STUART Crawford’s love affair with Ayr continued on Tuesday when he saddled three winners at the Scottish track where he had a four-timer back in November 2022.

On Tuesday, two of the yard’s winners, Ballycoose and Joshua Des Flos, were partnered by Daryl Jacob in the double green colours of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, while JJ Slevin rode Elizabeth ‘Hammie’ Hamilton’s Ailie Rose. All three winners were sent off favourite for their respective races.

Hamilton, who has been on the board of the Northern Region of Eventing Ireland since 1980, bred Ailie Rose, an eight-year-old daughter of Fame And Glory, out of her Topanoora mare Topanberry who was placed in a bumper, won twice over hurdles and is the dam of two other track winners.

The Comber owner/breeder has also retained Topanberry’s final foal, the 2017 Fame And Glory mare Poppy Rose who has been placed four times, most recently finishing second of 17 in a two-mile handicap hurdle at Naas last month.

In winning Tuesday’s extended three-mile handicap hurdle by eight and a half lengths, Ailie Rose, who comes from the family of Mendip Express, Fiddling The Facts and Facts Not Fiction, has now scored four times over the smaller obstacles while she has also finished second three times and third on three occasions. Last time out, at Navan early last month, she finished fourth of 17 in a listed three-miles, one-furlong handicap hurdle.

Spectacular

While we would expect nothing else from a Crawford-trained runner, Ballycoose put in a spectacular round of jumping en route to landing the extended two and a half-mile handicap chase on his first start over fences.

The eye-catching chesnut, a well-related seven-year-old by Mahler, previously won a bumper at Down Royal in May 2021 on his only start in a National Hunt flat race, and a maiden hurdle on his jumping bow at Ayr the following December.

The French-bred Joshua Des Flos was recording his first success on his sixth start when claiming the two-mile maiden hurdle by seven and a half-lengths. The 2018 Joshua Tree gelding had one run for Crawford as a four-year-old, finishing second under Deckie Lavery in a Leopardstown bumper in March 2022. He then joined Joseph O’Brien, finishing third in both his runs, before returning to Crawford’s care during the summer.

Prior to winning on Tuesday, Joshua Des Flos had finished third in two runs over hurdles at Ayr which Larne-based Crawford told Racing TV is almost a local track. “It’s quicker for us to get here than going to the south of Ireland and it’s very easy because for two hours of that journey you are asleep on the boat or reading the paper.”

On Monday, the former Crawford-trained Boldog, a six-year-old grey gelding by Authorized owned by Munir and Souede, won the opening maiden hurdle at Tramore on his first start for Joseph O’Brien.

STUART Crawford may have dominated Tuesday’s meeting at Ayr but it was a good day also for Downpatrick-born jockey Danny McMenamin who recorded a double, winning the three-mile handicap chase on the Nick Alexander-trained Up Helly Aa King and the extended two-mile handicap chase on William Young’s charge, Ardera Cross.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t such a good day for dual Aintree National-winning jockey Derek Fox. The Co Sligo native started off with a win in the opening maiden hurdle on the Lucinda Russell-trained Esprit Du Potier but was then transferred to hospital following a dramatic fall in the following handicap hurdle over the same trip. Fox, who landed a double at Musselburgh on Monday, will be out of action for weeks having fractured a collarbone. Brian Hughes recorded a double at Catterick last Thursday week while Simon Torrens was on the mark at Limerick the following afternoon and at Punchestown on Sunday. On the flat, Patsy Cosgrave won a £40,000 handicap at Bahrain last Friday week on the George Baker-trained Lucander.

North Co Dublin trainer Karl Thornton brought up a double at Fairyhouse on New Year’s Day where Donagh Meyler landed a handicap hurdle on Mighty Oak Lad. This was a first success on his seventh start for the Doyen gelding in the colours of the north of Ireland-based Derby Bar Syndicate, owners also of three-time winner, Where’s Frankie.