FLAT racing returned to Cork on Easter Saturday where the Aidan O’Brien trained, Coolmore-owned Tenebrism (11/10 favourite) set herself up for a promising year of sprinting in winning the featured Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Cork Stakes.
Ridden by Ryan Moore, the four-year-old Caravaggio filly led over a furlong out and quickened to beat Wodao by a length and three-parts.
Trainer O’Brien later commented: “At the back end of last year we put her into the sprint at Ascot and it became apparent that she was an obvious sprinter.
“She has a lovely mind, relaxes and quickens and could be very exciting for the year.
“We took her here without training her hard and she was really only ready to come racing. That’s the way we wanted and she can go back to Naas in a couple of weeks.
“We thought if she got to Royal Ascot that she could run two days, in the King’s Stand and the Diamond Jubilee.”
Smart winner
Racing began with a smart winner of the opening Racing Home For Easter (Fillies) Maiden as the Fozzy Stack-trained, Craig Bernick-owned You Send Me scored readily jockey Mark Enright.
Backed from 7/1 in the morning and returned 11/4, the tall filly quickened well to beat Beauty Bella by three and a half lengths.
Stack said: “She is a big filly and was very weak when she ran last year so we put her away. We’ll see how she comes out of this and, if it doesn’t take too much out of her, we might look at a Guineas Trial. She could even make a better filly next year than this year.”
Nice and easy debut for Noche
ANOTHER impressive maiden to win was the Paddy Twomey-trained Noche Magica, under Bill Lee, in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden.
The son of Night Of Thunder jumped slowly from stalls but travelled powerfully through the race, easily beating once-raced Sturlasson and the Ballydoyle favourite Alabama.
Twomey later said of the 7/4 shot: “Like plenty of mine on debut, he was green and fell out of the gates but once he was going and joined them, Billy said he was just going through the gears. He said that that ground actually blunted his speed.
“I don’t gallop horses in the spring and he had one breeze and a little half-speed with a three-year-old last week and that’s all he has done so far - it is natural ability with him.”
He added: “Mark McStay bought him for a new owner to the yard Mohammed Ali Alsubousi, who is a Dubai businessman, and I’m delighted he sent the horse to us.
“I’d say six (furlongs) is no problem and we’d love to go to Ascot in June. Wherever we go before then, I think he is good enough.”
Wide margin winner
Another maiden, sponsored by Irish Stallion Farms and the E.B.F. produced the widest margin winner of the day, as Something Nice (9/4 favourite) beat Semblance Of Order by four and a quarter lengths.
The Gary Carroll-partnered winner carries the colours of John Higgins and successful trainer Mick Mulvaney reported: “I gave him a little blow the other day and thought he was in exceptional form, and he came on from his recent Curragh race.
“He seems to be settling all the time so, hopefully, it’s onwards and upwards.
“He was entered in a handicap today, so now I’m afraid the handicapper might get excited and give him too much, but we’ll take them as they come.”
Irish Stallion Farms and the E.B.F. also sponsored the fourth and final maiden which was won by 28/1 outsider Pineapple Island for delighted trainer and Japanese national Takashi Kodama.
Ridden by Hugh Horgan, the Dandy Man filly raced with the pace and beat Beaumadier by a length and a half.
Kodama, who trains the filly for the Mankai Shoji Syndicate, said: “I bred and trained the dam, who is in Japan now and this is her first foal.
“I have a yearling by Saxon Warrior which is due to sell at a Japanese sale in July so was hoping she would be placed today although it is a surprise she won.
“She was difficult to keep sound as a two and three-year old, but she has finally become stronger and ran quite well on soft ground last October.”
Most valuable handicap was the €21,000 Book Tickets At CorkRacecourse.ie Handicap which was won by Joe Masseria (6/1), by a short-head under champion jockey Colin Keane.
Noel Meade trains the winner for Alexandra Matthews and afterwards said: “He actually ran a good race in the Lincoln.
“They went no gallop and I had said to Leigh (Roche) to drop him out and he ended up having too much to do, but it wasn’t Leigh’s fault, it was my instructions.
“He wants soft ground, he is only a little titch of a horse and is not as big and strong as the fella he is named after. I’ve recently moved away from cowboys and into gangster names and Joe Masseria was one of the mafia,” revealed the trainer.
Snapper delivers for Davisons
THE Snapper (8/1) had his picture taken for the first time as the Davison family’s colt gained a first success, under Ronan Whelan, in the Buy Annual Membership Today Handicap.
The son of Dragon Pulse had disappointed on a previous run just two days ago at Bellewstown afterwards trainer Jack Davison said: “He is homebred and my dad and my sister Emma are joint-owners and of course they came to Bellewstown instead!
“When I rang my dad at 11pm last night to say I was running him, he thought I needed to get my head examined. But I had weighed him and amazingly the horse had put on weight since Thursday. That’s all I needed to know so I left him take his chance.” Real Force caused an 18/1 upset to win the SP Or Better Guaranteed With Tote Handicap, scoring for his new trainer Darren Bunyan, Lance Bloodstock Ltd and jockey Yudish Geerdharry.
Bunyan commented: “I had him in the five and the seven today and I thought with the heavier ground that this race would suit as he has run a bit gassy on his first runs in the past.
“The plan for him and Pretty Rebel, who was third in the listed race, is for both to be sent to France in a few weeks. There is a really nice programme for those horses and today was a building block for that.” He added: “I’m very appreciative of Ger (O’Leary, owner and previous trainer) to send them to me as these are the horse you want which can take you places.