Fran Berry had mixed fortunes at Down Royal on Saturday when maintaining his recent winning streak by partnering a double but also picking up a two day whip ban.
Cautiously overcame greeness in the fillies maiden, drifting right inside the final furlong before pegging back the front-running favourite Kilmore Princess. However the stewards felt that Berry had used his whip excessively, and gave him a two day suspension.
Civic Duty put Berry on the 30 winner mark for the season when prominent throughout in the seven furlongs handicap, and Declan Gilespie's charge stayed on bravely under pressure in the closing stages to deny Viva La Diva by a head.
Pat O'Donnell bridged a long gap from the winners' enclosure when saddling Lone Plainsman to take the five furlongs maiden. Tadgh O'Shea's mount quickened past the front-running Neeze at the furlong pole, and stretched clear to score by two lengths.
The Limerick trainer, best remembered for his Cheltenham Festival success with Chance Coffey in 1995, said, 'I took a break from training to work the family farm, and only renewed the licence again last autumn with ten horses. This fellow will be entered for the Shergar Cup Sprint at Ascot and the Rockingham Handicap at the Curragh.'
Jimmy Coogan is another trainer out of the limelight in recent years but the Curragh handler enjoyed a welcome change of fortune when sending out Firmount to take the two-year-old auction maiden. The Lujain gelding benefited from a strong drive by Kevin Manning inside the final furlong to touch off Cashel House.
'I have eight horses riding out at present and, while I had three juvenile winners in Italy two years ago, it must be four or five years since I had a winner in Ireland,' said Coogan afterwards by phone.
Alan Magee
