Kalderon fortunate to stay unbeaten over fences
The 145-rated hurdler, a narrow winner on his fencing debut at Killarney, proved a fortunate winner, being left in front when Dreamy Gent, which had attempted to make all, crashed at the final fence while enjoying a lead of almost three lengths.
Kalderon, the strongly supported 9/4 favourite, was left in front of Changing Course and quickly drew clear to beat Holly Tree comfortably by four lengths.
“Paul said he was just beginning to motor and might have caught the leader anyway,” declared winning trainer Hogan. “It’s great to win with him. He has been a great servant — that’s fifteen races for him now and he has black type on the flat, over hurdles and fences.”
Hogan added: “Realistically, two miles is too short for him over hurdles or fences. I suppose he needs two and a half at this stage. But he jumps fences better than hurdles. We’ll look for another suitable ‘novice’ for him somewhere.”
Jessica Harrington, trainer of the unlucky Dreamy Gent, enjoyed better luck later when Cabin Point, a Desert Story mare which carries the colours of the trainer’s husband Johnny, ran out a facile winner of the Boyle Novice Hurdle. Cabin Point, which opened her account at Bellewstown last time, was ridden by Andrew Leigh and proved too strong for Winterdown Star and Tetouan, with hot favourite Gay Sloane a very disappointing and well-beaten fourth.
Champion jockey Pat Smullen kept alive his hopes of retaining the crown when bringing the debutante Maziona with a sustained late challenge to beat favourite Sioduil and Adjaliya in the opening Irish Stallion Farms 2-Y-o Maiden.
A very different outcome looked likely when Padraig Beggy drove Out Of Honour clear with less than two furlongs to race. But John Geoghegan’s charge wilted inside the final furlong and was swamped by the challenging trio in the last hundred yards.
Maziona, a half-sister, by Dansili, to The Geezer, is trained for Hamdan Al Maktoum by Dermot Weld, whose string has returned to form in recent days.
She was a 69th winner of the season for Smullen, leaving him four behind leader Johnny Murtagh and two off Fran Berry, in the Jockeys Championship race. Smullen, however, picked-up a two-day ban for careless riding on Maziona.
Padraig Beggy, whose early move on Out Of Honour failed to pay dividends in the opener, later registered his 14th success of the season when handicap and seasonal debutant Shinkansen, trained by his boss David Myerscough, bolted up in the Derrinstown Stud Apprentice Handicap, slamming Imperial Hills by three lengths.
Jim Bolger and Kevin Manning, responsible for beaten favourite Sioduil in the opener, were also unsuccessful with market-leader Slaney Wave in the Ballyleague Maiden, the Galileo colt staying on late to fill third spot behind the Willie Mullins-trained Shanghai Star, a four-year-old Soviet Star gelding, ridden here by Seamus Heffernan and set to go hurdling.
Following a respectable run on the flat at Killarney, On The Other Hand, trained for J P McManus by Charlie Swan and ridden by David Casey, returned to winning form in the Kiltoom Handicap Chase (his first run over fences for more than a year), the 10/1 shot holding the late effort of Mutineer by a length.
The layers enjoyed a ‘skinner’ in the bumper when Brian O’Connell on 33/1 shot Japal, trained by the Cahills from Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, squeezed through on the inside of the Nina Carberry-ridden To The Left to take command inside the final furlong.
