EAST Clare trainer Ronnie O’Leary was among the winners as his JP McManus-owned One Fine Morning bounced back to his best to claim the malton.com Handicap Chase at Killarney on Wednesday of last week.
Having won his maiden hurdle in impressive style at Galway last October, One Fine Morning seemed to lose his way somewhat in the interim but the son of Generous appeared back to his best when running on strongly in the closing stages under Mark Walsh to beat Adrianeo by four-and-a-half lengths.
The winner, who was returned at 9-1 having been available at 16-1 in the morning, is a smashing-looking horse and O’Leary, who always has a few horses in training for his main patron, McManus, is hopeful One Fine Morning can go on to bigger and better things.
He said, “I was very pleased with the win. Good ground is really the key to him and the faster it is, the better he likes it. I’d be hoping he’d progress further as he’s only a five-year-old and has a great pedigree, coming from the family of Viking Flagship
“His next outing will probably be in a handicap chase at Listowel providing the ground stays good and it is always very nice to have a winner for the owner, who is a great supporter of mine,” concluded Cork man O’Leary, who, prior to setting up his 15-strong training operation at Ogonnelloe, was a very successful jockey in the UK, where he rode many top-class horses when attached to the late Jimmy Fitzgerald’s Malton yard.
Cooraclare man Noel O’Flaherty has been in involved in racehorse ownership for a long time and the Dublin-based property developer saw his colours carried to success when Zaralabad (12-1) landed the featured Kingdom Gold Cup under Johnny Murtagh.
The seven-year-old, who had won his first race in 12 months when scoring at Bellewstown the previous week, has obviously hit a rich vein of form as he powered clear inside the final furlong to beat runner-up Dimona by a length.
Charlie Swan trains the winner at his Cloughjordan, County Tipperary yard and the Naas October Handicap is likely to be Zaralabad’s next port of call.   
Derek O’Connor is counting down the days to the start of the upcoming 2011-12 point-to-point season (which kicks off at Rathcannon, County Limerick on September 25) but the eight-time points champion has been busy inside the rails of late, having bagged two winners in the past seven days.
The 29-year-old was in action at Killarney last week, where he partnered Pat Flynn’s newcomer, Sword Of Honour, to victory in last Thursday’s concluding bumper.
A regally bred son of Montjeu, Sword Of Honour went off at 5-1 and really put his rivals in the shade when powering clear in the closing stages to beat runner-up Stormy Oscar by nine lengths.
The winner, who carries the silks of leading owner John Magnier, is potentially very useful and it will be interesting to see what route Dungarvan-based Flynn takes with the colt now.
O’Connor’s second success was something of a surprise, with the Tubber rider coming in for a lucky ‘spare’ aboard 25-1 outsider Mare Of Milan in the bumper at Galway on Saturday.
Dublin jockey Peter Casey was due to ride this mare but when he cried off late in the day, winning trainer Stephen Mahon called up O’Connor, who did the business in no uncertain terms.
O’Connor is often associated with giving horses a ‘hold-up’ ride but on this occasion he displayed his versatility when bouncing the daughter of Milan into an early lead and the pair never saw another rival when passing the post six lengths clear of Colin Bowe’s Coopers Dream.
Mare Of Milan, who carries the colours of her Ballindereen, County Galway owner Tom Quinn, won a point-to-point at Lisronagh last year and will now go jumping.

So You Think looks good in Champion Stakes

A small but select field of six look set to go to post on Saturday in the Red Mills Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.
Not surprisingly, Aidan O’Brien is responsible for 50% of the sextet and his Australian import So You Think is a short-priced 1-3 favourite to give the master of Ballydoyle his seventh success in the race.
A seven-time Group One winner, So You Think hasn’t been seen since slamming Workforce in the Coral Eclipse at Sandown yet Seamie Heffernan’ s mount stands out.
O’Brien also has Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Roderick O’Connor engaged, as is Recital, whose last run was when finishing sixth behind Pour Moi (who misses the Arc and has been retired due to an injury) in the Inevestec Derby at Epsom in June.
English filly Snow Fairy, the mount of Frankie Dettori, is next best in the betting at 6-1 and, while she is a class act in her own right, it is hard to see her turning the tables this time round. When the pair last clashed (in the Coral Eclipse) Ed Dunlop’s charge was nine lengths fourth to So You Think on that occasion. The statistics are against the UK raider as no filly has won this race since Timarida triumphed back in 1996.
Dermot Weld has Famous Name engaged and, despite the fact that he is real course specialist having scored nine times all around the Foxrock track, he appears to have it all to do here. Kevin Prendergast’s Dunboyne Express completes the line-up and it would be a major shock if he were to upstage his more fancied rivals.
Meanwhile, Maybe stamped herself a filly of real class when putting her seven rivals to the sword in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday.
Unbeaten on her four previous outings, Maybe was putting her credentials on the line against her strongest opposition to-date but the 8-11 favourite came through this test with flying colours, when quickening up impressively in the hands of Joseph O’Brien to beat David Wachman’s Fire Lilly by a length-and-three-quarters. La Collina, seen by many as the big danger to the favourite, could only manage third, a further three lengths in rear.
Maybe has really impressed in everything she has done so far and, inevitably, thoughts now turn to next year’s English 1,000 Guineas.
Most of the leading bookmaking firms have installed the daughter of Galileo as favourite (best priced 5-1 with Ladbrokes) for the UK classic, while Maybe could run again this season with a race in France and the Fillies’ mile at Newmarket mentioned as possible targets.