Winning return to the saddle for Walsh in Listowel

RUBY Walsh made a welcome return to action when scoring on his first ride back from injury aboard Willie Mullins’ Rattan on the opening afternoon of the seven-day Listowel Harvest Festival last Sunday.
Walsh had been on the sidelines since fracturing his ankle in a fall at Galway early last month but the multiple champion showed no ill-effects of that tumble when giving his mount a power-packed ride to claim the two-mile Keryrmaid Hurdle
The clear form choice at 4/9 favourite, Rattan looked to have it all to do when Miley Shah still held a comfortable advantage turning into the home straight. But Walsh never gave up aboard the hot-pot, getting stuck into the son of Royal Anthem on the run-in, eventually forcing his mount up to beat Miley Shan by a head.
A clearly relieved Walsh declared with his tongue firmly in cheek,  “I thought these odds-on shots were meant to be steering jobs. It’s great to be back and I’m looking forward to the season kicking off in earnest in the months ahead.”
Ground conditions at the North Kerry track were testing but that didn’t deter local hope Roadtoabbeyfeale who landed a good gamble when successful for Abbeyfeale trainer John Supple and jockey Eddie O’Connell.
Backed from 7/1 into 100/30, the winning son of Milan powered clear early in the home straight and kept up a relentless gallop when passing the post four and a half lengths to the good over runner-up Kilnafreanstar.
The winner carries the silks of John Byrne, son of well-known London-based Kerryman Patsy Byrne, who is also a leading light in the greyhound world and the winner may well now embark on a career over fences.
The honour of saddling the first winner of the 2012 Festival fell to Cork trainer Eugene O’Sullivan, who sent out the Pat Kennedy-ridden Habesh to land the opening Kerry Ingredients and Flavours three-year-old hurdle.
The 9/1 winner forged to the front between the final two flights and scored with a nice bit in hand when crossing the line a length and a quarter to the good over 10/11 favourite, Top Man Michael.
Paddy Mangan is another jockey who has been on the sidelines for a while and the Cork rider teamed up with his father, Jimmy, to land the Chessestrings Beginners’ Chase aboard 12/1 chance, Fair Dilemma.
This son of Dr Massini made virtually all the running and, having turned in an excellent round of fencing, the seven-year-old kept pulling out more to hold the determined challenge of runner-up Mackeys Forge by two and a quarter lengths.
The featured €34,000 Dawn Milk Handicap Chase went the way of 2/1 favourite Torphichen, who scored for owner JP McManus, trainer Edward O’Grady and jockey Mark Walsh.
Walsh, who had earlier guided McManus’ Galianna to victory in the two-mile mares’ handicap hurdle, gave the market leader a confident ride and looked to have taken the measure of Ordinary Man when Liam Burke’s charge fell at the second-last leaving Torphichen clear to beat Mossey Joetrained in Cratloe by Declan McNamara by a whopping 26 lengths. 

Shock defeat for Camelot
THERE is no such thing as a certainty in racing. 
That old maxim certainly rang true at Doncaster on Saturday where Camelot’s well-documented efforts to rewrite the history books came unstuck as Aidan O’Brien’s charge suffered a shock defeat in the Ladbrokes St Leger.
The build-up to this race had been dominated by the fact that Camelot was bidding to emulate the great Nijinsky by winning the Triple Crown, the 2,000 Guineas, the Derby and the Leger in the one season. It wasn’t to be, however, as the son of Montjeu suffered the first defeat of his six-race career when beaten by unconsidered 25/1 shot Encke.
Thousands flocked to the Doncaster track in anticipation of a historic afternoon but instead, they were left somewhat deflated as raging-hot favourite Camelot had to settle for the runner-up spot.
Stepping up in trip to this one-mile, six-furlong trip for the first time, Camelot was understandably restrained in the early stages by his regular partner Joseph O’Brien and everything appeared to be going to plan in the early part of the race.
One concern for favourite backers, however, was that Camelot appeared to be trapped in a pocket as the race came to a boil and this may have eventually, led to his downfall.
While O’Brien junior was extricating his mount to get a bit of daylight up front, French-born jockey Mickael Barzalona was setting sail for home aboard Godolphin runner Encke and, in hindsight, this proved to be a race-winning move as Encke definitely got first run on his more fancied opponent.
To his credit, once Camelot got going he did close on the eventual winner but the line came in time for dour stayer Encke, who clung on in the closing stages to score by three-parts of a length.
Winning jockey Barzalona probably summed it up best when he said, “I knew Camelot was behind on the inside and could see he was having trouble navigating. I asked my horse to go and he shot clear very quickly.”
Naturally, the Ballydoyle camp were very disappointed, having gone so close to bridging a 42-year gap back to Nijinsky but Aidan O’Brien was shouldering some of the blame for the defeat. “The pace today was not what I expected. In the Guineas and the Derby, he quickened but today he just stayed on. If I thought they were going to go that steady I would have run a pacemaker. I blame myself for that,” he said.
The Irish St Leger was also run on Saturday with the final Gain Horse Feeds-sponsored Irish Classic of the season moving to an evening slot at the Curragh.
Victory in this one-mile, six-furlong test went to the Tommy Carmody-trained Royal Diamond (16/1) who pounced late to overhaul Mick Halford’s Massiyn by a head with British raider Brown Panther a short-head back in third.
A first Classic success for Carmody and jockey McCullagh, Royal Diamond was atoning for a near miss when runner-up in the Ebor at York recently.
“This is fabulous, much better than riding them,” proclaimed Carmody who was a top National Hunt jockey in his day.
“When you’re riding them, you just come in, say your piece and then you’re gone but training them is different as you eat and sleep with them. We have a great team at home and this horse’s owner, Andrew Tinkler, is a joy to train for,” concluded Carmody, who has 17 horses in training on the Curragh in a yard he leases from top Flat jockey Johnny Murtagh.