THE most unusual aspect of the inaugural harness meeting at Vicarstown was a treble for horses trained in the midland counties. Kevin Carey based at Rathdowney in Laois, trained his own Said To Be Sweet and Imperial Attitude for Cork owner Tom Kiely. Ronan Norton from Killashee in Co Longford trained and drove his Fair Play Briolais to win the highest-grade trot on the card.

Carey, a farrier by trade, is a grandson of Joe Haide, a well-known competitor on the circuit who hailed from the south side of Dublin. Joe moved to Wolf Hill, Co Laois, in his retirement years, which explains the Laois connection.

Said To Be Sweet (3/1) had been knocking on the door in recent weeks. All sorts of tracks come the same to the experienced Billy Roche. The Red Baron had to be quite hard on the US-bred filly. Another blue blood, Oakwood Amari, was a game second for Darren Timlin. The 4/6 favourite Rhyds Shadow broke at the start and lost all chance.

“I owe a lot to Billy Roche – he has been a great help with the training and of course he is a clever driver,” said Kevin. “I hope to get a driver’s licence myself. My wife May and daughter Keira are all involved. I couldn’t get a winner and now I get my first two in one day.”

The opening leg of Carey’s training double came when the same Billy Roche won the E to F Pace from the dreaded ‘10 hole’ on the gate. There were some sizeable bets recorded on the winner. Billy’s team like a punt.

Ronan Norton and partner Rachael Stewart run basically a non-gambling stable. They have a good strike rate from small numbers since starting out. Rachael was narrowly denied on Iron Paddy in the E and F Trot. This week Ronan got the bragging rights at the kitchen table as the eminently likeable Fair Play Briolais (6/1) saw off some of the country’s top trotters.

Darren Timlin drove two seconds on the card. He gained consolation when Blazing Hanover took the maiden pace in 2.05.7. The winner was bred at Hanover Shoe Farms in Pennsylvania and was backed accordingly. The runner-up Forever Amour (Johnny Cowden drove), by the more familiar Kikicolt, will win races for Neville Martin.

Jonny then drove Emil Paco. He has the ideal build for storming up a steep hill and that’s just what he did. Fourth at the bottom of the hill, the nine-year-old trotted well to beat Finale Jihaime (Joe Caffrey) by a length in the C to E Trot.

“We liked him when John Morgan had him at first, so we bought him,” said Jonny’s delighted father Noel. “Jonny did speak well of the horse in your winter stable preview.”

Double

Patrick Kane drove a double for the Murdocks the previous afternoon at York. He got off the mark for 2023 in Ireland when IB A Magician (7/2) outbattled all rivals to win the high-grade pace. The winner is owned and trained by Wayne McNevin, ably assisted by Andy Nolan.

Another Kane just back from his travels was Patrick’s cousin Sean. The Naul man was in Paris on Saturday night to drive his Just In Time at Enghien. The four-year-old was ninth in a hot contest but did record an official 1.15.5 (2.00.8 for the mile). Shrewd Swedish trainer Bjorn Goop should find a race somewhere for Kane’s homebred.

The Enghien form got a boost when Just Like Mam, so often the bridesmaid behind Just In Time, pulverised the opposition in the opening four-year-old trot. The distance was 56 lengths, but the waters are muddied by the disqualification of the second across the line Janes Rose (Ronan Norton).

The enigmatic Hallow Way Road joined in on Sunday. The form guide said, ‘can trot for fun – has good days and bad – big track will suit’. Leap horseman Patrick Hill is a great supporter of racing. Hill has persevered with the liver chestnut, and they put a dampener on a Norton double when they touched off Rachael on Iron Paddy for a Grade F Trot.

Fandango De Nile is not quite a gift horse, but he is pretty close. Trainer Jamie Hurley and his girlfriend Hannah Richardson bought a €100 ballot in a fund-raising effort organised by bookie John Griffin. Fandango De Nile was the prize. With two places and a fourth before a Grade E win on Sunday, the couple must have a rabbit’s foot somewhere.

Full results can be viewed at www.irishharnessracing.com. There is a fixture today at Annaghmore and tomorrow at Dunmanway.

“A great spectacle” - Positive start to racing in O’Moore county

‘HARNESS racing comes to Vicarstown’, it read on the programme cover. Harness racing did indeed come to the rolling Laois countryside. The day went by with competitive racing, largely well stewarded and a nice mix of the usual harness crowd and some locals.

The hosts Michael, Una, Heather and Stephen Heffernan were quoted as enjoying the racing. The family thought it was a great spectacle.

The track is all of two miles for a circuit. The organisers chose to go with exclusively one-mile races. The start was about half-way down the back straight.

The runners were obviously a lot further away than on an 880-yard track. By and large, most horses stayed level on a firm grass surface (it’s a massive arable field).

The horses seemed tiny in the distance, compared to the usual tracks. Ten runners striding out well against a summer backdrop resembled a scene from an old Western movie.

As the field in most races came to the bottom of a tough hill, the runners fanned out. Across the card winners came from the inside, the middle of the track and the outside.

As with any new venture there were teething problems. The public address system did not carry to the betting ring. This was a pity as commentator James Griffin was his usual calm and accurate self.

Yet again there was confusion about non-runners. How often does this problem have to occur before the procedure reverts to the system that was used for years?

The steep hill in the final furlong was the first time that the pacers and trotters encountered such a gradient in a race. Again, most horses came home strongly. Several veteran trotting followers were heard to say the track was ‘a good test of a horse’.

As ever the fence erectors, stewards, admission charge collectors and other team members were the unsung heroes. The permanent staff in the IHRA office had a busy week in the run-up. Well done to all volunteers from the Cork and Dublin regions.

The meeting attracted a decent crowd. Unsurprisingly there were three winners from Cork where grass tracks are the norm. The nine races yielded three winners trained in the midlands, two from the North and one from Dublin.

In conclusion, the IHRA are anxious to build a relationship with the landowners. The feedback from horsemen and officials was that future fixtures, if granted, would be well supported.