DETAILED secured an important bracket for the Annus Mirabilis Syndicate when taking the Listed Martin Molony Stakes for the trainer and jockey partnership of Joseph O’Brien and Wayne Lordan at Limerick last Saturday to bring her tally of wins to four.
Detailed was trainer Joseph O’Brien’s 99th Irish winner of the calendar year across both codes. His flat winner at Bath in June brings his 2017 score to 100. He saddled his first winners in June 2016.
Zawraq headed the betting for this event, but was always towards the rear of the seven-runner field and was later found to be lame on his off fore, when examined by the Turf Club veterinary officer at the request of the stewards.
Meanwhile, the 7/2 winner, a daughter of Motivator, improved to go second behind Cannonball a furlong from home and clinched the verdict close home by half a length.
Her jockey said on his return: “She’s a progressive filly and very tough. She ran a very solid race in Doncaster and Joseph said she bounced out of it. He’s been happy with her since and she handles that ground.”
Imaging, from the Dermot Weld stable, posted the most impressive performance of the day in the Limerick Racecourse Welcomes Bangor-on-Dee Maiden, restricted to two-year-olds, and Khalid Abdullah’s homebred colt is already being thought of as a stakes horse for next season.
Always in front under Pat Smullen, the 6/4 chance looked to have the favourite Spanish Point’s measure at the quarter-mile pole and, with his rival making little impression, Imaging stretched nine and a half lengths clear at the line.
The Oasis Dream colt was described as “a lovely big, kind colt” by the trainer after this fluent all-the-way success and Weld reflected: “He’s a very nice colt and I don’t think I’ll run him again. I’ll have a word with Lord Grinthorpe, but I’d say that’s it for the year.
“I think, the next time you’ll see him, will be in the 2,000 Guineas Trial and he’s a horse we like an awful lot. We think he’ll be a group horse next year. I just needed to get a second run into him because I wanted to put him away for next year and he’s made an awful lot of progress from his first run.”
Patrick Prendergast’s Naas runner-up Sunday Smart broke smartly in the Foran Equine Irish EBF Auction Maiden and the 9/4 joint favourite was never headed in the hands of Ronan Whelan, sticking to her task determinedly to beat Bronze Age by one and three-quarter lengths.
“I thought she should have nearly won the last day,” said the Curragh trainer of the Sunday Racing Club Partnership-owned filly. “But she’s been a very slow learner and I’m glad we came today. I might not run her again on that ground (officially heavy), because Ronan said she didn’t really handle it.”
Prendergast concluded: “I think, next year she’ll be a stakes filly, but she’ll need better ground than that.”
Not A Bad Oul Day, a 5/2 chance with 5lb claimer Dylan Hogan in the saddle, was another to successfully adopt front-running tactics in the Munster Mile, refusing to yield once challenged by Stenographer inside the last and holding on in the colours of Donal Lynch from Ballymore Eustace by half a length. The favourite Youceeyouceecee finished last.
The five-year-old was winning his ninth race and his trainer commented: “He was very brave today and, with front-runners winning the first two races, that’s the only way to ride him. He looked as if he was going to be swallowed up, but he got a nice soft lead and Dylan judged it perfectly.
“Tribal Path coming out was a big help and we might bring him out foreign to somewhere like France for a listed race or he could go to Cork next weekend.”
Wayne Lordan rolled back the years when teaming up with his first boss Thomond O’Mara for a head success through 10/1 shot Voyageofdiscovery in the second division of the seven-furlong handicap, with the favourite Fair Game only fourth.
The six-year-old races in the royal blue, red and white starred colours of San Francisco-based Bart Murphy and his trainer pointed out: “This was plan A because his owner is back home, but he didn’t make it here! He wasn’t winning out of turn and the race panned out to suit him.”
Sea Of Hope was a warm order for the first leg, but she was reported to be clinically abnormal when examined at the request of the stewards. Tennesse Waltz yielded a welcome winner for the David Marnane stable when coming out best in the race under Killian Leonard with a three-quarter-length defeat of Hatton Grace.
Jointly owned by the Bansha trainer’s wife Melanie, Damien Lavelle and Martin Dixon, the 9/1 winner was a beaten favourite at Dundalk on his latest and Leonard, who picked up a one-day ban for using his whip with excessive frequency, said: “He ran well in Cork, so I rode him on the fresher part of the ground and got him switched off.
“He can be a free-going sort, but he’s a nice horse and that allowed him to do the best part of his work in the last three furlongs.”
Co Kilkenny trainer Pat Tallis only has one or two horses on the go these days, but sent out a rare winner via Port Moody (9/2) who showed a willing attitude when holding the favourite Get Out Of Jail’s late rattle by a short-head in the J.T. McNamara Ladbrokes Munster National Tomorrow 45-65 Apprentice Handicap.
Tallis, who also owns the Bushranger gelding, said of Daniel Redmond’s fifth winner of the season: “He’s a pure fun horse and he’s brought me on the tour of Ireland this year to some of the loveliest tracks. He’s only filling into his frame, but he’s a middling horse with a future and he’ll be a lovely horse for next year.”
Castlecomer-based Pat Murphy became the third Co Kilkenny trainer to strike when Derek Leonard’s Hit The Silk sprang a 50/1 surprise in the Irish Racing Calendar 2018 Race with his three length success over Focus On Heaven. The disappointing favourite here was Sorelle Delle Rose.
Jockey Chris Hayes reported: “Pat was fairly hopeful, but not confident. The ground was the only thing he was concerned about, but he got through it and did it well.” Murphy, who was on lead-up duty, commented: “He ran well on his first run in Bellewstown where he ran green and stumbled on the road. I always thought a lot of him and he’ll probably go for a big handicap now.”
Riding bans
SHANE Foley got a one-day suspension for careless riding on Bronze Age in the first. Third race winner Dylan Hogan received a four-day suspension for excessive frequency.
ACTING STEWARDS
J. Powell, Mrs F. Ward, Ms J. Farrell, P. Coveney, L. Walsh
HORSE TO FOLLOW
IMAGING (D.K. Weld): Judged on his first wide margin win, he could not be faulted and is held in high regard by connections. Likely to be put away until next season, he is on the upgrade and is regarded as a group horse in the making.