10-length win for Ollies Gal

GORT trainer Norman Lee was on the mark when his 4/1 shot Ollies Gal ran out an impressive winner of the concluding mares’ maiden at last Sunday’s County Limerick Hunt meeting at Rathcannon.
Up front from an early stage in this 13-runner contest, Ollies Gall quickened up really well in the closing stages under Charleville jockey James ‘Corky’ Carroll to beat runner-up Royal Robin by 10 lengths.
Lee, who has 15 horses under his wing at his impressive training base at Kilmacduagh, was delighted with what was his second win since he started out training less than 12 months ago.
He said, “This is a good, tough mare and I’m very pleased for her owner, Bertie Mannion from Roscommon, who is a good supporter of mine. We’ll go for a winners’ race with her now and her ultimate target is the Gain Mares’ Final at Ballynoe in April.”
Interestingly, the Lee name in no stranger to race horse training, given that Norman’s father, Christy, was associated with 1973 Galway Hurdle winner Lesabelle, while his brother, Raymond, also currently holds a trainer’s licence.
Looking to the future, an optimistic Lee divulged, “I love the training game and, thank God, things have been going well for us. We have all the facilities we need here and a win like this can only do us the world of good. We have a nice bunch of horses to look forward to, so it’s onwards and upwards from here.”
Derek O’Connor, who had to settle for second spot aboard Royal Robin, had earlier moved onto the 46-winner mark for the season when riding three winners at the Shannonside track.
The seven-time champion kicked off the afternoon in the best possible fashion when steering Pat Doyle’s hot-pot Tackmaster (4/7F) to victory in the opening four-year-old maiden.
Unlucky when falling at the last with the race at his mercy at Belharbour on his debut, this Gigginstown House Stud-owned youngster had the rub of the green on his side this time round as both Must You Go and Aubrey De Vere came down at the final fence when challenging, leaving Tackmaster clear to beat the remounted Must You Go by a distance.
An hour later, O’Connor was back in the number one slot when he produced Robert Tyner’s well-backed six-year-old Barnanely Beau (5/2-6/4F) with a well-timed challenge to beat Hustle N’ Flow by two lengths in the winners’ race.
The O’Connor hat-trick was completed in the open lightweight where again punters got it right as his mount, Session Or Ression, justified the cramped odds of 4/7 favourite with consummate ease.
Held up in third place for most of the three-mile trip, O’Connor moved the market leader, who is trained in Wicklow by Liam Keeny, up to lead approaching the last with the pair pulling clear on the uphill climb to the post to see off runner-up King John’s Castle by a snug four lengths.
Sunday was also a good day for Broadford teenager Joshua Ryan, who saddled his second winner in 14 days as Castle Conflict (5/2) followed his recent Knockanard success when taking the winners’ race at Bandon’s Carberry Hunt meeting.
Ryan, a 16-year-old fifth-year pupil at St Joseph’s Secondary School in Tulla, appears to have a smart recruit on his hands as the son of Close Conflict, which he also owns, powered clear under top jockey Mikey O’Connor to beat the Damian Murphy-ridden Lizzie Fennell by a length.
“This is very tough horse and he had to do it the hard way,” said Ryan. “I must give credit to our blacksmith, Tony Marsh, who helped us out in a big way last week. Castle Conflict will probably go through the ring at the Doncaster Bloodstock Sale after racing at Newbury on Saturday.”
This coming weekend is a busy one on the pointing front with five meetings taking place, including Sunday’s Limerick Harriers’ fixture at Lemonfield, which kicks off at 1pm.

Russell closes in on jockeys’ crown

TOP jockey Davy Russell has been in tremendous form of late and the Youghal native narrowed the gap on Paul Townend at the head of the Jockeys’ Championship when riding three winners at Leopardstown on Sunday.
Russell’s association with Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown House operation has seen the former point-to-point champion pick up a host of big-race winners and the Ryanair boss was again the main provider on Sunday.
The Russell/O’Leary combination struck first in the opening two and a half-mile maiden hurdle at the Foxrock track where Westmeath, who appropriately carried O’Leary’s maroon and white colours, scored for Wexford trainer, Paul Nolan.
Sent off at 5/1, Westmeath made virtually all the running here and still had plenty in reserve when passing the post five lengths in front of Willie Mullins’ Glenlo Abbey.
Stonemaster (4/1) gave Russell the second leg of the treble when taking the following Ballsbridge Hurdle for O’Leary and Curragh trainer Dessie Hughes. This Old Vic six-year-old, who won his sole point-to-point start when taking a four-year-old maiden under Derek O’Connor for trainer Pat Doyle at Belharbour, came from the rear with a well-timed Russell challenge to see off runner-up Made In Taipan by two lengths.
Russell’s third win, leaving him seven adrift (70-63) of Paul Townend at the head of the riders’ table, came aboard the strongly supported 9/4 favourite Pittoni in the two-mile handicap hurdle.
Trained by Charles Byrnes at his Limerick yard for professional punter Paddy Wilmott, Pittoni made light of the fact that he was returning to action for the first time since last October when surging clear after the final flight to deny runner-up Cass Bligh by two and a half lengths.
There was considerable interest in the post-racing schooling session at the South Dublin venue on Sunday where top jockey Ruby Walsh made his first public appearance in the saddle for months when schooling Willie Mullins’ Mikael D’Haguenet over fences.
Walsh, who will take his first ride back since his horrific leg-break at Down Royal last November for Paul Nicholls at Newbury on Friday, seemed to show no ill-effects of his long lay-off when working his mount upsides the likes of Quel Esprit, Some Target and Pomme Tiepy, who are all likely to form part of Mullins’ powerful Cheltenham Festival team.