Going - Good to Yielding. Overcast
Jackpot Pool - €5,000.00 Dividend - €315.30 Winning Units - 11.1. Placepot Pool - €25,184.09 Dividend - €7.50 Winning Units - 2331.82. Pick Six Pool - €10,000.00 Dividend - €3,500.00 Winning Units - 2. Days Aggregate - €108,178.00 Last Year €122,892.00
Mullins & Townend win Punchestown's opener
she looked like a nice mare but has had her problems. We’ve run her quite fresh and I wasn’t expecting her to be that good but she obviously has natural ability. In France it seemed the more she ran the worse she got, so I said I’d run her fresh and I’m pleasantly surprised to see that she could win a contest like that. I hadn’t really thought about it before today but we might give her an entry in the mares novice hurdle at Cheltenham. That’s what she would have been bought for two years ago.
Blackmore keeping tabs on Townend
he doesn’t show a whole lot at home so it was a pleasant surprise in Tramore (when finishing second), and that has turned out to be a good maiden hurdle. He’s progressed again and Rachael gave him a super ride. Chasing will be his game next year, and you would hope he will get three miles. We might look at the novice handicap in Fairyhouse.
'Job done' for Laurina, Champion Hurdle next
she took a good blow and Ruby said she needed it badly. When he asked her to move up she moved up nicely, and did everything he asked her. She jumped a bit slow for my liking when she wasn’t on the bridle but when he gave her the office to go she sharpened up her jumping. Ruby said she was idling in front. The tight inside track today wouldn’t suit her either. That’s job done and hopefully we’ll get a clear run from now to Cheltenham. The Champion Hurdle is where we are aiming. That’s the owners' plan and our plan. Things can change and she is in other races. She got her flu jab last week and we missed a week’s training which is not ideal. I wanted the last week to sharpen her up and have her really hopping. We had to take a pull, and I’m happy knowing how we would normally shape her training coming up to a race like this. We’ll have to sharpen her up over the next few weeks. She was a very buzzy mare before and she has matured so maybe that’s why she looked very settled. The buzz and bustle of Cheltenham will really sharpen her up and for a Champion Hurdle she is going to have to be sharper. We knew we were going to have pace in the race today with Stormy Ireland who is a nice yardstick too. We knew it wasn’t going to be a pushover. She beat nothing in Sandown but looked sharper. She looks every inch a mare that can go chasing, and we’ll just see how she gets on in the meantime.
Gigginstown dominate Pertemps Qualifier
I’d say he’ll probably travel (to Cheltenham) now because he stays and stays. He wants four miles!. He ran at Limerick over Christmas and he was caught on the (inside) fence and they bunched up and he couldn’t get going again. He wasn’t beaten far in that good novice. We said we’d make plenty of use of him, and softer ground would suit him better. Hopefully he’s alright after that. If he gets in I’m pretty certain he’ll run in the Pertemps.
Meade & Flanagan complete double
I’d say she will continue to improve because she has always been very shy. We used to cover her up in bumpers but when we put her out in front and away from other horses she’s got over it. She’s from the same family as Harbour Pilot. Her owner (Jimmy Kernohan) fell off a gate the day before yesterday; he’s in his seventies and shouldn’t have been climbing gates, but I’ll phone him now and tell him to stay away in future as that’s twice he’s after missing her run and she’s won both times!
Doyle maintains recent winner-a-week run
he’d a great run the last day, and my only worry was that he’d never put two good runs together up to this but he’s a stronger horse now. He might progress and he’s always showed plenty of ability. He jumps a fence well and is very sharp. He’s a summer horse and is just lucky with the year that’s in it. He’s lucky to be alive as he got a terrible fall last June in Gowran and broke his nose and a lot of other little injuries. That’s why he missed most of the summer. The horses are running well. They were wrong last year and maybe they are a bit well handicapped now because of it. There was no life there last year but since the turn of the year they have been healthy.
Meade bags Punchestown treble
he’s a very green horse. We have been struggling with our bumper horses this year because we haven’t been able to get them on grass. We usually find if they are on the grass a few times at home then they know what they are at. He was awful green and you would imagine he should improve a lot. He has a good pedigree with plenty of Group winners. We’ll leave him now for a while and let him bulk up a bit, and probably give him a run somewhere towards the end of the season. We’ll let him get himself together as he’s still a big baby. Paul Lanney is one of the owners and he also bred him. He has a supermarket in Ardee and lives in Nobber; most of the owners are from around that area.
