Ballabuidhe Sunday/Monday

THE Ballabuidhe committee run a meeting at Dunmanway on the August bank holiday annually. The locals claim galloping races attached to a fair day going back 400 years with harness racing introduced in the 1950s. As usual there were heats on Sunday with finals on Monday.

There was a one-two for the Chris O’Reilly stable in the grade F pace. Rhyds Panache with Fionn O’Reilly made the early running but Biggins, driven by Chris, took up the running after a lap and was never in danger, eventually leading home “Panache” by a length and a half.

GD’s Honey and Chelsie O’Driscoll created a small upset in the grade E pace. DiMaggio was all the rage in the betting ring and led from the start. GD’s Honey was waiting in the wings and sprinted clear to win by three lengths.

The Baltimore-based IB Stables turned out two winners on the day. Firstly, Eoin Murphy teamed up with BiBi Dairpet to land the odds in the grade D trot.

Donal Murphy employed similar tactics with Hippie Sisu, jointly owned by the Murphys and Enniskeane publican Angelo Hannon.

They led from the start and despite a challenge from Inspire Me, the talented but at times enigmatic Hippie Sisu never put a hoof wrong.

The Kane family from Co Meath never miss the Ballabuidhe festival and Coalford Jimmy G broke his maiden tag for owner Mark Kane.

Five feature races were headlined by the Cahalane Brothers Free For All Pace at the 2023 Ballabuidhe Harness Racing Festival on bank holiday Monday.

Four of Ireland’s leading pacers went to post with Northern Pride a very warm favourite in the betting ring. The former Scottish horse soon led and won easily.The winner is owned by ‘TV’ Tom Heavy from Dublin.

The Richard Phelan Memorial Golden Mile had two elimination heats. In the opening heat, Rhyds Panache clocked up another win for father and son team Chris and Fionn O’Reilly. In the second heat, Biggins followed up on his Sunday win with another polished performance.

In the final, Well Cuz jumped out in front. Donal Murphy had come in for the drive on the five-year-old and Donal set the right fractions. On the final lap, he turned on the style to pull away.

Poignant moment

The presentation was a poignant moment as Well Cuz was formerly owned by the late Richard Phelan. The Baltimore-based reinsman told The Irish Field, “it is an honour to win Richard’s race.”

The Parkway Hotel and Tar Isteach Free For All trot saw the big three Fina Mix, Comete Des Landes and Duc D’Arry meet in battle yet again. Comete Des Landes has galloped in some races but he was foot perfect on this occasion.

The Paddy Connolly Memorial Trot had two eliminations on Sunday. Fandango De Nile followed up on his Vicarstown win with another facile victory. Niall Forbes and Empereur Souverain chalked up another win in the second heat.

Six went to post in the final on Monday with Patrick Hill from Leap having three of the finalists. He chose to drive Hallow Way Road with Sean Kane on Humour De Cosse and Donal Murphy coming in for the spare on veteran Brutenor.

When Empereur Souverain made a mistake at the start, this allowed Humour De Cosse an easy lead and the chasing pack could never get to Sean Kane.

The Hurley and White/Heineken Grand Prix attracted six runners with Newtown Major sent off a warm favourite and he led away.

Robbie Maguire made a bold move at the start of the second lap on IB Felicity and gave the Dublin raider a real fright, although Major came back at John Boyle’s mare to win.