15-07-2025
O'Brien back in winner's enclosure as impressive Spanish Temptress gets career off the mark
Ballingarry trainer Richard O'Brien earned a welcome return to the winner's enclosure when the promising Spanish Temptress got off the mark for her career with victory in the Irish Examiner Handicap, the third race on Tuesday night's card in Killarney.
The lightly raced three-year-old sat in a great position as the leaders went off very quickly, and when Colin Keane asked her to make her move, the grey's response was impressive.
'The worry I had was that, she didn't look, on Saturday (when runner-up at Limerick), that she needed more of a test, and I thought this was going to be more of a test, so I was a bit dubious,' admitted O'Brien.
'I actually said to the boys this morning that I didn't think we should run on that ground, that she was well enough handicapped that we didn't have to be so opportunistic, but they said, 'no, forget about it, we're running'.
'The owners are a fantastic bunch of guys. They went to the sales with Ross Doyle and picked this filly out. They're like a focus group that HRI should look at. They are absolutely die-hard racing fans: they go to the sales; they go to Chester, Galway, Guineas, Derby; they go on the Stallion Trail.
'It's fantastic to have a winner for them. They are the backbone of what we should be focusing on. They'll be high about this for weeks, and she's a candidate to go to Galway.'
The evergreen Lord Erskine is clearly still enjoying the racing life as much as ever and, testament to the training of Harry Rogers, he won for the thirteenth time when taking the Executive Helicopters Handicap under a shrewd ride by Ronan Whelan.
'He's a dream,' said Rogers. 'He just eats, sleeps, and does his work.
'We had a plan going out that, if they didn't go much of a pace, to go on down the back, and Ronan did. He's a right horse on his day. He's a gent – there's no badness in him. He's just a dream horse. He was like his (late) owner, Jerry Nolan.'
Looking ahead, he added: 'He might go to Galway. He might end up in the amateur race, but he has a few choices. He's in the Galway Hurdle too, if we get slow ground.'
The evening's most valuable race was the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies' Handicap and Elana Osario showed a willing attitude to come out best in a three-way finish.
Ridden by Colin Keane for trainer Paddy Twomey and owner Robert Moran, the top weight was never far off the pace, which was quite sedate, and while she looked in trouble for half of the straight, she put her best foot forward where it mattered most to claim victory at the expense of Annie's Angel and Shaool.
Donnacha O'Brien, who was on the mark here on Monday, added a second when Shania justified odds-on favouritism in the opener, the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies' Maiden. Off the track since being touched off in a maiden at this meeting in 2024, the imposing filly was made to work hard for this victory, but the winning trainer felt the lack of a recent run was the greatest contributory factor in that.
'She ran here last year on very quick ground and didn't come out of it very well, and it has taken us a while to get her back,' said O'Brien. 'It's nice, safe ground here today and it looked like a good opportunity, and it was nice to get her head in front.
'She quickened past the leader and got a bit lonely in front, and in the last half-furlong she probably got a bit tired as she's been off the track for a year. It probably wasn't a strong race but I'd say a touch of class got her through, rather than fitness.'
The second race, the Ross Castle Maiden, was also confined to four-year-olds and older, and even though there were just six runners, it had a fascinating market and produced a pulsating finish. In a last-gasp lunge for the line, the Gillian Scott-trained and Seamie Heffernan-ridden Red Hugh O'Donnell shaded the verdict from Ocean Manifest.
It was only a matter of time before the cards fell right for Zipster, and his first success in Ireland came in the Killarney Plaza Hotel & Spa Handicap. Trained by Ger O'Leary and given a well-judged ride by 7lb claimer Darragh O'Sullivan, he picked up well from off the strong pace to run down the leaders close home.
Andy Slattery's team continues in superb form and after a couple of second-place finishes earlier on the card, he put a winner on the board when Royal Hollow, confidently ridden by Adam Ryan, took the Tote Qualified Riders' Maiden in grand style.
