'Like old times' for Weld as he completes Leopardstown four-timer

'Master of Rosewell House' Dermot Weld rolled back the years with a four-timer at Leopardstown today as his Titanium Sky completed the feat in the JJ Kavanagh & Sons (Fillies) Maiden.

The eight-times Champion Trainer endured his two least successful seasons in the past two years with 45 winners in virus-hit 2017 and 58 in 2018, but has started this current season in tremendous style and Titanium Sky's success was his sixth of the freshly minted turf season.

Weld's earlier winners were the Aga Khan owned, Chris Hayes partnered Tarnawa and Tinandali before his Khalid Abdullah owned Imaging bagged the treble in the featured Listed race, under apprentice jockey Oisin Orr. Orr then steered Titanium Sky to her maiden success for Moyglare Stud Farm to complete the four-timer.

Weld was chuffed with his day's work and later quipped “it's been a great evening, a lovely four-timer, it's like old times!

“I've had a couple of five timers here but four-timers are always appreciated as things are a bit tougher nowadays.”

He added “he (Orr) gave her a lovely ride. It was in someways a messy race but he took his time, got a nice run through, and she did it well.

“I'd say another furlong would be well within her compass. I would expect to be able to get some black-type with her during the year. I thought she quickened up very nicely.

“They were all very well ridden, both jockeys (Chris Hayes and Oisin Orr) rode very very well.”

Weld is currently the only trainer to have wrested the Flat Trainers' Championship away from Aidan O'Brien, having done so in 1998 with his latest Championship win. The Ballydoyle maestro regained the Trainers' Championship the following year and has since effectively taken ownership of the title.

Quotes from Gary Carson