ANNAGHMORE
LOW-key stuff was the order of the day at Annaghmore Raceway on Saturday, October 6th.
The highlight of the meeting was a return to form by Fairdays Western, owned by the Coreys from Glengormley and driven by usual partner Aidan Caffrey.
Caffrey had the son of The Preacher Pan away from the gate like a shot from a gun. The up and coming driver then took a pull, allowed his horse to fill up again and had enough left at the end to see off Rhyds Boots (Simon Duggan) and Sarah’s Gift (Jonny Cowden). A time of 1.59.2 is a sharp clock for October as race times tend to slow down in the autumn.
“That’s the best he has felt for a long time,” said Aidan Caffrey “Kevin backed off him a little bit recently and it seems to be agreeing with him. He usually comes good late in the year.”
Jonny Cowden is another of our younger drivers making a mark. The 18-year-old went through a few weeks where everything seemed to go wrong lately. Jonny kept his cool and waited for things to turn.
Turn they did on Saturday as Cowden and Cilando Des Temps came from a 60-yard trail to pass every runner including the well-backed Umbratica, driven by Jonny’s mentor John Richardson.
Umbratica was well-backed in the ring. A break when in contention cost her dearly. That’s why they call it trotting.
The opener went to the stable which is arguably closest to Annaghmore as Foxfield Magician lived up to earlier decent runs in the red and green colours of Simon Duggan.
When Epsom Des Corvees decides to trot there are few four-year-olds who can live with him. The winner of €21,000, most of it in Ireland, added to his total in the E to G grade contest.
This week it was the turn of the obvious danger Epsom d’Occagnes (Anto Malone) to put in a jump. Four-year-old trotters are a precarious conveyance. Fermanagh man Darren Timlin drove the winner as usual.
Cool is trotting well for Dan McAteer, he seems to be able to drive out the horse, without fear of galloping. The winning margin of 42 lengths reflected Cool’s domination in the E to F older horses trot. Some of his pursuers went out like a light.
Michael Finnegan’s Amy Camden always runs her race, unfortunately she came up in a particularly hot generation of pacers. Michael and trainer Ricky Hanson have kept the faith and the six-year-old got a long overdue win in the D to F pace.
Cork raider Cian O’Reilly and Springhill Doyle put in a game run to get to within one and a half lengths of the winner.
Soprano Gede is coming near the end of his career but the Sean Kane can still get a tune out of the 12-year-old. Soprano Gede is one of a few Trotteur Français that have shown a preference for going right-handed. The winner of the clockwise trot pounced on the line after Chance De La Douce (Alan Wallace snr) had set the fractions. A short-head was the judge’s verdict.
Racing resumes on Sunday, October 14th at Portmarnock.
RESULTS ANNAGHMORE CO ARMAGH
SATURDAY 6TH OCTOBER
Race One: 1 Foxfield Magician S Duggan, 2 Rhyds Premier C Foran, Dist: 6l 1l Time 2.05.7
Race Two: 1 Epsom De Corvees D Timlin 2 Extreme Instant C Foran, 3 Etoile Quick C Foran, Dist :¾ l, 16l Time 3.15.7
Race Three: 1 Cool D Mc Ateer, 2 Belle De Bonneval, E Flanagan 3 Delicadeza S Kane, Dist 42l 2l Time 3.10.5
Race Four: 1 Amy Camden R Hanson, 2 Springhill Doyle C O’Reilly, 3 Derrybeg S Gallagher. Dist: 1½ l, 1¾l Time 2.04.5
Race Five Clockwise: 1 Soprano Gede S Kane, 2 Chance De La Douche A Wallace snr, Dist: Sh-Hd, Time 2.07.5
Race Six: 1 Fairdays Western A Caffrey, 2 Rhyds Boots S Duggan, 3 Meadowbranch Milli C Flanagan/Sarahs Gift J Cowden. Time Dist: 1l 1l DH 1.59.2
Race Seven: 1 Cilando Des Temps J Cowden, 2 Umbratica J Richardson Dist: 1 ½ l, 1 ¾ l Time 3.09.6