WITH a roll of honour stretching back over 100 years, the Barbour Cup is one of the most historic trophies on offer within Irish point-to-point racing, and the 2019 renewal went the way of Some Are Lucky (1/1 favourite) and Corinthian rider Gerry Spain.
An 11th fence casualty at last month’s Cheltenham Festival, the pair did not waste much time in regaining the winning thread, as they comprehensively dismissed Sound Money by 10 lengths.
This latest success was a fifth of the season for the ex-Tom George track performer, and with his new stablemate Longhouse Music enjoying her seventh success of the campaign at Courtown on the same afternoon, it brought to 12 the number of races their handler Sam Curling has won this season with the pair.
“That was mighty. He is an ideal open horse and really loves it. Gerry (Spain) gets a great old spin out of him and we will keep him point-to-pointing now for the rest of the season,” reported the Tipperary-based handler, in whose colours the eight-year-old won.
LOCAL SUCCESS
The first three horses home in last year’s adjacent hunt race crossed swords 12 months on, however Donjon’s quest to win back-to-back renewals only got as far as the first as the joint-favourite over-jumped the obstacle and crumpled on landing.
That proved to be the beginning of the departures, as with a full circuit to race, only two horses remained running, with the 2018 runner-up, Star Wizard (6/4 joint-favourite) soon taking control to defeat the maiden Nineteensixteen by 20 lengths in the hands of Anthony Fox for local owner Hugh Mulvihill.
“It was unfortunate there that Donjon fell early, but our lad has been flying of late so we thought he would go close. He is after winning four races for us now and we will try and get him into a hunter chase,” said winning handler Peter Flood after the eight-year-old’s second success at the Westmeath venue this season.
There was further local success in the concluding older geldings’ maiden when Another Island (10/1) sprung a major surprise to deny Fiddler Of Dooney a long overdue success once again.
Tommy Tormey’s winning homebred had only made his debut as a 10-year-old a fortnight earlier at Durrow, but he flew home under Maynooth native Fergal Stack to get the verdict by three-quarters of a length.
The winning son of Turtle Island is now likely to be aimed at a winners’ race in the coming weeks once the ground remains in his favour.
Rathowen-based Adrian Murray added to the card’s local successes when he sent out My Newbrook Rose (2/1 joint-favourite) to claim the mares’ maiden under Simon Cavanagh.
The John McGivney-owned and bred mare had been no match for Aidan Fitzgerald’s Bannixtown Glory at Belclare last month, and it had seemed as though the daughter of Doyen could possibly be set to chase home yet another of Fitzgerald’s inmates, until his long-time leader Katoune Tara tipped up at the second-last while in front at the time.
That paved the way for the six-year-old to account for Miss Kanagi by 10 lengths and she may well have one run under rules before the summer’s break providing the ground remains in her favour.
Cavanagh had combined with his boss Denis Murphy to win the five-year-old geldings’ maiden on the corresponding card 12 months ago with Artic Road, and the pair looked to have a strong chance of repeating that feat with Alan Harte’s Eurowork.
That French-bred took the field along at a good gallop, however he was overhauled by the also prominent Fully Charged (3-4/1), who brought Liz Lalor a step closer in her quest to become the winning-most lady point-to-point rider of all time.
In what was a real family success, the British-bred grey improved upon his recent Durrow success for win by two-and-a-half lengths for the winning rider’s parents Dick and Anne.
“He’s tough out. He is so big that it just took him a while to come to himself. It was only the week before Durrow that he really started coming to form and you could feel him bouncing underneath you,” remarked the rider of the Fair Mix gelding that will now be offered for sale.
IMPRESSIVE
The most impressive performance of the day was arguably produced by Cormac Doyle’s newcomer Coconut Splash (5/2-4/1) in the opening four-year-old maiden.
A £14,000 purchase out of the Goffs UK Spring Sale, the chesnut gelding began to make eye-catching progress along the back straight as Roger Quinlan brought the patiently ridden Stowaway gelding into contention.
Once moving alongside Ellmarie Holden’s long-time leader Diamond Grove, the Monbeg Farm Racing Partnership-owned newcomer began to get the upper hand from the last, with his greater speed coming to the fore, allowing him to pull four lengths clear by the line.
“Cormac (Doyle) said that the horse had loads of speed and not to be in any rush. They went very quick early, and he was green for the first mile, but has loads of class and plenty of speed,” said the rider following his 190th career point-to-point success.
Local success
TOMMY Tormey was surrounded by well-wishers looking to pass on their congratulations after he saddled his homebred Another Island to win the finale at the age of 10 on just his second outing.
His dam Ramble Home had last seen competitive action when running in the 2007 renewal of the hunt race on the corresponding card when trained by the winning handler’s late brother Jimmy and her second and final produce, Leney Rambler, could well make his debut at the age of nine in the coming weeks.
The results of the 1960 Westmeath Foxhounds point-to-point were printed in the racecard and fittingly the finale on that card, the Farmers Perpetual Challenge Cup, was also won by the Tormeys, with their Any Port in a walkover, showing their long-standing association with the local point-to-point.
NEWS
Cappajune
FIXTURE secretary Heather Kiernan was out of luck with her sole runner on the afternoon when Cappajune Lady exited with a circuit to race.
The daughter of Kalanisi shares her name with Cappajune, a horse that Kiernan’s late father Frank had ridden to success on three occasions, including in the 1996 renewal of the hunt race.
Following his passing in 2017, the former Castletown-Geoghegan Clerk of the Course is remembered with that hunt race being run for his Memorial Cup.
HORSE TO FOLLOW:
KATOUNE TARA (A. Fitzgerald): She made all the running and still appeared to be travelling with plenty of purpose at the head of affairs when taking an unlucky fall at the second-last. Compensation is surely just around the corner.