No joy for Ruby on comeback
The 8/11 favourite, very keen throughout, had to settle for third spot behind all-the-way winner Save My Blushes and Lady Samphire.
Walsh, out of action since sustaining a triple fracture of his left arm at Antree in April, commented: “I should have gone on or dropped him in! He was too keen and gave himself no chance. But it’s good to be back.”
David Wachman and Wayne Lordan took the honours in the flat action sharing a double with The Four Masters and Dainty.
Off the track since proving a costly failure at Navan back in May and uneasy in the market here, The Four Masters opened his account, under a strong ride from Lordan, in the opening two-year-old maiden, the son of Ivan Denisovich battling well to pip joint-favourite Long Time Coming by the minimum margin.
The winning trainer commented: “He’s a grand, big horse and could be a nice type in time. He has always shown ability at home but he’s still a bit weak. That’s what nearly caught him out in the last hundred yards.”
Lordan, who will ride Sole Power (Nunthorpe Stakes) and Notalossonya for Eddie Lynam in York on Friday, gave Dainty a fine front-running ride to land the featured Irish Stallion Farms Fillies Handicap.
The Storm Cat filly dictated the pace throughout and, when pressed in the final quarter-mile, stayed on well to beat Strandfield Lady by two lengths, brining Lordan’s seasonal tally to 38, fourth in the Jockeys Championship race.
Wachman said: “She’s a tough and genuine filly and got a fine ride from Wayne. A mile and a quarter is her trip and we’ll try to find something similar for her.”
David Marnane continued his tremendous season when He’s Got Rhythm, strongly ridden by Colm O’Donoghue, got up close home to short-head front-running Anam Chara (Joseph O’Brien) in the seven-furlong I.F.A. Race Day Handicap.
Having saddled his twenty-first winner of the campaign, Marnane commented: “He’s been running super all season and is so consistent. He’ll be going to the Sales later in the year and he might make an ideal horse for Dubai.”
A trip to Ayr next week is on the cards for Ultra Cool after the handicap debutante came from last to first under Chris Hayes to foil flattering favourite Foxillian (9/2 to 3/1) in the Tote Go Racing Club Handicap.
The One Cool Cat filly is trained by Adrian McGuinness who explained: “She had a very good run here, second time, but was very disappointing in Ballinrobe the last day. So we gave her a break and freshened her up. I’ve spotted a suitable three-year-old race for her in Ayr next week and that’s where she’ll be heading now.”
Fears that the softening ground would mitigate against the chances of top-weight Shopfrontspecialst in the Tote Trifecta Rollover Handicap Hurdle proved unfounded as the progressive Gordon Elliott trained seven-year-old built on his two recent wins in Perth.
“He’s improving all the time and, although he’s in at Perth on Sunday, I don’t know whether he’ll travel,” said Elliott.
“Ideally, I’d love to run him in Bellewstown next week because his owner, Sean Gallagher, lives beside the track. But I don’t think there’s a suitable race for him there. So we’ll have to think again.”
