ELLIE Mac was a popular winner of the €16,000 Schooling At Tipperary Rated Novice Chase, the most valuable race on the card at Tipperary’s final meeting of the year.
The mare is trained by Henry de Bromhead for the Niccolai Schuster Horse Racing Club which was set up in the wake of the Berkeley balcony tragedy in California.
The five-year-old is a lovely, big Court Cave mare with plenty of quality about her and, with Rachael Blackmore in the saddle, the outcome was never in doubt as she was driven out to justify 9/10 favouritism by five lengths from Fintara who was coming back for a second bite of the cherry close home.
A smiling de Bromhead said afterwards: “She’s going from strength to strength and the lads love to have a runner at Leopardstown, so we’ll look for something there. That’s her fourth run already, so we might back off and head to Leopardstown at Christmas.
“She’s won two now and brought us to Cheltenham and Punchestown and she’s won at Leopardstown and given a lot of people a lot of fun.”
Blackmore, who ended the day back in front of Paul Townend at the top of the jockeys’ table, had earlier completed a double for Joseph O’Brien when giving Gigginstown’s second string Young Turk an exemplary hold-up ride in the beginners’ chase.
Produced on the run to the final fence, the 5/1 chance sprinted away for a one-and-three-quarter-length victory over the same owner’s Burren Life, despite idling in the closing stages.
TOO SOON
The successful pilot reflected: “Joseph said to take my time and come with one run. I was probably in front a bit soon but luckily he was right for today and jumped well. It was a lovely performance.”
Not to be outdone, Blackmore’s boyfriend Brian Hayes also got in on the act when teaming up with Mick Winters for an emotional three-quarter-length success through 9/2 shot Native Lass in the handicap chase.
The eight-year-old is owned by Mark Walsh, from Wexford, whose wife Ann is “on precious time now,” in the words of the Kanturk trainer after undergoing chemotherapy.
Native Lass has been a model of consistency and this was her second career win. Winters revealed: “Since the mare came to me, Ann has been having treatment and she and Mark really wanted her to win as a distraction. I’ve tried everywhere with her and Brian said he’d like to win for the owner.”
Mark Walsh, who is usually associated with the opposition as second jockey to J.P. McManus, clocked up his second winner in the Gigginstown House Stud colours when the Joseph O’Brien-trained Choungaya captured the Tipperary Supporters Club Maiden Hurdle, at odds of 8/1, from Pike County. The winning owner was also responsible for the fifth-placed favourite, Monbeg Worldwide.
Choungaya had four and three-quarter lengths to spare at the finish, after which Walsh commented: “His first run was over hurdles and then his next three were in bumpers, so he had plenty of experience. Joseph said to be good and positive on him and it was a good performance.”
HACKED UP
Holycross handler John Burke does well with his team and sent out an outside winner for former amateur Kate Harrison in Hey Groovy who hacked up under Danny Mullins in the mares’ maiden hurdle by 11 lengths from Forgetthesurprise. The latter was left to fill the runner-up spot after Mizz Monroe blundered at the last.
The 12/1 winner, a half-sister to Hang On Groovy, was bought by the owner’s late mother Cathy as a yearling and Kate Harrison remarked: “I just didn’t want to keep training and Martin (the trainer’s brother) rode a few horses for Mum, so it was the obvious place to go because I’m working as a vet in the meat factory in Roscrea.
“She’s easy to train and had been working well at home and had a good few runs before. She’ll probably go over fences sooner rather than later because she’s a good jumper and she loves this nice ground but will handle loose ground.”
Mary B, backed from 11/10 into 2/5 favourite, went out of the race when putting down at the fifth last while in second place and unseating her rider.
Val O’Brien’s Oh’here wego, a nine-year-old who wasn’t registered until he was six, lived up to his name in the three-mile 80-102 handicap hurdle.
He ran on well under pressure from Conor Orr, registering his third win as a claiming professional and his ninth of the season, to claim the spoils by one and three-quarter lengths from Holy Motivation.
The 7/1 winner went up 8lbs for his Listowel success and his trainer commented: “He’s lightly-raced, with not too many miles on the clock because he was a late starter. He’ll maybe go to Navan or Naas because he likes a left-handed track. He goes on soft ground, so he’ll keep going for the winter.”
The winning owner, Gerard Murphy, who comes from Rahoon in Co. Galway, admits he got involved in racing by accident but he has been involved in a few syndicates and also breeds a few horses.
Market leader First Approach owed much of his success in the Season Finale Flat Race to a tactical ride by Mark O’Hare who came over onto the stands side in the home straight to deliver his challenge to Dr Duffy.
The two battled it out on opposite sides of the track after Dr Duffy drifted across to the far rail, with Patricia Hunt’s 11/8 favourite coming out on top for Noel Meade in the shadows of the post by a neck.
“He got held up after his second run with a stress crack and had to stand in for about two months, so I had to rush him back for Punchestown and he just wasn’t as fit as you’d like,” said Meade. “He’ll go jumping now.”
ACTING STEWARDS
J. Powell, R.E. Rohan, A.J. Molloy, P. Dowling, H. Hynes.
HORSE TO FOLLOW
PIKE COUNTY (D. Foster): He put up a very pleasing performance first time over hurdles following a two-month break and was still green in second behind a more experienced winner. Looks a progressive type and further improvement is anticipated.
No Galavanting!
GONE Galavanting was banned for 42 days, her trainer Peter Fahey fined €2,000 and jockey Eric Roche suspended for five days and ordered to forfeit his riding fee following a running and riding enquiry into the mares’ maiden hurdle.