Going - Round course - Good, Straight course - Good, Good to Firm in places. Very warm
Jackpot Pool - 879.25 Dividend - 615.50 Winning Units - .43. Partial Carry Over of 501.17 to Leopardstown on Saturday 9th September. Placepot Pool - 16,419.75 Dividend - 40.20 Winning Units - 286.69. Days Aggregate - 145,971.04 Last Year 143,729.89
Keane extends lead in jockeys' table
Delighted to finally get her head in front. She was already third in a Group 2 and she has just had a habit of getting herself beaten for one reason or another. It was my own fault for putting the blinkers on her the last day dropping her back to five, she didn't seem to face them. I took them off her today and bounced her back out again. Colin said she might be made for that five furlong Listed race in Dundalk. She has a lot of speed and wants something to aim at, and just does enough when she gets there. That was the plan, she was able to travel away and she is able to have something to keep her concentrated and go and quicken up . Great to get her maiden bracket sorted. She has strengthened up a lot over the summer and, if she keeps doing, that she could win a little stakes race somewhere.
Smullen's Pride avails of a good opportunity
She was entitled to win that. It was an ideal opportunity. She had a couple of little problems throughout the year, so I didn't get to run her. Drawn wide and she pinged the gates, travelled really well and picked up well. There's a 50-90 here in a few weeks for three-year-olds only and we'll come back for that.
Sli Na Ghealai shines in Down Royal sunshine
Velvet Skies delivers for Mulvany and Joyce
I was actually a little disappointed the last day (in fifth at the Curragh), I thought we would have been closer. He's still learning on the job. He is going for the Sportsman's sales race on Thursday (at Naas), so hopefully he will improve again. I'd say he is versatile enough over six and seven. Wesley is a good jockey.
Meade snares another Ulster Cesarewitch
Frankie actually made it for him as he set it up for us. He got them racing early and they followed him. He was able to come through which was great. It is fantastic for Seamus (Hunt, owner) and his wife and kids, one of his daughters works for Grant Thornton. They were all here. More of the same for this fella, he will probably go to the Curragh for a two-mile race on the day of the (Irish) Cesarewitch, it is a 0-90. He proved today that he stays 2m2f which I suppose will open a lot of doors. He has won over jumps, but he is just not the bravest over jumps.
God Knows and so did Brabazon as homebred filly strikes
Kinirons continues his hot streak
Luke gave her a brilliant ride, he knows her very well. We gave her a bit of a break over the summer and she came back fresh. Peter, the owner, is here for the day - he is based in Liverpool and is actually originally a local man. We just kept it simple on her. She was down to her last winning mark on the Flat. My horses are in great order, thank God, and long may it last. She is a real honest mare and is a black-type mare over hurdles. In the spring, she ran well but the others just weren't 100 per cent. We gave her a bit of time and are delighted with her. She's in again at Tramore, I was tempted when she was that well. We had a few winners recently and one winner got 15lb. In the 45-65 grade she is well in. We'll see how she is, but we might go to Tramore. She's a fun mare and I think we haven't seen the best of her. She might go to Gowran at the end of the month for a mares' Listed hurdle, she is rated 123 over hurdles and hasn't run over hurdles in a while. She got a bad fall over fences when she was probably going to win last year in Sligo and it kind of set her back. It took us a while to get her right, but she is in good nick now.