1985

Piggott deputises for grounded Kinane

STANDING in for the grounded Michael Kinane, Lester Piggott completed a treble on Theatrical, Easy To Copy and Kings River, all trained by Dermot Weld, at the Curragh on Saturday. Among five short-priced beaten favourites were two odds-on chances, so the day was hardly rewarding for punters.

Vincent O’Brien also had an unhappy afternoon with the defeat of Derby hope Leading Counsel and the disqualification of Montelimar.

Leading Counsel was expected to deal with the well thought of Theatrical in the Ballysax 3-y-o Race. This he failed to do by two lengths. Either they are both very useful or neither is up to classic standard, for the runner-up was giving the winner 8lbs.

Leading Counsel went to the front before the home turn but Pat Eddery decided to keep well off the rails in the straight. Lester Piggott had no such reservations and he brought Theatrical with a well-timed run to challenge the favourite a furlong down. For a few strides they were locked together before the winner quickened away.

Back in action after an 11-month absence, Montelimar started a long odds-on favourite to retain his unbeaten record in the Mooresbridge Stakes. Going on from the start, he was tackled by Easy To Copy at the furlong pole. Pat Eddery switched the whip to his right hand as Easy To Copy took a narrow lead. Under the stick, Montelimar edged to the left throughout the closing stages, appearing to force Easy To Copy to follow suit.

At the post Montelimar was a head to the good. There was a protracted stewards’ inquiry, at the end of which the placings of the first two were reversed. The promoted winner is owned by Moyglare Stud Farm.

Scheduled to run in the Irish 2000 Guineas, Kings River was a hot order to win the Warren 3-y-o Maiden. He won well enough, but was not particularly impressive. He only asserted his authority in the final furlong to beat Nuage D’Or, who ran green, and Home Please by a length and a half and a head. The success completed a double for Mr Bertram Firestone.

1985

Classic finish to the 1000 Guineas

OH So Sharp snatched the prize in the very last stride, in a never to be forgotten finish between three fillies, at the end of the General Accident 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on Thursday. The race was run at a furious pace, and for more than seven furlongs Bella Colora, the mount of Lester Piggott, and Al Bahathri fought out a lone duel at the front.

Bella Colora was headed briefly by Al Bahathri two furlongs out but, head held low, soon regained the lead. The pair were still locked together when Oh So Sharp accelerated out of the pack to join them on the line, with the French filly, Vilikaia, a close fourth.

Not even the bookies knew who had won, but after the judge had brought his magnifying glass into play, he determined Oh So Sharp, the heavily-backed favourite, had won by a short head from Al Bahathri, with Bella Colora another short head away in third. Oh So Sharp had led for only one stride, and it was the stride that counted.

No family has invested more in British racing than the Maktoum brothers of Dubai, and they were all on hand to witness two of their horses.

Oh So Sharp is owned and bred by Sheikh Mohammed, while the runner-up, Al Bahathri, runs in the colours of his brother Hamdan Al Maktoum, who now owns the Derrinstown Stud outside Maynooth.

Buoyant Cecil

Henry Cecil was in buoyant form. “Now I can afford to pay my Jockey Club fine”, said Henry, “but it was so close. I didn’t think our filly had won. Oh So Sharp has tremendous scope and, like her sire Kris and her sister Roussalka, should be even better suited in the mid-summer”.

In an inquiry at Portman Square, Henry Cecil was fined £2,000 for failing to reveal full details of his financial arrangements with Lester Piggott during his term as stable jockey. Lester was called as a witness, and Cecil was extremely unhappy at being carpeted and fined. His team of owners include several members of the Jockey Club.

1960

New-look fences at Peerless Punchestown

PUNCHESTOWN staged one of its most brilliant fixtures ever on Tuesday and Wednesday, when the customary big crowds turned up. The weather was gloriously sunny on both afternoons and the ‘new-look’ races over the bush fence were an unqualified success.

The Punchestown ‘maestro’ Paddy Sleator delighted his legion of followers by sending out three winners on the first day, and then adding the Conyngham Cup with Fingal Maid to his tally on Wednesday.

The traditions of Punchestown were worthily upheld on the second day when Mr Ken Urquhart, the 50-year-old master of the Naas Harriers, won on his own horse, Prince Of Fortune, in the La Touche Cup.

Mr Urquhart, who rode in point-to-points as far back as 1925 and had his first success at Punchestown in 1937, showed superb horsemanship and dash, and received a tremendous ovation.

1960

Irish breeding to the forefront in 2000 Guineas

THE result of the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on Wednesday was not only a triumph for an Irish-trained horse, but for Irish breeding – the first, second and fourth being bred in this country.

It was also a confirmation of the wisdom of cross-breeding with the best American stallions, for Hill Gail (sire of Martial), who was imported by Mr Joseph McGrath, stands at the Brownstown Stud, and this was his first classic winner on this side of the Atlantic.

Martial, who is out of Discipliner, by Court Martial, was bred at the Airlie Stud. The 2000 Guineas was his only classic engagement in England. He is engaged in the Irish 2000 Guineas on May 18th, but his trainer, P.J.Prendergast, has stated that his next race is likely to be the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.

Martial’s owner is the American, Mr Reg Webster, for whom Paddy Prendergast bought the horse for 2,400 guineas at Ballsbridge as a yearling. Martial is the first winner of the English 2000 Guineas trained in Ireland, and is also the first English classic winner for Prendergast, whose confidence in the horse has never been shaken.

1955

Stewards at Naas uphold their own objection

NAAS is a well-known venue for providing surprises, and on Saturday last the outcome of the six-furlong Clondalkin Handicap, for which nine faced the starter, provided one of the biggest shocks for a long time. In a thrilling finish, Ragus, Ballyeila and Phylocactus passed the post with little between them.

The judge called for a photo, while most of those in the vicinity of the line thought Ballyeila had won. Surprise number one came when the photo showed that Ragus had beaten Ballyeila by a short head, with Phylocactus a head away third.

Then came the big shock when it was announced that the stewards had objected to Ragus being declared the winner for not keeping a straight course in the final furlong. The stewards upheld their own objection, disqualified Ragus, and awarded the race to Ballyeila.

M.C Collins, trainer of Ragus, has appealed to the stewards of the Turf Club against the local stewards’ decision and he announced that he would never run a horse at Naas again.

Naas is certainly jockey Gerry Cooney’s hoodoo course. Before Saturday, he had never ridden a winner there, but he thought the spell had vanished when Ragus finished first past the post.