Coventry Stakes calling for Givemethebeatboys

JESSICA Harrington and the Marnane family have their sights firmly set on Royal Ascot after Givemethebeatboys delivered a power-packed finishing effort to remain unbeaten in what looked a quality edition of the Group 3 Gain Marble Hill Stakes.

Con Marnane’s phone will surely be ringing plenty over the coming weeks about the Bungle Inthejungle colt, having followed up his soft-ground debut win at Navan with an even more comprehensive showing on much better ground.

Sent off an 11/1 shot in a race where five of the six candidates were once-raced winners, the mount of Shane Foley responded gamely for pressure and led in the shadows of the post to deny highly-regarded 13/8 favourite Noche Magica, representing Paddy Twomey, by a head. There was another head back to listed winner His Majesty for the Ballydoyle team.

Assistant trainer Kate Harrington said: “He was very professional and completely out-battled the other horses the whole way to the line. He was very, very impressive when he won at Navan - a furlong down you’d think ‘how the hell is this horse going to win?’ He really puts his head down and gallops. I think he’ll be even more competitive the next day when we go to Ascot.”

Marnane added: “We’re over the moon. He was a cheap horse; Amy [my daughter] picked him out in Doncaster but he went lame. He got a foot abscess. I was gutted because he was my favourite horse at the yearling sale but we bought him when he came back to Goffs that October.

“We’ve won all the good two-year-olds races at Ascot with horses we’ve sold or whatever, but we haven’t got the Coventry yet. This is our fella. We’ll sing the song [Drift Away by Dobie Gray] from the stands at Ascot if he wins! Amy named him because she loves that song.”

Twomey is eyeing up a tilt at the Norfolk Stakes over five furlongs for the runner-up, having just been edged out close home over six furlongs here.

“He won well over five at Cork and he shows us that blistering speed,” said Twomey.

“I was the most disappointed man at the Curragh but, going forward, he probably did me a favour. I would have run him in the Coventry if he had won but now we will go for the Norfolk.”

Unquestionable has answers

Aidan O’Brien also strengthened his Coventry Stakes team with a clearcut success for Wootton Bassett colt Unquestionable in the six-furlong Tally Ho Stud Irish EBF Maiden, now set to join stablemate River Tiber (by the same sire) in the Royal Ascot target.

Sent off the 4/6 favourite, he was always in control of matters from the front end and made all to score by four and a quarter lengths under Ryan Moore for Al Shaqab Racing, Coolmore and Westerberg.

Paddy Power make him a 16/1 shot for the Coventry, slightly shorter than Givemethebeatboys for the same race at 20/1.

We’re delighted with him and felt he’d appreciate the step up to six furlongs from five,” said O’Brien.

“It was a big ask to throw him in over five first time in a listed race [when third]. He’s going to get even further than this probably. He went to the line very strongly.

“It’s very hard to beat a run ever and he had a good run on debut. He looks a Coventry horse.”

BRITISH raider Art Power maintained his perfect record in Ireland when blitzing his rivals in the Group 2 Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands Stakes, providing Oisin Murphy with his first winner at the Curragh.

Each of the Tim Easterby-trained sprinter’s last four wins have come on these shores, including his last three at the Curragh, and this was another dominant display in striking by four and three quarters of a length for owners King Power Racing.

Sent off the 2/1 joint-favourite alongside fellow British challenger Garrus, who failed to bring his best in fourth, the six-year-old by Dark Angel was in a different league to the home team’s sprinters and arguably could be a better operator this season than in previous years, having been gelded over the winter.

Murphy said: “He was a top-class sprinter and lost his form a little bit, but Tim Easterby and King Power Racing have been patient with him and today he gave me a super feel.

“He loves Ireland and has never been beaten here - that’s his fourth victory from four starts. What a fantastic horse.

“I hadn’t ridden any winners here before today so I can’t say I was very confident through the race. This is a great feeling. I managed to win a listed race on Buckaroo at Leopardstown in April and to be here on such a big day is massive.”

