A PAIR of victories at Down Royal sent Paul Townend into an early lead in the National Hunt Jockeys Championship.
He partnered The Jazz Singer (10/1) on his first start over fences in the Barclay 20th Anniversary Rated Novice Chase and it was a fruitful expedition as the Tobougg gelding enjoyed a four-length verdict.
The Jazz Singer was left clear at the last when the rallying Bull Ride unseated Brian O’Connell but trainer Colin McBratney felt he had his measure anyway.
“Paul said he wasn’t out of second gear and hadn’t even asked him. He said he was cantering the whole way. They just went a nice steady gallop and Paul said he jumped very well. He has done it well,” McBratney said.
“He’s a hard little horse to get fit. There are plenty of options for him now. He will stay a novice now to get a bit of experience. We’ll see where we go. He could go for a handicap at the end of the summer. He actually wants fast ground. He has a great attitude, he’s a grand horse.
“I ran him in Perth one day and Clare (Moore, owner) loved him. I just got to know her and she said if The Jazz Singer was ever for sale she would love a share in him. She started off with a leg in him and has ended up with all four! She’s from Northumberland.”
Townend followed up with the Killtippford Syndicate’s Curragh Golan in the O2 Handicap Chase over two and a half miles. However, this was a tighter affair as his mount got up close home to win by a neck.
The jockey said of the 3/1 favourite: “Garrett (Power) did a great job keeping him fresh. When he got there today he could have thrown in the towel but he fought well. He’s a summer horse.” That success moved Townend onto 10 wins for the season.
Tellthemnuttin has been a terrific servant for the Heads Or Harps Syndicate and she brought up her sixth career victory in the WorkPal Handicap Hurdle, over three miles.
The 7/4 favourite travelled strongly for Dylan Robinson to pick up the lead approaching the last. She was merely shaken up on the run-in to assert by 10 lengths.
Delighted trainer Willie Codd said: “She just keeps improving with every run and the step up to three miles has been a big help, which her pedigree suggested. Without any disrespect to the others, it wasn’t the best of races. When I saw the list of declared runners I just thought that if she ran to form she had to have a good chance.
“I hope the handicapper isn’t too hard on her because she’s not very big but she loves the ground. The plan is to pick up a bit of blacktype somewhere because she’s going to be a valuable broodmare.
“It didn’t work out for us in Galway last year when our race was over at the second hurdle and I was almost kicking myself for running her, because it probably came a bit soon and the lads were keen to have a runner there but of course we’d like to go to Galway.”
Sandra Hughes saddled her final runner when Sheamus finished sixth.
All sections of the third-last hurdle were lying flat for the second circuit of this race after being mistakenly taken down by the hurdle marshals.
There was a dramatic start to the card when All’s Quiet and Silken Thomas dead-heated in the Barclay Communications Maiden Hurdle.
The judge couldn’t separate the pair who kept on well from the last. There was plenty of money around for both as All’s Quiet was returned at 11/2 from 15/2 while Silken Thomas shortened to 10/3 from 9/2.
Ado McGuinness, trainer of Dan Daly’s All’s Quiet, commented: “He had a nice run in Ballinrobe and then in Tipperary he was very good but the ground was probably a shade too soft for him there.
“We fancied him to run a good race there tonight. He needs good ground so we are delighted. Luke (McGuinness) is my nephew and it is his first winner back (after suspension) so it’s great.
“He made a little bit of a mistake and Luke didn’t think he had it and Jonny (Moore on Silken Thomas) didn’t think he had it. They were guessing so we won’t complain.
“We’ll probably go to a novice or we could go to England with him. He’ll be sold, if we can too, as well.” Noel Meade trains Silken Thomas for Munnelly Support Services Ltd.
Fiesole landed a handicap hurdle over two miles in Down Royal at the start of May and repeated the feat in a better-class race in the Barclay Telecom Handicap Hurdle.
Again, Eoin Doyle’s charge was ridden by Andrew Ring, who kept him up to his work to score by two and three-quarter lengths at 3/1.
Ring can see further improvement in the five-year-old gelding, owned by the trainer’s mother Pauline, as he said: “I got there a bit soon on him. He really comes alive at the end of a race and he’s hard to take back when you get him going. He ran into a well-handicapped horse in Clonmel the last day after winning here. He likes this place.
“He deserves a crack at a good handicap. He idled away in front. He should go for a big handicap next, He travels like a good horse.”
Gordon Elliott’s Station Closed has hit form with two victories in a week. The nine-year-old mare opened her account in Downpatrick the previous Friday and battled well on the run-in in the Barclay Bytes Handicap Hurdle over two miles, three and a half furlongs to prevail by half a length at 9/2.
Davy Russell, in the Gordon Elliott Racing Club colours, said: “Credit to Gordon, he is after getting two races out of a mare who might have struggled normally. He has found two lovely races for her to be fair. I suppose the cheekpieces helped today.”
The Glenpatrick Sport Horses bumper looked to be at the mercy of the well backed 8/11 favourite Mischievious Max and so it proved.
Tom Hamilton was on board for Joseph O’Brien and the Colmark Stud Partnership. He moved his mount into a challenging position at the furlong pole and they soon hit the front. The lead increased to four and a half lengths at the line.
Hamilton said: “He did it well, he put his experience to good use. He was very professional and he kept galloping. For a stride or two I was short of a small bit of room turning in but he got through a gap and picked up and went away and did it nicely.”
ACTING STEWARDS
R. S. Martin, L. McFerran, Rev C.L. Hall-Thompson, F.G. Fitzsimmons, M.F. O’Donoghue
HORSE TO FOLLOW
GLASSON LAD (Mrs Ann Mooney): He was very eye-catching in storming home from rear for third.