Lough Ferrib gallops to success at Fairyhouse

QUIN trainer John Hassett was on the mark as his 10/1 shot Lough Ferrib landed the sixth race of his career when successful in a 10-furlong Ratoath handicap at Fairyhouse on Wednesday of last week.
Hassett will forever be remembered as the scourge of bookmakers when landing a string of well-executed gambles over the past 30 years and, while the Ballyhannon-based veterinary surgeon now runs a much smaller operation, he still retains his enthusiasm for a tilt at the ring every now and then.
Having been backed at 12/1 in the morning, the now 11-year-old Lough Ferrib turned in a gutsy effort when hitting the front at the furlong pole under his useful Galway-born 5lb claimer, Leigh Roche, when running on powerfully from there to beat runner-up Asian Wing by a length.
Lough Ferrib was recording his second win on the flat, to add to his four successes over hurdles and he made a quick reappearance when turning out again at Cork last Sunday where he finished third under the mandatory 5Ib penalty with Roche again in the saddle.
It was a big day at the Mallow track on Sunday where Dermot Weld’s 11/8 favourite Sapphire made a winning seasonal debut in the featured €82.000 Group 3 Kerry Group Noblesse Stakes.
Partnered by Weld’s stable jockey Pat Smullen, Sapphire burst to front in this one-mile, four-furlong contest two furlongs down and ran on with real purpose to beat Aidan O’Brien’s second-placed Betterbetterbetter by four and three-quarter lengths.
Weld later outlined, “We have won this Group 3 race, three out of the last four years. I am very pleased with Sapphire’s display today and we will now look at the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes at The Curragh for her despite the fact that she will be dropping back in trip to 10 furlongs for that but I think she is so progressive, that won’t inconvenience her at all.
“She will probably have to travel to places like France for suitable races during the season as she loves an ease in the surface and shows all her best form with a bit of cut in the ground,” added the Master of Rosewell House, who trains the successful daughter of Meidicean for long-standing patrons Moyglare Stud Farm.
The other big race on the card at the North Cork venue was the Listed five-furlong Galtee Midsummer Sprint Stakes, which went the way of English raider Mirza. Fran Berry was on board this son of Oasis Dream, who is trained by Rae Guest and the journey proved worthwhile when the 2/1 favourite came with a withering late run to finally master long-time leader Our Girl Anna inside the final half a length.
“We knew our horse was in great form and he loves that type of [soft] ground. We came over on Friday and the racecourse have been very good to us,” said Guest.
“There was a doubt about the meeting going ahead but the management kept us constantly updated and things have worked out perfectly in end. Mirza is in the Wokingham Stakes at Ascot [this Saturday] but he must have soft ground so, with Ascot likely to dry up quickly, he’s unlikely to run there.”
Berry went on to complete a double when guiding 6/1 shot, Edith Cowan, to victory in the nine-furlong Golden Olive maiden.
Trained on the Curragh by Charles O’Brien, Edith Cowan was well fancied having opened at 8/1 and he delivered with the minimum of fuss when streaking clear a furlong down to beat runner-up Jumbo Prado by two and a half lengths.
Willie Mullins may be better known as a top National Hunt trainer but the Closutton, County Carlow handler displayed his versatility when sending out newcomer Blue Bullet (7/1) to land the opening two-year-old maiden. Gary Carroll did the steering on this Red Clubs youngster who quickened up nicely when popped the question to beat Dermot Weld’s Scent of Roses by a neck.
Greyhound followers will be well aware of the prowess of Kilkenny man Paul Hennessy in the doggie sphere but he is also now making inroads in the horse racing world as well and he got on the score sheet when his 12/1 chance, First Friday, came home best to land the Kerry Group Race Day Handicap.
Derby-winning rider Seamie Heffernan popped First Friday straight into the lead in this 12-furlong contest and the pair were never headed when passing the post half a length to the good over the Michael Hussey-ridden Gothen Niece.

Frankel sparkles in Ascot opener
THIS week’s racing is dominated by the five-day Royal Ascot meeting, which kicked off on Tuesday afternoon with another powerhouse performance from Frankel in the opening Queen Anne Stakes.
Officially the highest rated horse in the world, Frankel made light work of his rivals as the 1/10 shot kept his unbeaten record intact with his 11th win from 11 career starts.
Sir Henry Cecil’s stable star was given the nod by his Waterford-born rider Tom Queally to overtake his pace-setting stable companion Bullet Train with three furlongs to run and Queally only had to steer the galloping machine towards the winning post as he surged away to beat Aidan O’Brien’s runner-up, Excelabration, by a whopping 11 lengths.
Naturally, winning trainer Cecil was thrilled with the winner’s performance, “He really is a special horse and was so impressive today. I’m relieved really as everything has to be right and there are no certainties in racing. He did exactly as I thought he would and is still improving. We have a few things in mind for him and we’ll let the horse tell us where we will go next.
Winning jockey Queally was also impressed, “I think his win today was his most impressive to date. We had the rest of them off the bridle from a long way out and he’s just a superstar. He really ticks all the boxes and it is very hard to describe just how good he is.”    
While Frankel is without doubt one of the best horses of his or any generation, all eyes will now be on Australian star Black Caviar who makes the trip from Australia to take on all comers in this Saturday’s six-furlong Diamond Jubilee Stakes.
Unbeaten in all of her 21 starts down under, Black Caviar has been described as ‘the wonder from down under’ and few could argue with that as her record speaks for itself and her fist start in the northern hemisphere looks set to attract a huge crowd to the track with a large party also set to make the trip from Australia to see their hero compete.