Bahrain Storm hits Killarney on Monday

Killarney’s four-day summer festival kicked off on Monday evening with victory in the featured two-mile, one-furlong handicap chase going to Pat Flynn’s Bahrain Storm.
The former Galway Hurdle winner looked well treated in this €15,000 contest and he didn’t let his supporters down when turning in an eye-catching display.
Recently married David Casey was on board the 5/4 favourite and he was content to sit in behind the leaders as Davy Russell made the early running aboard Henry De Bromhead’s Echo Bob.
Approaching the home turn, Casey allowed Bahrain Strom take closer order and heading towards the final fence, he had the leader well in his sights.
Once safely over the last, Bahrain Storm hit the front and stayed on well from that point to beat Echo Bob by a cosy three and a half lengths in the colours of the Cousins Syndicate from Loughrea. Schelm, trained in East Clare by Ronnie O’Leary, ran his usual game race to finish third a further 12 lengths back under Paul Carberry and he is also Galway bound with a run in the tote.ie Galway Plate his likely Ballybrit target.  
This was a good win for Bahrain Storm which came at the perfect time for the eight-year-old as he will now head back to Galway for either the Plate or the Hurdle according to his Waterford trainer Flynn, who commented, “That was a very nice win. We decided to run him here over the shorter trip to sharpen up his jumping and he did it well.”
Looking ahead to his Ballybrit options, Flynn continued, “He’s got 11-5 in the Galway Hurdle and just 9-10 in the Plate so it looks as if he’ll go for the chase. He loves it around Galway having won the Hurdle there in 2009 and he was second again there last year to Overturn. He’s a lovely horse to train and is quiet as a lamb at home.”
The only other jumps race on the card at the scenic Kingdom venue was a two and a half-mile maiden hurdle with victory here going to the Henry De Bromhead-trained 9/2 shot Sizing Symphony.
Yet another horse to carry the Ann and Alan Potts colours made famous by Sizing Europe, this son of Saddler’s Wells relished the good ground when making virtually every yard of the running under an enterprising Davy Russell ride to beat Rhienland by 11 lengths.
The winner, who had finished runner-up to the locally owned Steele’s Rock on his previous outing at Gowran back in May, looks useful. His trainer commented, “We’ve always thought a good bit of this horse and he disappointed us a bit on heavy ground during the winter. His owners always like to have runners at the early Cheltenham meetings’ in October and November and that’s probably the direction we’ll go with him now.”
Just four faced the starter in the concluding winners’ bumper with victory going to Willie Mullins’ even-money favourite Laganbank.
Katie Walsh produced the market leader with a storming run in the home straight with the duo pulling clear inside the final furlong for a well-merited two and a half-length victory over main market rival Ahyaknowyerself.

Cape Blanco gives O’Brien American success

Aidan O’Brien’s great run shows no signs of abating and his Cape Blanco kept the Ballydoyle flag flying when storming to victory in the Man O’War Stakes at New York’s Belmont Park last Saturday.
Jamie Spencer made the journey across the Atlantic to take the ride aboard the 3/1 shot and he drove his mount past the pace-setting Mission Approved off the home turn.
Cape Blanco, whose previous outing had yielded a sixth behind the classy Canford Cliffs at Royal Ascot, showed his power when fighting off a determined challenge from favourite Gio Ponti to record an emphatic success.
A delighted O’Brien stated, “I’m absolutely thrilled and Jamie gave him a superb ride. We were a small bit worried about the rain on Friday and I was hoping that soft ground in America wouldn’t be the same as it is back home.
“He’s a very tough, genuine horse with a real will to win. This race slotted in nicely for him and something like the Arlington Million might also suit, we’ll have to wait and see how that pans out,” added O’Brien.
Meanwhile, Hayley Turner made history at Newmarket on Saturday when she became the first female jockey to win a British Group One outright when guiding Dream Ahead to victory in the Darley July Cup.
Turner has been one of the top jockeys in action in Britain over the past decade and the 28-year-old was rewarded with her biggest success to-date when steering David Simcock’s 7/1 shot, Dream Ahead, to a historic victory.
The winning combination didn’t have the clearest of passages during this six-furlong contest, having to take a bit of evasive action in the closing stages as eventual runner-up, Bated Breath, hung right under Steve Drowne. Hayley was equal to the task, however, switching Dream Ahead left before she swept past him well inside the final furlong for a richly deserved half a length success.
“I only found out I was riding him two days ago and I haven’t sat on the horse before  so I can’t take all the credit,” said an elated Turner, who was surpassing the feat  of Alex Greaves who dead-heated in the Nunthorpe Stakes way back in 1997, by being the first woman to bag a group one outright. 
“I must say a big thank you to the trainer and the owners’ for giving me the chance on this horse today and the only way to get experience in those big races is to get to ride good horses. William (Buick) would have ridden this horse today but he was claimed to ride at York and he told me how to ride him and things worked out to perfection.”