Front-running Susie dazzles her rivals again
John Phelan’s mare, ridden again by Tom Doyle, made all. Soon clear, she jumped impeccably, with the exception of a blunder at the fourth last, and came home, unchallenged, a twenty-four lengths winner from Glibin with favourite Carlito Brigante a distant third.
“She is unreal,” declared a delighted Phelan, who trains near Dunhill in Co. Waterford. ” A once in a lifetime mare. Tom was over the moon with her again. Since the first day she schooled over fences, we knew she was exceptional
“I was a bit worried today, because she got a bit wound-up beforehand. But she got on with her job in the race and, when she goes home the first thing she looks for will be food. We’ll have to think about where to go next.”
Always a force at the track, Dessie Hughes took the training honours, sharing a double with Bryan Cooper, a brace of winners that brings the rider’s seasonal tally to 10.
Chase The Favourite initiated the Hughes/Cooper double when getting off the mark in the www.kilbegganraces.com Maiden Hurdle, beating Wall Street Wally emphatically and prompting Hughes to comment: “She’s a real top-of-the-ground mare and couldn’t have done it any better. She’ll go for a handicap soon (she’s rated 101) and will go chasing shortly.”
Whispering Hills completed the double for the Osborne Lodge trainer, getting the better of market rival Passage Vendome in the three-mile T & V Novice Hurdle to follow-up his recent maiden success in Tipperary. “He’s a nice horse and needs every yard of three miles,” commented Hughes. “The ground was probably a bit quick for him tonight and he won’t run on ground that quick again. He’ll run in a couple of three-mile novices now.”
The Brendan Duke-trained Mister Benedictine completed a superb hat-trick (in less than four weeks) when bolting up again in the Fay Bookmakers Handicap Hurdle.
Twenty-one pounds higher than when scoring at Ballinrobe last month (before winning at Kilbeggan five days later), Mister Benedictine jumped and travelled with exuberance before being sent to the front by regular partner David Crosse four from home. With his rivals soon in trouble, the nine-year-old stayed on resolutely to beat Battling Boru by almost five lengths.
“I’m thrilled to bits that he has won three handicap hurdles on the bounce,” said a typically jubilant Brendan Duke. “He is a little superstar and loves his daddy!”
Duke added: “Even at nine, he’s improving. The little horse will get a break now — he’ll have a day off tomorrow and then we’ll get him ready to go west (Galway).”
The Willie Mullins-trained Sin Palo, which got of the mark over hurdles on this track early in the month, made a successful start over fences when landing the finale, the Loughnagore Beginners Chase, the Paul Townend-ridden eight-year-old surviving a mistake at the final fence before beating Double Seven.
