Rockonliam makes it three in a row The Henry de Bromhead-trained Rockonliam (7/4) was a comfortable six-length winner of the Poolcourt Engineering Handicap Chase for jockey Darragh O'Keefe. The six-year-old son of Arctic Cosmos, who was victorious in Listowel over hurdles, has taken to the larger obstacles quite well, with a facile success recorded in Wexford in his Beginners' Chase, and further again today as he enjoyed the step up in trip to see out victory off a mark of 118, and he's a horse on the up. Speaking after the race, jockey Darragh O'Keefe said: "He's after racking up three on the bounce now. A horse that's improving away as well. He was good in Listowel and he was good here again the last day in a rated Beginners' Chase. We were trying this trip for the first time but his pedigree would suggest that he would stay and thankfully it worked out like that. For the first mile-and-a-half, I couldn't ask him at any fence because if I did he'd be getting closer and closer. I just wanted to conserve. Once we went out on the last circuit he started jumping really well and he's very quick from A to B as well. "Going this trip opens up plenty more options. It was a good bit of placing by everyone. It's hard to win three on the bounce in Ireland. He likes a bit of nice ground and I'm sure everyone will hatch up a plan. Hopefully I'll be on his back wherever he goes anyway." (Quotes from John O'Riordan)
