IT was good to see the stylish Deckie Lavery back among the winners recently both on the track and between the flags.
Last Thursday week, the Downpatrick amateur was in action at Thurles where he landed the near two-mile bumper on the Peter Fahey-trained Lawman mare A Law Of Her Own who, on her fifth racecourse start, beat the Willie Mullins-trained favourite, Little Soiree, by a length.
Deckie had just the one ride at Loughanmore on Saturday when he finished fourth in the four-year-old geldings’ maiden on the Patrick Turley-ridden favourite The Hero Next Door who was making his debut.
He also had just the one ride on Sunday at Umma House but here the journey paid off as he won the five and six-year-old geldings’ maiden on the 5/2 market leader Lisnamult Lad, a 2017 Court Cave bay trained by Adrian Murray who too was having his first start.
While Lavery failed to score at the East Antrim meeting, three northern region riders did get on the scoreboard, starting with Cormac Abernethy who landed the Dennison Commercials four-year-old geldings’ maiden on the newcomer Ballyburn (see page 57).
Second winner
This Flemensfirth bay is trained at Loughanmore for landowner and race sponsor Wilson Dennison by Colin McKeever who was saddling his second winner of the season.
Ballyburn, who is a full-brother to five track winners headed by Noble Endeavor and Minella Daddy, was purchased on Dennison’s behalf as a foal at the 2018 November National Hunt sale at Tattersalls Ireland where Ian Ferguson gave €80,000 for Saturday’s winner.
Oran McGill and Noel Kelly joined forces to win the Waste Collection Services mares’ maiden with another newcomer, My Girl Katie, who carried the colours of the trainer’s wife Shauna. This Ocovango five-year-old is out of the unraced Kings Theatre mare Kings Sister, a full-sister to the seven-time winner Kings Palace.
The dam has a filly foal by Soldier Of Fortune catalogued in the upcoming National Hunt sale at Tattersalls Ireland as Lot 781.
Maiden win
The father and son team of Sean and Noel McParlan had to settle for second there with the Golden Lariat mare Drumlees Pet but struck in the concluding Barclay Communications older geldings’ maiden with the seven-year-old Watar gelding Drumlee Lake who was having just his sixth start (fourth in point-to-points). The chesnut is out of the four-time track winner Lake Wakatipu (by Lake Coniston).
Noel also partnered the runner-up in the Dennison JCB winners of two, the Caroline McCaldin-trained Gorthill, who was beaten six lengths into second by the Barry O’Neill-ridden Ultimate Optimist. The winning Fame And Glory gelding is trained for Ray Nicholas and Sam Campbell by David Christie.
Another northern owner whose colours were carried to victory over the weekend was Pat Sloan whose 11-year-old Shantou gelding The Storyteller, who is still trained by Gordon Elliott, returned from a 399-day break to win the ladies’ open at Ballycrystal under Georgie Benson.