Ronan Whelan lands first win for O'Brien

Mark Walsh and Joseph O'Brien teamed up to win the opening two-mile maiden hurdle at Roscommon on Monday with the JP McManus-owned Jeaniemacaroney. A very well-supported 6/4 favourite, the four-year-old raced up with the pace and had a little in hand as she came home a two and a quarter-length winner from the Willie Mullins-trained Caman Eileen, a 16/5 chance.

Johnny Feane gave favourite backers the perfect start at Fairyhouse on Wednesday where his Signor Ferrari scored a narrow success in the opening 10-furlong claiming race for three-year-olds. Held up at the rear of the field by Hugh Horgan, the 11/8 chance came through to lead at the furlong-pole and held off Denis Hogan’s 4/1 chance Latin by a neck. 

There were no claims for any of the nine runners. At odds of 6/1, the Michael O'Callaghan-trained Black Forza took the six-furlong maiden in fine style. Ridden by Seamie Heffernan, the Eleanora Kennedy-owned two-year-old also led a furlong from the finish and at the line he scored by a length and a quarter from Joseph O'Brien’s 6/4 favourite Rudi’s Apple. 

Ronan Whelan was the big winner on the night as he enjoyed his first success for trainer Aidan O'Brien on Grateful in the Group 3 Darley Irish EBF Stanerra Stakes. Whelan had the 12/1 chance in front before the two-furlong pole and she held the late challenge of Joseph O'Brien’s 6/1 shot Dancing Tango by half a length with the Henry de Bromhead-trained 100/30 joint-favourite Magical Zoe three-parts of a length away in third place. Ross O'Sullivan was next into the winners’ enclosure as the John Bowden-owned Four Blondes took the seven-furlong maiden. 

The Shane Foley-ridden 3/1 joint-favourite was another to make the best of her way home inside the final two furlongs to beat Michael O'Callaghan’s 7/1 chance Oceans Manifest by three and a half lengths, the widest winning margin of the meeting. Another winning joint-favourite was the 7/2 chance Verhoyen in the handicap over the same distance. Ridden for trainer Michael Grassick by Danny Sheehy, the nine-year-old made all the running to beat Andy Slattery’s 10/1 chance Mount Ruapehu by half a length for owners Paul Cullen, Joe Keeling and the winning trainer himself. It was Verhoyen’s eighth career success. Cian MacRedmond landed the second of the seven-furlong handicaps on the Ado McGuinness-trained Skontonovski which was paying his ninth visit to the number one spot. The 14/1 chance led on the run to the final furlong and he was well on top in the closing stages, winning by a length and a quarter from Ross O'Sullivan’s 13/2 shot Tall Story.

The Willie McCreery-trained Jancis brought her tally to two wins from as many starts when scoring an impressive success in the Group 3 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Brownstown Stakes under Billy Lee at Leopardstown on Thursday. Owned and bred by Arturo Cousino, the three-year-old added to a clearcut maiden win over the same course and distance last month when scoring by two and a quarter lengths from the Jessica Harrington-trained Bluedrum at odds of 11/2. 

Transcending Glory battled well to land the seven-furlong handicap for Johnny Murtagh and Ben Coen. A 15/2 chance in the colours of the Kildare Racing Syndicate and the Kilmichael Racing Syndicate, the three-year-old got the better of a sustained battle with Ger Lyons’ 11/4 favourite Quadruple to score by a nose. Ger O’Leary and Keithen Kennedy combined to take the eight-furlong handicap with the 9/2 favourite Giuseppe Cassioli.

The seven-year-old led a furlong from the finish and held off Luke Comer’s Rio Largo by half a length. Trainer Noel Meade was full of praise for Confey apprentice Neil Ryan after he partnered Hokusai to win the nine-furlong handicap. The 14/1 chance led a furlong from the finish to beat the Tim Doyle-trained Pegula by a length and a quarter and afterward the winning trainer said of Ryan, “I'm so delighted for him to ride winners because he rides really well, but he's just been a bit unlucky. He gave that lad a peach. 

He rides out all the good horses at home, like Layfayette and Caught U Looking. He's a great lad and the hardest-working jockey you ever came across.” Johnny Murtagh and Ben Coen were on the mark again at Dundalk on Friday afternoon where Shamsuddin took the eight-furlong maiden. A 4/5 favourite, he made all the running to beat Michael O'Callaghan’s 16/1 chance Genoah by two and three-parts of a length. Coen had earlier won the claiming race on the Edward Lynam-trained Rough Diamond.

Eight days after celebrating his 92nd birthday, Kevin Prendergast sent out his first jumps winner since Katie T landed the €100,000 BoyleSports Handicap Hurdle at Leopardstown in January 2015 as Smiling Bees took the two-mile three-furlong maiden hurdle at Kilbeggan on Friday evening. Like Katie T, the five-year-old is owned by the Barrywhite Partnership, and she led after the final hurdle under Jody McGarvey to pip the John McConnell’s front-runner Churchwarden, a 5/1 chance, by a shorthead at odds of 14/1. Ross O'Sullivan string is flying high and he took the three-mile handicap hurdle with the Hows Your Father Syndicate-owned Ceanndana. Keith Donoghue was in the saddle as the 4/1 favourite scored by an easy two lengths from the John McConnell-trained 12/1 chance Dinoland.

Michael O'Callaghan and Colin Keane took the near six-furlong maiden with the long-absent Mehmar at Navan on Saturday. On his first start in since Royal Ascot in June 2022, the four-year-old was sent off at odds of 3/1 and he raced to a comfortable one and a half-length success over the Edward Lynam-trained Desert Power with Jack Davison’s 8/11 favourite only third. Trainer Katy Brown went close with runner-up Stop On Red at Dundalk on Friday afternoon and she went a place better to win the five-furlong handicap with the Orchard Garden Syndicate-owned Reinforce. 

A 12/1 chance under Ronan Whelan, the four-year-old led at the furlong pole to beat Kevin Coleman’s 13/2 chance Only Spoofing and Gary Carroll by three-parts of a length. Whelan was also on the mark on the Michael Halford & Tracey Collins-trained Doctor Grace in the 10-furlong handicap. Owned and bred by the Dundalk Racing Club, the 6/1 chance led close to the finish to deny Kevin Smith’s front-runner Nawraq by half a length. Jessica Harrington and Keithen Kennedy had earlier taken the 10-furlong apprentice handicap with the strong favourite Itsonlyjustbegun. The 7/4 chance was another to lead a furlong from the finish and she scored by a cosy length from the Pat Martin-trained Explorers Way, a second winner of the week for the successful jockey.