ON an evening that was tough going for both horse and rider, a number of mares impressed and none more so than Henry de Bromhead’s Telmesomethinggirl in the John H. Kierans Memorial Mares Hurdle.

This Kenny Alexander-owned daughter of Stowaway got off the mark on her fourth outing on the track when winning at Roscommon a couple of months ago and she followed that with a third to The Very Man in a listed race Galway.

She produced her best effort yet as she stepped up to two and a half miles here. The 11/4 chance, who is rated 120, made all the running for Rachael Blackmore and by the time she reached the third last she already had the 4/9 favourite Bon Retour in trouble.

It was left to Two Shoe Tom to lead the chase late on but that one still finished eight lengths adrift.

“We always thought a lot of her and she is going the right way now. Two miles was possibly a bit sharp for her so this trip suit her well and hopefully she can keep progressing,” remarked the rider.

Gibney success

It has been an industrious few weeks for Tom Gibney whose Rhythm Divine followed a recent maiden hurdle win at Downpatrick by justifying 13/8 favouritism in the Bluegrass Feeds Mullacurry Cup Handicap Hurdle.

There was a brief point early in the straight where Darragh O’Keeffe’s mount dropped back to fourth but when she was asked to raise her effort in earnest she responded in fine style. She led at the second last and finished strongly to pull five lengths clear of Kilkeaskins First and there could well be more to come from her in the next few months.

“She handled the ground but she’s definitely better on better ground and she’s just a very consistent mare. I’m delighted for her owners Tom and Walter O’Connor and this will be a nice tonic for Tom’s wife Mandy who is having a tough time at the moment,” reported Gibney.

Conditions

One horse to relish the conditions was Magic Sea (7/1) who got back to the form that carried him to a wide-margin success at Down Royal on Stephen’s Day in the Byrne Marquees Handicap Hurdle.

The Sarah Dawson-trained five-year-old, who has already run 46 times, looked to have this race under control from some way out and he went on to defeat Muhaafiz by two and a quarter lengths.

Eoin Walsh, who gets a good tune out of this Anthony Passmore-owned gelding, was once again on board while Magic Sea is the fifth subsequent winner to emerge from the Galway handicap won by Bua Boy.

Local success for Delany

A GREAT local success was in the www.belmontequineproducts.com Maiden Hurdle where the Eamonn Delany-trained and bred Sorpolette upstaged some much better fancied rivals under a canny Denis O’Regan.

In the colours of Diane Flanagan and the trainer’s daughter-in-law Lisa, this mare was kept wide in search of better ground and she showing in front from early on. To her credit the 95-rated 16/1 chance kept going well through difficult conditions and she handed out a near four-length beating to the bumper winner Jimmy Jimmy with the odds-on Hand In My Pocket having to settle for third.

The trainer’s son Alan is a stalwart of the Bellewstown committee and this mare shares her name with the 1938 Galway Hurdle winner who was trained by first-named’s granduncle, Ned Delany.

“She ran a lovely race here a couple of months ago but was too keen next time at Sligo. Today she relaxed in front and jumped fabulous and Alan has done a great job with her. We felt that if she relaxed she had a good chance,” stated O’Regan.

For much of the last half mile of the Lougher Stables Maiden Hurdle, it seemed as though the stage was set for Barry Connell to record his first training success with Big King.

However, he was joined nearing the final flight by the first reserve Railway Hurricane (10/1 - 7/1) who crucially bagged the far rail on the run in and he finished off well to prevail by half a length and make it two winners in as many days for Gavin Cromwell and Jonathan Moore. This former winning pointer, who carries the colours of Susan Barton, was making up for a first-flight exit in a Kilbeggan maiden at the start of the month in which he looked to have a terrific chance. The front two finished 20 lengths clear of the 85/40 favourite Arakan Quest.

THE card concluded with a quality display from the John Kiely-trained Erins Benefit (13/8) in the Glenside Hotel-sponsored lady riders’ bumper. Helen Mooney, riding her first winner since 2011, was on board this Diana Vasicek-owned six-year-old who had shown up well to reach the frame on her first two runs.

On this occasion, Erins Benefit eased to the front early in the straight and went further and further clear of her discouraged rivals to score by 19 lengths. She should make up into a nice hurdler when the time comes.

After springing an 80/1 surprise at Kilbeggan earlier in the month, the David Dunne-trained Ballycastle Girl struck at the much more modest odds of 12/1 in the John Purfield Memorial Handicap Hurdle.

After proving her stamina over an extended three miles at Kilbeggan, this mare was sure to be suited by this similar trip and she coped splendidly with the ground which was a major unknown. Sean O’Keeffe produced her to lead with two to jump and she went on to defeat the rank outsider Metal Man by three and three-quarter lengths.

“She’s not the biggest and a low weight suits her so a better race and carrying a light weight would be in her favour,” stated Dunne who trains this lightly-raced eight-year-old for her breeder Sean Monaghan.