponding races were won by the Ger Lyons-trained Hazy Mehmory and, over a shorter trip in 2022, the Jack Davison-trained Massaman. Both Mehmas-sired winners were partnered by Colin Keane who recorded a four-timer during the evening. Too late for favourite backers, the Andy Oliver-trained Regally Blonde was awarded the concluding one-mile, five-furlong handicap following the disqualification in November of first-past-the-post Starlight Rose.
THE Jeremy gelding Belfast Banter, who began his racing career with Patrick Turley in Downpatrick, won the A.P. Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase Stakes (a Grade 1 handicap hurdle) at Saratoga on Wednesday.
The bay finished second under Mark O’Hare on his only outing for Turley in a four-year-old maiden at Oldcastle in April 2019 after which he was sold at Tattersalls Cheltenham to Direct Bloodstock for £30,000. He finished third and won a bumper in two starts for Dan Skelton that summer and was then transferred to Peter Fahey in Co Kildare.
Successes
From Fahey’s Monasterevin yard, Belfast Banter won four times over hurdles, recording back-to-back successes in the spring of 2021 in the McCoy Contractors County Handicap Hurdle (Grade 3) at Cheltenham and the Betway Top Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) at Aintree. He was purchased for £130,000 at ThoroughBid’s online auction in November 2021 by Tom Mullins on behalf of leading US jumps owner, Irvin Naylor.
Trained by Dunhill, Co Waterford-born Cyril Murphy and ridden by Charleville, Co Cork native Barry John Foley, Belfast Banter was having his seventh start in the States on Wednesday and went into the $150,000 race on the back of two third-place finishes in Grade 2 company during the spring.