Oisin Orr brings Balmont Blast home in front© Photo Healy Racing
It's a measure of the impression that Oisin Orr made on the pony racing scene that his name is already well familiar to many racing fans. Tonight the Donegal teenager gained that never to be forgotten first track success when guiding Balmont Blast (up in trip to a mile) to victory in the Like Dundalk Stadium On Facebook Apprentice Maiden.
One only had to look at Orr drive the ten times previously raced four-year-old, home by three parts of a length from the favourite, Saga Diamond to realise why we'd already heard of his prowess in the plate.
This was a nice feather in the cap of the seventeen-year-old, on his first 'go' aboard the well-backed Balmont Blast (6s into 4s on track, bigger in the morning), as Niall McCullagh, Johnny Murtagh, Colm O'Donoghue, Joseph O'Brien and Ronan Whelan had failed on him in the past.
Eddie Lynam owns and trains Balmont Blast and he disclosed: "Oisin joined us straight from school in the summer. I think he's ridden a good few pony winners.
"He's a good rider. That horse wouldn't be a straight-forward horse, and he gave him a good ride.
"We're lucky to have him and Robbie (Downey).
"This horse is a lead horse at home. He'll come back here again. He's rated 60. They did one minute thirty nine so they wouldn't be picked up for speeding." (MG & EM)
