DERMOT Weld followed up his four-timer at this fixture last year with a treble that included an impressive debut from Discipline while the card also featured a dominant reappearance from the classy Toe The Line.
Firstly to Discipline who signalled that she could be a class act in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden over seven furlongs. This Khalid Abdullah-owned daughter of Dansili certainly looked the part on paper as an own-sister to her trainer’s outstanding 20-times stakes winner Famous Name and she couldn’t have done much more on her first taste of racecourse action.
On the heavy ground only five went to post which meant that Discipline was returned at 4/11 and her supporters never had a moment’s worry. She travelled smoothly in the lead, eased clear of her rivals with well over a furlong to run and was unextended to finish seven and a half lengths clear of Fiuntach.
It won’t be long before she is making her presence felt at an appreciably higher grade.
“She’s a very athletic filly and handled that ground well. She’s one we’d hope to get black type with and we might now look at a Guineas trial,” said Weld. “As a two-year-old she was very immature but she’s wintered well and done well.”
The Rosewell House trainer stuck with another well-bred newcomer in Topaz Clear (11/4), a Pivotal half-sister to Forgotten Rules, in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden.
Given the conditions the runners went a very sedate pace and the race only began in earnest nearing the last quarter of a mile. The Moyglare Stud-owned Topaz Clear picked up best in the sprint for home and she responded well to pressure to contain the effort of Warp Factor by half a length. There was a further three lengths back to the 6/5 favourite Pietro Testa.
“It was a trappy little race but she did it well and battled well. We’ll try and find a winners of one for her now. They cantered round and it turned into a sprint which wasn’t ideal,” stated Weld.
JOHN KIELY
The middle leg of the Weld-Smullen treble was supplied by The Moore Factor as he stepped forward from a satisfactory comeback at the Curragh to land the seven furlongs maiden with plenty to spare.
The well-supported 6/4 chance was still travelling smoothly in the lead when the market leader Pacodali started to come under strong pressure inside the last quarter of a mile. The Moore Factor only needed to be nudged along to ease clear and he finished with seven and a half lengths to spare. This was his second outing since he was purchased out of Martin Hassetts’ yard following a fine debut second at Galway last July.
“He did it well. He was a fit horse, knew his job and the low draw was a help,” reflected Weld of the Robert Sinclair-owned gelding.
As she looked for a first win since landing a Curragh listed race in Sepember 2014 the John Kiely-trained Toe The Line was far too good for her three opponents in the mile and three-quarters conditions race.
LILLINGSTON
Toe The Line was well treated by the race conditions and coped well with the ground under Colin Keane. From the moment Toe The Line hit the front in the straight this race had a very one sided look to it and she stretched right away in the closing stages. On his first start since contesting last year’s Irish Derby the odds-on Radanpour finished a nine-length second.
“She looked back to herself and seemed to handle the ground well,” declared Kiely whose charge carries the colours of the late Alan Lillingston. “She’ll probably head to the Vintage Crop Stakes now and if she’s not up to that she’ll go hurdling.”
SHANE FOLEY
One horse for whom the conditions were certain to be ideal was Niven and he followed up his win on testing going at Limerick two days previously by taking the three-year-old handicap over an extended nine furlongs.
The 2/1 second favourite took the step up from seven furlongs in his stride and Shane Foley produced him from the rear to make his challenge two furlongs from home. At this stage five of the runners held chances of some sort but they soon gave way and Niven finished out his race well to defeat the bottom weight Burma Star by half a length.
“It’s a relief to see him do that as I did the complete opposite of what I said on Thursday when I though I might give him a chance before running him again,” remarked Ken Condon who trains the gelding for the Cattle On The Road Syndicate. “He came out of Limerick well and he’s a reliable horse who his owners will have a lot of fun with. We’ll definitely give him a few weeks before running him again.”
Oiche Mhaith Boy also turned out fresh and well from a Limerick success to land the apprentice handicap which made it three winners in as many days for Killian Leonard. The 7/4 favourite had the measure of Get Out Jail from early in the straight and he didn’t take long to shake off that rival before a three lengths victory over the top weight Prussian Eagle.
“He loves the ground which is why we turned him out again. If the weather stays as it is we’ll stay going otherwise we’ll leave him off for the summer and hopefully have him back for Listowel,” remarked Purcell who owns the gelding with Noreen O’Higgins and Patrick Clune.
MCCREERY
Another to relish the conditions was Elm Grove (6/1) who got Willie McCreery off the mark for the season in the 47-65 rated handicap over an extended nine furlongs.
The John Malone-owned four-year-old, who was just 6lb higher than when winning at Navan in the autumn, led before the straight and extended her advantage all the way to the line to pull 14 lengths clear of Whippers Dream.
“She’d been working well and she likes that ground. She had a good draw and Billy kept things simple. I’m delighted she’s won for John and Ita who are very good breeders,” commented McCreery.
Acting Stewards
N.P. Lambert, D. Nagle, M. Hillman, E. Halley, M.F. O’Donoghue
HORSE TO FOLLOW
BURMA STAR (D.K. Weld): This filly stepped forward on her two-year-old form to finish a creditable second to Niven and this comeback display would suggest that she could make her mark this season.
Whip ban
TOM Madden picked up a two-day whip ban after partnering Prussian Eagle into second in the apprentice handicap.