THE two-day Lisdoonvarna Midlands Region’s meeting opened with a five race card last Friday week evening with Danny Sheehy and Luke Bleahen both recording doubles.
Danny maintained his grip on the national riders’ championship as he teamed up with regular partners The Three County Syndicate to share a double.
Coola Boola continued his fine form of recent weeks with a well-deserved win in the opening two-mile race with Mossy chasing him home under Luke Bleahen. Danny then took the 12-furlong race on The Commentator who won from Mr Grey.
Luke Bleahen
Ballinasloe-based Luke Bleahen added two more winners to his growing tally, both horses trained in Ballyconneely by the McNamara family.
The win in the 15hh race with Treasure Beach was a dead-heat with Second Chance who was ridden by Athenry, Co Galway rider Evan Daly for his father Iggy. Incredibly, this was a second dead-heat in a row for Second Chance as the judge was also unable to split him from Choc Ice at the previous meeting in Geesala.
Luke’s second winner came in the concluding mile where Osaka won from Aideen’s Dream. With more racing scheduled for the Southern Region than the other regions in the concluding part of the season, Rossa Ryan would seem to have an impossible task to bridge the gap with Danny Sheehy for The Irish Field National Riders Championship but he didn’t go empty handed as he teamed up with Buddy Harrison to take the 10-furlong race with Last Chance Paddy.
RESULTS
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH
Open Horse (2M): 1, Three County Syndicate’s COOLA BOOLA (Danny Sheehy); 2, C. Mills’s MOSSY (Luke Bleahen); 3, J. Toal’s WELSH HOPE (Ciara Mannion)
Open Horse (10F): 1, B. Harrison’s LAST CHANCE PADDY (Rossa Ryan); 2, T. McCarthy’s THE RUSSIAN (Luke Bleahen); 3, M. Flannery’s SMILES FOR MILES (Ciara Mannion).
15hh (1M): 1, P McNamara’s TREASURE BEACH (Luke Bleahen) dead-heated with I. Daly’s SECOND CHANCE (Evan Daly); 3, A. Melia’s OUT THE WINDOW (Danny Sheehy).
Open Horse (12F): 1, Three County Syndicate’s THE COMMENTATOR (Danny Sheehy); 2 , J. Finnerty’s MR GREY (Rossa Ryan); 3, M. Flannery’s MONDAY BLUESS (Ciara Mannion).
Open Horse (1M): 1, McNamara/Beach Syndicate’s OSAKA (Luke Bleahen); 2, I. Kelly’s AIDEEN’S DREAM (Evan Daly); 3, B. Maher’s MAN OF STEEL (Danny Sheehy).
LISDOONVARNA–
MIDLANDS REGION
SATURDAY
DAY two of Lisdoonvarna saw Galway rider Rossa Ryan realise a very significant landmark as he recorded his 100th winner in horse and pony racing. Due to the relatively short period riders spend in pony racing this `100 club’ is quite special and Rossa joined it in the opening mile race when Omega won for the Finnerty team. The Ryan/Finnerty partnership weren’t long in adding to the tally as Fiddler’s Bridge took the 14hh race from the Mikey McGuane-ridden Third Gear and they followed this up with victory in the 15hh race where Snowdrop won from Farmer Boyce.
After the two-day meeting it was a case of as you were in The Irish Field National Riders Championship as Danny also made two trips to the winner’s enclosure to match the four winners of Rossa over the weekend. The veteran Tail To Tail took the 12.2hh race from the Andrew Slattery-ridden Here Comes The Pain while Coola Boola followed up the Friday evening’s win by taking Saturday’s two-mile contest from Second Chance who made the move up from 15hh class. Luke Bleahen was another rider to record a double as he added to the previous evening’s double starting with Waratah in the 14.2hh as Seamus Bergin’s charge saw off the Evan Daly-ridden Blazing Glory. Luke then took the non-winners race on The Russian for Tim McCarthy.
The 12-furlong race had to be stopped after George Connolly and Lady Lynn took a heavy fall bringing down the Danny Sheehy-ridden Good Times Ahead. While Danny escaped unscathed George wasn’t so fortunate as he suffered concussion.
RESULTS
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH
Open Horse (1M): 1, Finnerty Family’s OMEGA (Rossa Ryan); 2, B. Maher’s MAN OF STEEL (Danny Sheehy); 3, I. Kelly’s AIDEEN’S DREAM (Evan Daly).
12.2hh (6F): 1, Three County Syndicate’s TAIL TO TAIL (Danny Sheehy); 2, M. Slattery’s HERE COMES THE PAIN (Andrew Slattery).
15hh (1M): 1, Finnerty Family’s SNOWDROP (Rossa Ryan); 2, Three County Syndicate’s FARMER BOYCE (Danny Sheehy); 3, J. Finnerty’s CHOC ICE (Mark Crehan).
14hh (1M): 1, Finnerty Brother’s FIDDLERS BRIDGE (Rossa Ryan); 2,M. McGuane’s THIRD GEAR (Mikey McGuane); 3, Moresby Syndicate’s CHEEKY CHARLIE (Danny Sheehy).
14.2hh (10F): 1, S. Bergin’s WARATAH (Luke Bleahen); 2, J. J. Bailey’s BLAZING GLORY (Evan Daly); 3, M. Doyle’s YOU KNOW WHO (Liam Gilligan).
Non-winners (10F): 1, T. McCarthy’s THE RUSSIAN (Luke Bleahen); 2, F. Finnerty’s OSCAR DE LA HOYA (Danny Sheehy); 3, H. Platt’s OUT FOR A RUN (Ciara Mannion).
Open Horse (2M): 1, Three County Syndicate’s COOLA BOOLA (Danny Sheehy); 2, I. Daly’s SECOND CHANCE (Evan Daly); 3, M. Flannery’s MEDICAL SCIENCE (Rossa Ryan).