BURREN LIFE

4yo br g (F)

Pelder - Burren Valley (Phardante)

Norman Lee

The first weekend of four-year-old maidens for 2016 may just have past and we may well have already witnessed a very special performance indeed, as Burren Life appears to be a high quality individual. Making most of the running under Johnny King, the Norman Lee-trained gelding was electric over his fences, which was particularly striking on what was his first competitive outing, and he quickened notably well off a strong true gallop to distance himself from what could be another horse to note, the Walter Connors-owned Caltex, before coming down at the final fence when likely set to score.

A first winner of the point-to-point season for his sire Pelder, who is also the sire of Grade 2 winner Buckers Bridge, he is catalogued to enter the sales ring at the re-scheduled Tattersalls Ireland Cheltenham Sale next Thursday. This has all the hallmarks of a very smart performance in what was quite a big field four-year-old maiden in comparison with this part of the year in recent seasons.

CALIPTION

4yo gr g (1)

Fair Mix - Sheriff´s Falcon (Presenting)

Gordon Elliott

Gigginstown House Stud and Gordon Elliott extended their run in this contest to four victories on the bounce with the battling success of Caliption to follow-up the successes of Gunnery Sergeant, Stone Hard and subsequent Cheltenham Festival winner Very Wood. The winning son of Fair Mix, the same sire as Irish points graduate and Cheltenham Festival winner Simonsig, produced a stamina laden performance to defeat his nearest rival by a length and a half. While this is one of the few point-to-points that is run over two and a half mile, it still took plenty of getting in testing underfoot conditions, around a big gallop track and owing to this test that it presents, many of his rivals could not maintain the same pace in the home straight and dropped away. A €32,000 purchase as a store, the grey gelding looks to be a staying chaser for the future.

DERRINROSS

5yo b g (1)

Scorpion - Cybele Eria (Johann Quatz)

J.P. Dempsey

It is always notable when a young horse wins while clearly holding plenty in hand, and that was very much the case with Derrinross and his success at Oldtown. The signs of greenness which the son of Scorpion displayed, in particular after jumping the last, were evident for everyone to see, as he wandered up the run-in, however he still managed to prevail by an extending two and a half lengths.

This had the look of a very competitive race, with two strong form horses entering the race following two second placed runs on debut, yet Derrinross was the subject of significant market support which saw him backed into short priced favouritism. Castle On A Cloud, one of those form horses, who had chased home Stowaway Magic at Liscarroll, a horse who has joined Nicky Henderson’s yard, was held by the winner when exiting at the final fence. Appearing to possess a nice turn of foot, he should be well capable of winning a bumper this season.

GLOBAL STAGE

5yo b g (4F-F1)

Multiplex- Tintera (King’s Theatre)

Tom Keating

Unlike many of the horses on this list, Global Stage required four starts to get off the mark, however he was unlucky to come down on two successive occasions, which undoubtedly extended the period of time that it took him to record that maiden victory. The Multiplex gelding was running a particularly encouraging race at Tralee at the end of last season behind the subsequent £155,000 purchase Monbeg Notorious when coming to grief, before only getting as far as the first at Templenacarriga a week prior to that maiden success last month.

Making much of the running in testing conditions, the bay gelding looks to possess plenty of gears as he increased the tempo noticeably exiting the back straight, yet was still able to pick-up once again in the closing stages, to defeat a promising newcomer by three lengths with a further 12 lengths back to the third. Owing to that pace which he appears to possess, it would therefore be no surprise to see him go very close in a bumper in the near future.

MR BRINKLEY

5yo b g (1)

Scorpion - Mandysway (Mandalus)

Pierce Power

The very well-bred Mr Brinkley went in many notebooks when making a winning debut at Killeagh in testing conditions. Appearing to possess plenty of gears, the Scorpion gelding always caught the eye travelling well through the race, and once going on, he picked up smartly off a decent gallop, before out-battling a very well-bred runner-up.

That horse Carrigmorna Matt, is the sixth foal out of a Bob Back mare who has already produced five track winners to date, Shantou Flyer who won a Grade 2 at Punchestown in November, the recently ill-fated Carrigmoorna Rock, a Grade 3 winner at Leopardstown and listed winner at Newbury, Carrigmoorna King, a six-time track winner who was rated 140 over fences and Mrs Mac Veale who is a seven-time winner including in a Grade C hurdle. Mr Brinkley meanwhile is a half-brother to Roberto Goldback who won over €250,000 and the indication is that Mr Brinkley has shown the necessary potential to suggest that he could be bound for a high level on the track.