Sheridan rides out claim

Another rider notching a landmark win at the Curragh was Group 1-winning apprentice Joey Sheridan, who rode out his claim with a premier handicap success aboard 16/1 shot Timourid in the Novibet Guineas Festival Handicap for trainer Paul Flynn.

The Co Tipperary native, who won the 2020 Prix du Cadran on Princess Zoe, was able to eke out a career-best performance from the Galway Girl Syndicate-owned six-year-old.

Timourid was always prominent in a race where it paid to be handy and did enough to get the better of Smooth Tom by a head.

Sheridan said: “It’s such a great feeling to do this. My father [Mel] was a jockey and never made it that far. He broke his back in a bad fall in England before, I think he might have been in front in the conditional jockeys’ title at the time around 1982, so to ride out my claim means a lot. It means more to me than it might to other people.

“It will be a help to my weight too. I did 8st 9lb on this horse and I had to put 2lb overweight. I won’t need to be doing that anymore. I’d say I’ll be able to do 8st 7lb or 8st 8lb now. It’s important to be able to get a winner on a big weekend like this too. It was one of my aims and I’d love to be champion apprentice come the end of the season.”

THERE were joyous scenes in the Curragh winner’s enclosure after the Brunabonne Syndicate came out in force to greet Mashhoor, who stuck on gamely to land the Listed FBD Hotels & Resorts Orby Stakes under Ben Coen.

Trained by Johnny Murtagh, who was also responsible for saddling runner-up Annerville, the 2/1 winning-favourite was making it three victories from just six starts for the Curragh team, having been bought for 40,000gns from Shadwell and Sir Michael Stoute at the end of 2021.

He started out with a mark of 86 for Murtagh but victory on this return to a mile and a half saw him rocket further up the ratings to a mark of 105. Among the winning syndicate members is four-time Meath football All-Star Tommy Dowd.

“This trip was a little unknown but the horse has been training really well at home and showing all the right signs that he had improved,” said Murtagh.

“We’re really delighted with the way he won today. He can win at a mile and a quarter, and now he can get a mile and a half so there are plenty of races for him. Today was the day so we’ll have to sit down and make a plan.

“We went to Ascot last year and the ground was fast; he probably didn’t enjoy that. You could make an entry for him but there are plenty of options. Tommy was my hero growing up so to have a winner for him and the rest of the lads is fantastic.”

Oliver’s 1-2

One Guineas weekend winner who is on the road to Royal Ascot is rock-solid three-year-old Betterdaysrcoming, who led home a 1-2 for trainer Andy Oliver in the seven-furlong Finlay Volvo Handicap.

The mount of Gary Carroll, owned by Francis Campbell, picked up well from off the pace to score by a head at 16/1 from stablemate Semblance Of Order.

Oliver quipped: “I asked the boys for a dead-heat and we very nearly got it!

“The winner did well, he had a good run a week earlier when not beaten far in third at Naas, he needs that good ground.

“He had a long layoff between his first run, on heavy ground, and then his previous run at Naas so we thought he would improve and he has. He was staying on well to the line. It looks like we’ve got options. We’ll look towards the Britannia at Ascot.”

Instinct impresses

There was an impressive winner of the concluding Bet Builder At Novibet Irish EBF Maiden over a mile and a quarter as Joseph O’Brien-trained newcomer Trustyourinstinct, owned by J.P. McManus, took advantage of stablemate Up And Under’s absence due to a temperature.

It was a quality effort from the Churchill three-year-old to quicken up between horses and assert by three and three quarters of a length under Declan McDonogh, rewarding market support that saw him sent off the 11/4 favourite.

O’Brien said: “He looks a nice horse. We thought he’d run well and he’ll have learned a lot. He was a bit green in the middle of the race there but I thought he went to the line well. It was a good performance on debut.

“I’m not sure where we go now, it’s a difficult enough spot when you win on debut at this time of year but he’ll probably end up going for a winners’ race or something like that. You wouldn’t be rushing to go up to a mile and a half but he should get it.”