THE rise and rise of Adams Barbour took yet another turn for the better as Lee Smyth’s stable star made it two wins in three days to defy another career-high mark and take his Polytrack record to seven wins from 14 starts.
The David Adam-owned gelding was rated a mere 47 when registering his third career success here in September but since then he has amassed a tremendous record which has yielded five wins and three top-four finishes from his last eight starts.
A win here two nights previously resulted in him shouldering a mandatory 7lb penalty which effectively put Adams Barbour off a mark of 77 but he coped splendidly.
The Elzaam gelding was tackling a stronger grade than he normally does here but he looked quite at home under Chris Hayes as he set off to make the running before then taking a lead from Primo Uomo.
The 7/4 favourite took a little time to master the pace-setter but as the last furlong loomed, he really came into his own and he pulled away in fine style for a convincing two-and-a-quarter-length triumph.
“The improvement just keeps coming and he’s surprising us as we go. His sister won three over five and we felt he wasn’t quite sharp as her but he’s just getting sharper and sharper and he’s flourished up here,” declared Smyth, who intends to give his charge every chance of notching up a first turf success over the coming months.
“He loves the five furlongs here and doesn’t have to make the running either. Hopefully he can keep improving.”
Double
Luke McAteer, who rode Adams Barbour to win two nights previously, ended the evening with a double which began when Stardayz (11/2) recorded a timely success in the Betvictor-sponsored older fillies’ maiden over a mile.
Six days before she was due to come under the hammer at Goffs, the Dot Love-owned and Ciaran Murphy-trained bay made all the running for a three-and-a-half-length victory over Gold Wing. The winner was also in action here on Wednesday when finishing down the field in a mile-and-a-half handicap.
McAteer then sprang a 16/1 surprise on Patrick McKenna’s Capla Knight in the 45-70 rated handicap over a mile.
A 2,000gns purchase by the trainer’s son and All Ireland winner Conor McKenna in August, the winner was making his 10th appearance for his yard and got back to the form that had carried him into the frame in a number of occasions in the past few months. He reached the line half a length ahead of Miracles In May.
SEAMIE Heffernan was ruled out of action from February 18th until April 3rd as he received an 11-day whip suspension after partnering John McConnell’s No Trouble to victory in the mile-and-a-half handicap.
The rider looked to have produced his mount with a well-timed effort to lead with around a furlong to run and the Cathal McGuckin-trained gelding kept on well to hold off the favourite Dances With Stars by half a length.
Heffernan was deemed to have used his whip with his arm above shoulder height and this resulted in an 11-day ban which, even allowing for the totting up procedures, does look an especially harsh sanction for a ride that looked nothing more than efficient.
The rider’s ban overshadowed another fine effort by the winner whose last eight flat starts have yielded four wins and four seconds and he was some 31lb higher here than when beginning this sequence back in late September.
Hugh Horgan, who rode the runner-up, was given a six-day whip suspension for failing to give his mount time to respond.
John McConnell struck again half an hour later as his son, Cillian, rode out his 10lb claim aboard Kartayaz (16/1) in the 45-65 rated handicap over an extended 10 furlongs.
The 119 Partnership-owned gelding improved from second to lead well over a furlong out and he kept on well to defeat Munfallet by a length.
APPRENTICE Sean Bowen enjoyed an evening to cherish as he rode a double that saw his claim reduce from 10lb to seven and the jockey displayed no small amount of skill in completing his brace on Dubirango (11/2) in the 45-65 rated three-year-old seven-furlong handicap.
One of Bowen’s reins broke just as he was getting his mount into full flight with around a quarter of a mile run. Dubirango understandably drifted steadily right as a result of this but Bowen kept him going forward to defeat Cherry Bloom by half a length. Mayo-based Fergal Birrane trains the winner for his wife Fiona.
Bowen’s first winner came courtesy of Denis Hogan’s Fox Leicester in the second division of the 45-65 rated handicap over an extended 10 furlongs.
Fox Leicester and Maestro Stick did battle up front from a long way out which carried them a long way clear of the field, and the Premier Racing Club-owned 6/4 favourite was able to sustain his effort to reach the line two lengths ahead of Arctic Blaze.
A monster-priced winner was lying in wait in the three-year-old mile maiden where the 66/1 shot Two Socks made a winning debut for Tom McCourt.
A second winner for apprentice James Ryan (17), the daughter of Markaz came with a steady challenge over the final quarter of a mile to get up late on and defeat Knightlaila by a head. The winner is owned by the trainer’s wife Pauline and Martin Hand.