THE talented Swan Bay took advantage of a drop in class to make it two wins from five starts in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Median Auction Race over 10 furlongs.

Joseph O’Brien’s charge began his season in the Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown last month when he had to settle for sixth in what looked a smart renewal of that race.

At this less exalted level of competition, he was returned the 7/4 favourite under Shane Crosse and he posted a nice effort from the front.

From the entrance to the straight the Lloyd Williams-owned colt appeared to have matters in hand and he was never subjected to strong pressure to see off Bringbackmemories who chased him throughout and went down by two and a half lengths.

“He was a bit below par in the Ballysax and this should do his confidence the world of good. He was doing what he needed to up the straight. I was hoping he’d get through the ground (soft to heavy) as he’s a strong colt and his class got him through,” said the winning rider.

Kiss wins

Startedwithakiss (5/2) made it a double for O’Brien as she upstaged the recent Punchestown Festival Grade 3 bumper winner The Model Kingdom in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden over just short of a mile and a half.

The Model Kingdom found herself on the backfoot from the outset after a very slow start whereas the winner was always ideally placed in second for Dylan Brown McMonagle.

Entering the last two furlongs, the favourite had made up good ground to go into second but she couldn’t ever get on terms with Startedwithakiss who saw out her race well to finish with five lengths to spare on her fifth career start.

EASILY the most popular winner of the night came when Lord Erskine and Siobhan Rutledge bagged the Dick Mulvanney Supporting Roscommon Handicap over just short of a mile and a half.

In the colours of the late Jerry Nolan and without a win on the flat since landing the 2017 Irish Cesarewitch at Navan, the nine-year-old recovered well from a tardy start as he got a canny ride from Rutledge who allowed him to make steady headway on the outer from halfway.

In the closing stages, Lord Erskine (9/1) fought hard to come out the right side of a protracted battle with the favourite Sionnach Eile and the pair were separated by a head at the line. The winning jockey was subsequently hit with a seven-day whip ban.

“Jerry was the best owner we had and a gentleman. I rode winners for him and I trained Benkei and this lad for him. Those owners are hard to come by and it’s lovely to see the horse winning in those colours,” reflected Rogers. “This horse has had a few problems over the years but the rain came in time and Siobhan was very good on him and got him going forward at the right time. Two miles is his trip.”

Manning double

Jim Bolger sent out his first two-year-old winner of the season as Comhra turned the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Median Auction Maiden into a decidedly one-sided affair.

The daughter of Vocalised was sent off at 4/5 for the first seven-furlong, two-year-old race of the season on the back of her second to Matilda Picotte at the Curragh a week previously and had no difficulty coping with the soft to heavy ground.

The Jackie Bolger-owned filly raced on the pace for Kevin Manning and powered clear inside the last quarter of a mile to hit the line with six and a half lengths to spare.

“She did it easily and was entitled to win on her Curragh run and I’d say she doesn’t mind a bit of kindness in the ground. If she stepped forward from the Curragh, she was going to be hard to beat,” reported Manning.

Talented Darraby

There was a double in the offing for Kevin Manning as the Brendan Duke-owned and trained Darraby won the three-year-old 47-70 rated middle-distance handicap. The 20/1 shot was disputing the lead turning for home and dug in well from there to reach the line two and a quarter lengths ahead of Aghaboy.

“He’s an absolutely smashing young horse, you are going to hear a lot more about him. He’s little but he’s seriously tough, genuine and talented,” declared Duke whose charge was fifth to Stone Age in a Navan maiden on his most recent outing.

Flynn’s fine start to season

A REALLY bright start to the flat season for Paul Flynn continued as Timourid (13/2) gave the trainer his fourth success of the campaign in quite a well-contested handicap over an extended seven furlongs.

After being claimed for €15,000 at Dundalk in early January, the Galway Girl Syndicate-owned five-year-old ran a fine second in a Leopardstown handicap on his debut for Flynn last month.

Even better was to come here as Timourid eased into the lead for Luke McAteer early in the straight and retained control of the race thereafter. He was eased down late on for a one length success over the staying-on Cosmic Vega.

“We were humming and hawing about whether to run him on the ground but we said if we didn’t try it, we’d never know whether he’d handle it,” stated Flynn. “He’s maybe a better horse fresh and the owners would love to go to Galway.”

The Paul McEnery-owned and trained Fools Glory rewarded those who backed her at much bigger prices earlier in the day as she picked up the three-year-old 47-65 rated handicap over an extended seven furlongs.

Gamble landed

This daughter of Cotai Glory was as big as 80/1 when the betting on the race opened before being returned at 14/1 and she turned in a game effort from the front under Andy Slattery who did very well to make the running from a stall 14 draw.

On her first outing outside of maiden company, Fools Glory seemed sure to be picked off by Adhuil approaching the last furlong but she had further reserves to call upon when required and got home by a short-head.