3 days ago
Nurburgring and Masoun leading the charge for Joseph O'Brien
DOUBLE TARGET |
Galway and Goodwood are on the agenda this week
And now seven years after he won the Irish Derby with Latrobe, Joseph has charge of the likely favourite for next Wednesday's Tote Galway Plate in Nurburgring, who skipped home seven lengths clear in the Guinness Galway Hurdle last year.
Back in the heady days when Dermot Weld was the undoubted King of Ballybrit, Ansar completed that great double in 2001 and 2004, and that great crowd favourite came back to win the Plate again in 2005.
Yet whatever happens in that great carnival on the Western seaboard this week, Joseph's mind won't stray too far from the day job, as he also has serious business to attend to at Glorious Goodwood. Indeed hat-trick seeking Masoun catches the eye among the entries for the first race of the week at the famed West Sussex venue, the Coral Chesterfield Cup Handicap on Tuesday.
He was being teed up for a handicap at Royal Ascot but didn't make the cut, instead he won the Ladies Derby at The Curragh under Elizabeth Gale. But Joseph's best chance at Goodwood comes much later in the week, with Goodie Two Shoes in the Lillie Langtry on Saturday.
Perhaps his background in the jumping game taught Joseph the benefit of patience, but there is little doubt that this JP McManus owned six-year-old is really in full flower now, her Stanerra Stakes win at Fairyhouse being a career best. She'll need to progress again but there's every chance she will, and the faster the ground the better.
Joseph and J P also have a leading fancy for the opening day big feature at Galway tomorrow evening, the Connacht Hotel Qualified Riders, in Comfort Zone, where a real threat is Toll Stone who represents the lethal Galway combination of Emmet Mullins and owner Annette Mee.
He won at the festival last year in his first flat handicap. That was on the Friday night and he was hammered in from 3/1 to 11/10 jolly when trying to defy a 7 lbs penalty for a quick follow-up the following day but he never landed a blow. Horses often win twice during the week at Ballybrit but very rarely on successive days.
Toll Stone finished a close second to Comfort Zone in a hot handicap at Naas last November and he won't be too far away tomorrow either, particularly with John Gleeson doing the steering.
But there is one entry in tomorrow's big race that really stands out. For so many of us backing Dermot Weld bankers on the flat with the late Pat Smullen on board, it used to comfortably cover the week's expenses back in the day. And should young 7 lbs claimer and son of the great man Paddy Smullen bring Falcon Eight home in front for Weld tomorrow, the cheers will lift the roof off the Killanin Stand.
Trainer Joseph O'Brien at Ballybrit Racecourse in Galway. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Any value in Nurburgring's price for the Plate is well gone at this stage, and Thecompanysergeant, Jesse Evans and two Gordon Elliott runners, Zanahiyr and Down Memory Lane, have also attracted plenty of ante-post interest.
A local winner of the Plate would be a bit special and the Paul Gilligan trained Buddy One has serious prospects. A winner on the flat at nearby Ballinrobe last Monday, the eight-year-old has a serious CV, including a win at a Cheltenham November meeting and a fourth to Teahupoo in last year's Stayers Hurdle. He was second to Strong Leader in the Grade 1 Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree and was third to Croke Park and Better Days Ahead in the Racing Post Long Distance Chase at Leopardstown last Christmas.
The Athenry runner is also well proven at Ballybrit, having won over hurdles, and he made a winning start over fences over this course and distance last October. He is generally 25/1 at present but strong local support on the day could see him start a lot shorter on Wednesday but, whatever the odds, only his best will do.
Another interesting 25/1 shot is the Willie Mullins-trained Arctic Fly, who has blown hot and cold, both at this track and elsewhere. She has won two of her last four races, including Tipp last time out, but was pulled up in the other two. She is good enough to win if in the mood and things go her way.
Whether the contours of Galway suit stablemate Spanish Harlem is open to question. He could be more interesting in the Kerry or Munster Nationals later in the year if getting decent ground.
Previous Galway Festival form is a good guide, and a few quid on Gordon Elliott's Royal Eagle in the Latin Quarter Beginners Chase on Tuesday might pay for a few pints in Quay Street afterwards, though stablemate King Of Kingsfield would bring a touch of class if lining up also.
Betting is a serious business this week, and, for all the closing time yards of plots and schemes hatched and horses being 'teed up' to win at Galway for exiles returning on holidays, I have found down the years that at Ballybrit – just like everywhere else – eye-catching recent form is the best short cut to the winners' enclosure.
Here is a list of horses worth serious consideration – Blues Emperor (J Murtagh); Tribal Nation (J O'Brien); Davy Crockett, La Note Verte and Vicar Street (W Mullins); Slieve Binnian (D Marnane); Sign From Above (P Fahey); Facethepuckout (M O'Callaghan); Highbury See See, Faoladh (A Slattery); Sounds Like A Plan (A Oliver); Heiselectric (N Meade); Bal Kauto (D Queally); Cornmarket (J Cullen); Moonovercloon (M Smith); Kenisa Sport (G Elliott); Spanish Temptress (R O'Brien); Sunny South West (E Power); Chally Chute (Ross O'Sullivan; Mo Ghille Mar (J Harrington); Dunkerque (G Cromwell); Drumgill (J Ryan); Roderick (P Sweeney) and Far From Dandy (S Thorne).
