O’Connor targets eighth consecutive point-to-point jockeys’ championship

Reigning champion Derek O’Connor is bidding for an eighth consecutive point-to-point jockeys’ championship and the Tubber rider did this title chances no harm at all when riding seven winners over the Bank Holiday Weekend.
The Tipperary Hunt meeting at Lisronagh on Saturday evening was the first port of call for the 28-year-old where he joined forces with east Cork handler Denis Ahern to land a double.
The duo’s first visit to the winner’s enclosure came in the opening division of the five-year-old geldings’ maiden where the gambled-on War Of Words (5/2-6/4F) landed some tasty wagers. This son of Dushyantor had caught the eye when third at Dromahane on his only previous outing and he fulfilled that promise when storming home to beat Andy Slattery’s Bhaltair by two lengths.
Later in the afternoon, the O’Connor/Ahern combination made it win number two as Like Ben battled bravely to claim the 16-runner mares’ maiden.  A market drifter from 6/4 to 5/1, this mare by Beneficial had to do it the hard way when digging deep in the closing stages to fend off the vigorous challenge of runner Silver Sheeba.
Sunday afternoon O’Connor was in action at the Stonehall Hunt meeting at Ballysteen where he kept his good run going when bagging another double.  Patrickswell trainer Michael Hourigan provided the seven-time champion with his first success as his Whats Happening ran out a good winner of the opening four-year-old maiden.
O’Connor sent the 7/4 favourite to the head of affairs with three to jump and the son of Lahib, whose task was eased when the challenging Monksland ran out at the final fence, stayed on best to beat Inch Rover by eight lengths.
Success number two at the Limerick venue came in the confined maiden where the Brian Moran-owned and trained New Level (5/2-7/2) impressed.
O’Connor had the five-year-old in front on the run to final fence and he found plenty when required to beat James Cregan’s Porto Prince four lengths.
Dawstown, Cork was the venue for the Bank Holiday Monday action where O’Connor joined forces with Kinsale trainer Robert Tyner to land a treble.
The pair kicked of their profitable afternoon when even-money favourite The Halfway Bar came good in the five-runner open lightweight. O’Connor moved his mount up to challenge Mr Domination on the approach to the final fence and the three-time track winner pulled out more on the run-in to beat that rival by three lengths.
Half an hour later, the in-form combination were back in the number one berth as Instant Impacked (6/4) landed the six-year-old and upwards geldings’ maiden.  Racing in the colours of his trainer’s wife Mary Tyner, Instant Impacked hit the front after two out en-route to a hard-earned one-length success over runner-up For Sakhey Mooney.
O’Connor completed his hat-trick at the Leeside track when guiding the Tyner-trained Simple As All That to victory in the concluding mares’ maiden. This strongly supported 7/4 favourite was held up in the early stages and was making eye-catching progress when left in front by the second-last fence exit of the leading Merramax. Her exit cleared the way for the market leader who duly obliged when crossing the line six lengths to good over the Mikey O’Connor-ridden Definitechoice.
Last weekend’s impressive haul puts defending champion O’Connor on to the 88-winner mark – two ahead of Jamie Codd – and in pole position with just four weeks of the 2010/11 season left to run.

Brilliant Frankel beats Guineas opposition

Henry Cecil’s Frankel turned in a sensational performance to land last Saturday’s Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.
Hailed as a very smart sort beforehand, Frankel put himself in the ‘superstar’ class on Saturday with a front-running display of the highest order.
Waterford-born Tom Queally sent the unbeaten son of Galileo to the front from the start and having been all of 12 lengths clear at halfway, the Khalid Abdulla-owned colt powered home to beat Dubawi Gold by half a dozen lengths.
Winning trainer Henry Cecil was registering his 25th Classic win and, like everybody else, he was very impressed by the 1/2 favourite’s outstanding display. He said: “That was lovely wasn’t it? We didn’t want him to get out of his stride in a muddling pace so we decided to make the running with him. When I saw him 10 lengths clear I was sure we had done the right thing to let him stride on.”
After Saturday’s performance all thoughts turn to where Frankel will appear next and after giving the mile and a half Investec Epsom Derby some thought, Cecil has opted to keep his champion in reserve for the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.
Explaining his decision to keep his star colt racing over a mile, Cecil outlined: “I think going for the Derby would not be the right thing to do. Frankel is very well, but you have to take it step by step. We do not want to be experimenting with him and all going well he will go Ascot and then go on from there.”
For winning jockey Queally, this was his first Classic success, having lost last year’s 1,000 Guineas in the stewards’ room following the demotion of his mount Jacqueline Quest.
“I was never worried about being so far clear as I knew he’d stay the mile and I took them all by surprise. He was just so much better today than he was when winning the Greenham at Newbury last month and he won very easily”.
Sunday was Quipco 1,000 Guineas day at the home of flat racing in the UK with Frankiie Dettori’s mount, Blue Bunting, springing a 16/1 surprise in the colours of the Godolphin operation.
Sir Mark Prescott’s Hooray (Seb Sanders) set the early pace in this event and just when it  looked like Aidan O’Brien’s  Colm O’Donoghue-ridden  33/1 outsider, Together, was going  to score, Frankie Dettori flew up the stand rail to grab a three-quarter length victory.
Detorri, who is never short of a word, summed it up in his post-race analysis, saying, “I thought coming into the dip I was going to be third, but the two in front got very tired and my filly’s stamina kicked in. It was like scoring a penalty five minutes into extra time.”