Reflection triumphs in thriller

IN one of the best races seen all season, Limerick entrant See My Reflection, in rein to John Manning, just shaded long time leader Hurricane Henry in the final of the Mollie Brickley Memorial Golden Mile at Ballabuidhe yesterday.

Heat winner - the Dub raider Marion Hall - was sent off favourite and finished in fourth in a blanket finish behind Ringo Star, who also qualified in first. Driven Storm, who had won his division, was unsettled in the final.

The two saddle races were fully subscribed and honours in both went to the Kelleher brothers and Jim Power syndicate.

With usual pilot Lucy Kelleher still nursing a broken collar bone, Deirdre Goggin took over and had no trouble at all in bringing home Meadowbranch Demon in Grade C & D and The Fireball in the Irish Trotting Cup.

The Bold Jack impressed when he broke his maiden at the first time of asking. Driven by his trainer, Michael Goggin, the three-year-old took it up going out on the last circuit and from there left the rest in his slipstream.

The other division of the maiden was captured by Patrick O’Driscoll’s Yes Mister, who has been knocking on the door in his previous attempts.

In the three-year-old event, Glandore Mac and Noreen McSweeney proved popular winners. They had filled the frame in their other outings but the winner’s circle had eluded them - until now.

Mollie Brickley Memorial, Heat 1 — W. McKittrick’s Marion Hall (K. Sheehy), 3/1; 2. K. O’Connell’s Hurricane Henry (Owner), 4/1; 3. J. Manning’s Cheeky Chappy (Owner), 3/1. 7 ran, 3l, 7l.

Heat 2 — 1. F. Brickley’s Ringo Star (C. Brickley), 2/1; 2. P. Hayes’s Watch Me Now Boys (Noreen McSweeney), 5/2; 3. K. O’Connell’s Midnight Mover (Owner), 4/1. 6 ran, 1L, 3l.

Heat 3 — 1. Shanahan/Whelton/Hayes’s Driven Storm (M. Kelleher), 6/4 fav; 2. J. Manning’s See My Reflection (Owner), 3/1; 3. W. J. Cooke’s Rhyds Puzzle (T. Murphy), 4/1. 5 ran, nk, 1/2l.

Three-Year-Olds (Trophies donated by Peter Hennessy in memory of all those lost at sea) — 1. Noreen McSweeney/M. Whelton’s Glandore Mac (Noreen McSweeney), 4/5 fav; 2. G. Carey’s She’s Got It (Owner), 6/4; 3. H. Bennett’s Elaine Balou (J. McSweeney), 4/1. 5 ran, 2 1/2l, 5l.

Maidens, Div. 1 — 1. J. Burchill/D. O’Donoghue’s The Bold Jack (M. Goggin), 4/5 fav; 2. P. Hennessy/J. O’Mahony’s Little Hannah (D. Murphy, 5/4; 3. J. J. McLeod’s Wilsboro Flyer (Owner), 3/1. 5 ran, 10l, 12l.

Maidens, Div 2 — 1. P. O’Driscoll’s Yes Mister (Owner), 4/1; 2. J. J. McLeod’s Wilsboro Diamond (Owner), 5/1; 3. Oakwood Stud’s Oakwood Sid (J. Sheehy), 5/4 fav. 6 ran, nk, nk.

Mollie Brickley Memorial Golden Mile Final (William Connolly Memorial Cup) — 1. J. Manning’s See My Reflection (Owner), 4/1; 2. K. O’Connell’s Hurricane Henry (Owner), 4/1; 3. F. Brickley’s Ringo Star (C. Brickley), 4/1. 6 ran, nk, nk

Grade C & D Saddle — 1. Kelleher Bros/J. Power’s Meadowbranch Demon (Deirdre Goggin), 1/2 fav; 2. J. Boyle’s The Orient Express (D. Quill), 6/1; 3. L. O’Regan’s Brywins Charvis (M. Goggin, jnr), 6/1. 10 ran, 6l, 4l.

Irish Trotting Cup — 1. Kelleher Bros/J. Power’s The Fireball (Deirdre Goggin), 1/2 fav; 2. D. O’Reilly’s Dragon’s Glory (M. O’Reilly), 6/1; 3. B. Newman’s Casimir Fabio (Emma Kane), 6/1. 8 ran, 3l, 4l.