MULCAHYS HILL

4yo b g (1)

Brian Boru - Belsalsa (Kingsalsa)

Martin Hassett

The four-year-old maiden at Tallow contained a number of well-bred types including the eventual runner-up Beneagles from the Denis Murphy yard, who is out of a half-sister to the three-time Grade 1 winning mare Liss A Paoraigh, however none of them could match the stamina reserves of Mulcahys Hill in the closing stages.

The Brian Boru gelding was up disputing the pace throughout in the testing conditions, and one by one, his rivals began to falter as he powered on, piling on the pressure from the front.

There was a lot to like about this front-running performance and he showed no signs of stopping, ultimately returning six lengths clear of the runner-up with a further 26 lengths back to the third and final horse to complete of the eight who started. Out of a Kingsala mare who herself was a winner on the track, the bay gelding is a half-brother to Warren Greatrex’s bumper winner Penn Lane, and Mulcahys Hill has shown plenty of early potential.

MONALEE

5yo b g (1)

Milan - Tempest Belle (Glacial Storm)

Kevin O’Sullivan

With a close family tie to the 2003 Thyestes Chase winner Be My Belle in his pedigree, it was therefore no great surprise that he excelled in the testing conditions at Templencarriga to make a winning debut.

Waited with throughout much of the contest under Derek O’Connor, the bay gelding made striking progress on the approach to the penultimate fence, from where he looked a serious contender, ultimately scoring by a length. It was eye-catching that the front pair easily asserted 10 lengths clear of the third horse, and with the turn of foot that Monalee produced to make up the ground, he should have little difficulty dropping back to middle distance on the track.

NOBLE ROBIN

5yo b g (1)

Robin Des Champs - Which Thistle (Saddlers’ Hall)

Paul Cashman

A horse that we could be hearing a lot about in the future, as he dominated proceeding in a competitive looking race on his debut at Nenagh.

The runner-up Hurricane Dylan, had strong form in the book having finished third behind Piri Massini at Ballindenisk, in a race which has already produced track form with the runner-up, Woods Well, who was just three lengths in front of him, having gone on to finish a close second in a bumper at Naas. Clocking the fastest time of the day, some 16 seconds faster than the day’s average, the Paul Cashman-trained son of Robin Des Champs, was never required to go into top gear to prevail, which was also noteworthy for the manner in which he so easily overcame a bad mistake at the fifth last. That proved to be a particularly good day for Cashman as he took both of the five-year-old maidens run on the weekend, with his Arctic Destination producing a creditable performance in its own right to score at Ballyvodock.

REALITY BITES

5yo b g (1)

Mahler - Seeds Of Doubt (Night Shift)

Robert Tyner

Newcomer Reality Bites demonstrated a nice bit of quality to score by three lengths at Belharbour. While this race may have been few in numbers with just five runners facing the starter, it produced a good battle between two highly thought of types who pulled a distance clear of the remainder. The runner-up was a smartly-bred Robin Des Champs gelding for John Costello, renowned for producing quality youngsters, and he is a smart horse right in his own right on this evidence, simply lacking the extra gear which Reality Bites was able to produce in the closing stages, which gives the race a quality feel. That turn of foot will ensure that the €44,000 purchase as a store, will be a big player in a bumper in the coming months.

THE GREY KNIGHT

5yo b g (0-1)

Daylami - Whakapala (Saddlers’ Hall)

Liam Burke

One of the prevailing elements with the maidens run over the past few weeks have been the testing underfoot conditions, and few were tougher than what The Grey Knight faced at Dungarvan. Around a new configuration of the course which saw it adapt a figure of eight circuit lap, seven runners set out in the five-year-old maiden, however just the two would finish with a distance between them at the line.

A strong gallop considering the conditions was set, which ensured that the winner clocked by some way the fastest time of the day, which was some 29 seconds faster than the average of the six races, giving an indication of how much quicker they went in that opening contest compared to the pace of some of the later races such as the open and the battle hardened older horses it contained. An out-and-out stayer, the grey son of Daylami could well be a horse capable of taking in some of the big winter staying chases in the years to come.