Record 12th Phoenix Stakes win for O’Brien

THERE was no shortage of drama at the Curragh on Sunday where Aidan O’Brien claimed a record 12th Phoenix Stakes with 10/1 outsider Pedro The Great.

Ridden by Seamie Heffernan, Pedro The Great was very much the Ballydoyle second string with Joseph O’Brien aboard the 6/4 shot Cristoforo Colombo fancied to land this €190,000 six-furlong contest.

Mick Channon’s UK raider Bungle Inthejungle took the six-runner field along at a good clip in the early stages until headed by David Wachman’s 5/4 favourite Probably at the two-furlong pole.

At this point, all the drama was still to unfold. Heffernan unleashed Pedro The Great with a telling challenge on the wide outside, which saw the pair sweep to the front a furlong and a half down. Stable companion Cristoforo Colombo was then making up significant ground when he clipped the heels of a retreating Probably, catapulting O’Brien junior to the ground.

This changed the whole complexion of this event with Heffernan keeping his mount going well in the closing stages to beat Leitir Mór, trained by Jim Bolger and ridden by his son-in-law, Kevin Manning, by two and three-quarter lengths.

Charles O’Brien’s Lottie Do filled third under Pat Smullen who was depustising for her intended jockey Johnny Murtagh, who suffered a fractured bone in his cheek when Lottie Do reared up as she was leaving the parade ring prior to the race.

O’Brien Snr summed up an incident-packed race, saying, “Thank God, Joseph is fine but Cristoforo Colombo suffered a deep cut on the inside of his leg. Pedro The Great is a smart horse in his own right and won his maiden at Leopardstown back in June very impressively.

“He was fresh when fifth here the last day in the Railway Stakes so decided to take our time with him today and he settled very well for Seamie. He’s a half-brother to Footstepsinthesand and won’t mind stepping up to seven furlongs. He’ll probably come back here for the National Stakes next month,” added O’Brien who trains the winner for the all-conquering Tabor/Magnier/Smith alliance.

Earlier in the afternoon, fans at the County Kildare track had witnessed yet another memorable performance from Dermot Weld’s great colt Famous Name who racked up yet another big-race success in the Group 2 Royal Whip Stakes.

A real tough customer, Famous Name (1/1) was sent to the front with three furlongs to run by his regular partner Pat Smullen and the Khalid Abdulla-owned seven-year-old by Dansili was not for passing as he galloped all the way to the line to beat 10/11 favourite Born To Sea by an emphatic six and a half lengths.

Little wonder Weld was full of praise for his charge, saying, “He’s an amazing horse. That’s his 19th win and 18 of them have been in Stakes races, which much go close to a record. He’s a wonderful tribute to his owner and his breeding operation. Famous Name is a seven-year-old and has been in training since he was a yearling. His enthusiasm for racing and his courage is what a racehorse should be and I’m just so lucky to have him a horse like him in the yard.”

While the likes of Weld and Aidan O’Brien have a path worn to the winners’ enclosure over the past few years, it is always nice to see a new face emerging and former jockey Pat Shanahan is making a good fist of it since he turned to training with the Nenagh native claiming his biggest success to date as his 12/1 shot My Special J’s did him proud when landing the Group 2 Debutante Stakes.

Colm O’Donoghue did the steering aboard this American-bred daughter of Harlan’s Holiday who upset the apple cart when edging out John Oxx’s hot favourite Harasiya by neck after a good tussle all through the final furlong.

Shanahan was a good jockey but he has really taken to his new role having only received his trainer’s licence last March and was greeting his fourth (and most significant win) on Sunday. “I knew this filly was in top form as I rode her myself yesterday morning and she was flying. She’s had a few hard races lately, so we’ll give her a little break and bring her back for a race at Longchamp on Arc day early in October,” he said.

 

Another for in-form O’Connor

SUPPORTERS of champion jockey Derek O’Connor must be on good terms with themselves as the Tubber rider’s latest hot-streak shows no signs of abating.

Hot-on-the-heels of a double at the Galway Festival, O’Connor again struck when taking the concluding bumper – the Tyrellspass Flat Race – aboard 16/1 shot Róisín Dubh at Kilbeggan last Saturday evening.

Trained in Shinrone, County Offaly by Philip Byrne, this daughter of Winged Love benefited from a shrewd ride from the nine-times point-to-point champion who had his mount in third place for most of the this two-mile contest.

Obviously, well aware that first run is vital around this tight midlands circuit, O’Connor forged Róisín Dubh clear before the home straight and with the inside running rail for company the pair kept on well to beat runner-up Jabus by a length and three-quarters.

The winner, who had finished 10th over hurdles at Roscommon the previous Tuesday, was nibbled at early in the morning at 20/1 (only paid €9.80 for a win on the tote) and thrilled her rookie trainer, who declared,

“That was a brilliant ride from Derek. I’m not one bit surprised she’s won. in fact, I think she would have won before now only for the soft ground. She got her favoured good ground tonight and that made all the difference.”

Earlier in the evening on the well-supported card at the popular Westmeath track, Peterswell, Gort businessman Bernard Gillane and his wife, Kathleen, witnessed their colours carried to success as Cloone Rocket sprung a 16/1 surprise when scoring under jockey John Cullen in the Kieran Kelly Memorial Beginners’ Chase.

The Gillanes have enjoyed much success over the years with horses bearing the prefix Cloone – Cloone River famously landed a memorable gamble in their silks when successful in the Galway Hurdle back in 2004 – and the Charlie Swan-trained Cloone Rocket bounced back to form here in no uncertain style when overcoming a final fence blunder to beat Lady Granuaile by a length.

“He’s a versatile horse and today was his seventh career win,” said Swan. “He wants good ground and we’ve been waiting all summer to get a run into him, so it’s great he’s back in the winners’ enclosure. We’ll keep him on the go and, hopefully, he’ll pick up a couple more races for us now if he gets ground conditions to his liking,” added the Cloughjordan handler who was completing a double have taken the opening maiden hurdle with the Nina Carberry-ridden Rodriguez.