Going - Standard. Overcast, threat of showers
Placepot Pool - €8,589.49 Dividend - €63.50 Winning Units - 88.78. Days Aggregate - €139,262.00 Last Year €192,449.00
Itsalonglongroad gets his Polytrack success
Simon is strong and very good value for his 5lb claim. It worked out beautifully as they went hard in front and he was able to get him half switched off. He can be a difficult horse to settle. He’s a hard horse to predict. Personally, I hope he’s not claimed but if he is he is. He’s a fun horse and I wouldn’t mind having a few more of them in the yard.
In-form Storm Steps follows up in Dundalk
Nightly Wailing roars home over two miles
We have been waiting for that two miles. He won over the course and distance over two years ago but he had a little problem and it took a while to get him back. We took our time with him. He always runs well up here and ran well over a mile and a half the last day. The horse that won that race also won here earlier today. There is not too many two-mile races here, and fair play to Michael Grassick and his contacts he got one put on. I was delighted when I saw it because I knew he would get in after being third the last day. Rory gave him an excellent ride. I was quite confident after his run the last day and going up to two miles today. We’ll mind him now and hopefully there will be another two miles race put on here as there is a lot of people looking for them. There are a lot of horses out there that need two miles and can’t jump.
Sister Rosetta off the mark for Carroll and Lyons
Her breeder Kevin Prendergast will be happy. It’s taken her a while to get her head in front but she’s been green and a bit unlucky. We’ll winter her well and look forward to nice ground from the spring onwards. She was a little bit weak and needs good ground or better. Gary said she has plenty of boot and she could even drop back to five.
Ryan rides out his claim from Pillar to post
I suppose I don’t want this year to end. I’d be about the only one who wouldn’t be giving out about 2020!. This fella is a real star in the yard when he gets into his grade. He surprised me as he did that quite easily and is in great form. He takes very little work at home, and I’m delighted for Sean Gallagher who is a long-standing supporter of mine and it’s great for him to get another winner. He ran over five here the last night and was run of his feet. Colin (Keane) rode him and said they went hard because for him to be taken off his feet they have to go very fast.
Adams Barbour cuts down his rivals at 80/1
He’s a half-brother to a filly (Ty Rock Brandy) that won three times for us over five furlongs. It’s taken him a bit of time to come to himself and the last few runs were on soft ground. That’s his first time on the all-weather and he’s kicked on well. He’s very tough and was headed on the run-in but got the job done. He’s not quite as sharp as his sister but is equally tough. The horses have been in bad form and it’s just great to get a winner. It’s a welcome surprise. The owner Dr David Adam is a massive supporter of the yard and I’m delighted for him. We got this horse for him as a yearling and he’s waited for him.
Lyons doubles up in Dundalk with Aikido
He’s a lovely horse but they went no gallop. He went up from six to seven and you could drop him back again as he has plenty of speed. We’ll let him mature now over the winter and he’s a genuine horse that will be nice for next year.
Mrs Bouquet keeping up appearances in Dundalk
She’s a nice filly that was trained in England by Mark Johnston and Garrett (Freyne) decided to send her to me. She showed a bit of form on her penultimate start for me and we were hopefully that in a slightly weaker race she would be able to get competitive. I wouldn’t be afraid to run her over six with a good pace and quick ground is what she wants. She’d had quite an intense campaign in England and Garrett felt a bit of a break and a change of scenery might help to recapture her form.
