RACHAEL Blackmore once again displayed her considerable race-riding skills when landing the featured WKD Hurdle (Grade 2) at Down Royal on Friday, day one of the track’s Festival of Racing.
Re-united with the Iain Jardine-trained Bedrock, on whom she won a Grade 3 hurdle at Tipperary early last month, Blackmore was content to let the market leaders, Sharjah and Samcro, dispute the lead in front but was right on their heels as first the former and then the second came under pressure.
Bedrock was sent up on the outside to challenge the other pair at the second last, led on landing and then stayed on best to score by one and a half lengths and five lengths from Samcro and Sharjah.
“That was a very good performance,” said the successful jockey, bringing up her 50th winner of the season, on the five-year-old Fastnet Rock gelding. “Iain Jardine has done a fantastic job with him as he had to come on from the last day as he had much more to do here but did it well.”
Jardine watched the race from his yard in Dumfries, Scotland, and told The Irish Field: “After Bedrock won the Grade 3 nicely in Tipperary he was nice and fresh, so I had a look through the programme book and found this race. I’ve never had a runner in Down Royal before, even though it’s very close to where we are.
“We knew this race would probably cut up, as not many would want to take on Samcro and Sharjah, but we knew our lad had a bit up his sleeve and we’ve always had faith in him. I don’t think it was a fluke today. Maybe Samcro will improve for the run but it was a good performance by our lad.”
After taking a call from Blackmore, Jardine added: “Rachael said the horse gave her a great feel and was quick at his hurdles. She rode a patient race, had plenty of horse underneath her when she asked for an effort, and he quickened all the way to the line.”
The trainer confirmed that Bedrock was recently bought by Americans with a view to being transferred to the USA but plans may change. Jardine said: “I’m sure the new owners won’t just whip him away now as there is nothing for him in America at the moment. The Fighting Fifth at Newcastle is the next race I would have my eye on for him, and then maybe a crack at the Christmas Hurdle in Kempton.”
Jardine is now looking forward to Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup in which he runs Nakeeta, a fast-finishing fifth last year and only needing one horse above him in the ballot to come out to be guaranteed a run next week.
“You can ignore Nakeeta’s prep run out there as they crawled. My amateur rider Bruce Lynn tells me the horse is in the same form now as he was when he won the Ebor last year.”
Andrew Cork, the sole representative of the winning owners, The Risk Takers Partnership, said that they had travelled over in the hope of being second, thinking that Sharjah wouldn’t like the ground, but were more than delighted with the win.
SAMCRO ‘GOT TIRED’
Speaking of the beaten favourite Samcro, trainer Gordon Elliott commented: “It’s always disappointing when you don’t win but it’s the start of the season and he just got a bit tired at the second last.
“He was running on again at the finish and, don’t forget, those other horses are racefit while our fellow hasn’t run since last April.
“He’s 3 or 4lb off his best but, remember, this time last year he won a maiden hurdle and look where he ended up.”
THE tall and rangy Sancta Simona followed up her maiden win at Galway when justifying even-money favouritism in the Lough Construction Irish EBF Mares Novice Hurdle (Grade 3) under Barry Geraghty.
J.P. McManus’s French-bred five-year-old was held up off the pace but hit the front between the longtime leader Don’t Hesitate and The Princetonian before the second last.
While only winning by one and half lengths, she was never really troubled by the late-arriving Holding Pattern.
“That was good but she is still a bit green,” said Willie Mullins. “We’ll keep her to the mares’ programme. She is a fine, big mare we’ve always liked. She was racing keen in behind horses and would appreciate a faster pace. She’s well up to the standards of other mares we’ve had at this time of the season.”
Favourite backers got their day off to a good start when the Sean Flanagan-partnered First Approach (9/10) landed the opening Eventsec Maiden Hurdle over two miles and six.
The Robin Des Champs five-year-old made most of the running and while Diamond Turf stuck to the leader’s heels, he was constantly outjumped by the slick hurdling of First Approach who went clear before the last to score by 13 lengths.
“I was absolutely delighted with that,” commented winning trainer Noel Meade. “I was kicking myself for running him the last day at Cork in a winners’ bumper - I got greedy! Donnchadh Doyle, who won a point-to-point with the horse, said to me don’t run him in bumpers as he jumps so well.
“When he ran here last year he got a stress fracture behind which had him out for a while. It wasn’t serious and has come back very well from it and it’s also a help that he’s a very clean-winded horse. He will stick to hurdles for this season and will run in those novice races over a trip.”
Meade was particularly delighted that he won this race for Belfast owners Patricia and Paul Hunt who like to have a winner at their local track.
Co Kildare trainer Arthur Moore was delighted for himself and owner/breeders Gerry Cullen and Tony Kilduff when the Paul Townend-partnered Brosna George (9/2) landed the Allianz Handicap Hurdle. The five-year-old Intikhab gelding won by two and a half lengths from the always-prominent Sir Ector whose rider, Jack Kennedy, received a 10-day whip suspension.
“This fellow’s dam was placed here as a two-year-old,” reminisced Moore, “and I rode a bumper winner for the owners as a lad.”
Gordon Elliott and Gigginstown House Stud had some compensation for Samcro’s defeat in the Porter & Co Beginners Chase where the Davy Russell-ridden Delta Work (4/9) fared best in a dour three-way finish. On the inside, he scored by three-parts of a length from Niven, on the standside, with Ben Dundee a neck back between the pair.
“On ratings, he was entitled to win that – he threw it away the last day (a neck second in Grade 1 hurdle at Punchestown in April),” said Elliott of the five-year-old Network gelding who won the Pertemps final at the Cheltenham Festival. “He battled well; he’s a good, tough horse.”
Eight Till Late (8/1), trained by Francis Casey for the Early To Late Syndicate and ridden by Conor Orr, also displayed good battling qualities when winning the Toals Bookmakers Handicap Chase by three and three-parts of a length from the longtime leader and favourite, Thecraicisninety.
Casey’s mother Junie is a member of the syndicate which owns the 10-year-old Desert King gelding who, according to Bob Armstrong, spokesman for the winners, “has been a great servant for us. It’s hard to say where he will go next as he is ground dependant.”
Although horse for whom that last remark applies is the attractive grey gelding Batcio (9/2) who won a second bumper when landing the Sky Sports Racing Launching in 2019 Flat Race by two and three-parts of a length from the favourite, Multifactorial.
Ridden by Aubrey McMahon for his father Luke, Batcio is trained by Ted Walsh who commented: “He’s a lovely horse and a great leaper. He likes good ground so will have a break now but will win a hurdle for Aubrey before going over fences.”
ACTING STEWARDS
R.S. Martin, L. McFerran, H.M. Ferguson, F.G. Fitzsimmons.
HORSES TO FOLLOW
LARGY BEACH (S.R.B. Crawford): A distant third in the opener won by First Approach, this Yeats gelding has obviously shown enough improvement at home on his two pulled-up efforts in points during the spring that connections have gone down this route with the four-year-old.