Graceful Star makes all to shed her maiden tag

PAT SMULLEN continued his determined quest to regain the Jockeys Championship when partnering Graceful Star to victory in the opening two-year-old fillies maiden at Roscommon yesterday.

Smullen notched his 68th success of the campaign on the Dermot Weld-trained Soviet Star filly, in the colours of Roscommon-born millionaire owner Sean Mulryan.

Building on the promise of her recent third to Katiyra at Leopardstown, Graceful Star made every yard of the running and kept going under Smullen’s driving to beat Melanesia by two lengths.

Smullen said: “She knew her job and won well. She’s been crying out for a bit of fast ground. I’m sure she’ll step up in class now.”

Reigning champion Declan McDonogh is thirteen behind Smullen in the title-race having guided Khatiman to a clear-cut win in the Castlerea Claiming Race. Trainer Ken Condon has done a great job with the five-year-old, placing him to win three ‘claimers’ this season, this most recent win being achieved at the expense of Newlands North on which apprentice Niamh Murphy made a bold bid to make all. Khatiman wore down the front-runner at the furlong-pole before stretching clear to score by four and a half lengths.

In the other flat action, Potion, owned by Sue Ann McManus (daughter of J P) and trained by David Wachman, returned to winning form when, enterprisingly ridden by Fran Berry, she skipped clear with two furlongs to race before holding the late effort of Fly Free in the fillies handicap.

Apprentice Davy Moran continued his rich vein of form when getting the Frank Ennis-trained Oxford City home a narrow winner over Charyan in the Roscommon Hurlers Handicap, the rider’s 21st win of the season.

Charlie Swan proved the key figure in the National Hunt action, saddling beaten favourite Cloone Rocket in the featured Jim Connaughton Memorial Novice Hurdle before recording a double with Mokora and Forty Foot in the final two events.

Mokora, strongly ridden by David Casey, swooped late to peg back Seeking Justice on the run-in and then hold the late surge of Little Rascal in the Owen Dervin & Sons Mares Maiden Hurdle.

In the bumper, owner-rider Barry Connell brought Forty Foot from well off the pace to complete Swan’s double, at the expense of dead-heaters Ah Ya Boy Ya and On The Way Out.