Freedom justifies strong support
Relishing the fast conditions, the six-year-old picked up well before stretching clear to slam Night Glimmer by four and a half lengths, prompting his trainer to declare: “I’m absolutely delighted. That was a very good performance under such a big weight. He settled very well and Fran was delighted with him.”
She added: “He’s entered for the Challenge Stakes in Leopardstown next week and races like the Ebor and Irish St. Leger. So we have plenty of options, but nice ground is essential..”
The Harrington/Berry double was completed when Go On Murt, unlucky at Naas, last time, swooped late to foil The Reek in the second division of the Marshes Shopping Centre Best Dressed Lady Handicap.
Fran Berry later completed an across-the-card treble when landing Leopardstown’s Irish Stallion farms Maiden on the well-backed, Eddie Lynam-trained favourite Colliding Worlds.
The High Chaparral filly delighted her trainer, who explained: “Today was the day — I think the connections had a few quid on. She’s the only horse I have for Jimmy (Jimmy Long of Thistle Bloodstock Ltd.) and we’ll probably stick her in a fillies handicap somewhere.”
Although apprentice Sam James matched Berry’s Dundalk double, recording a brace on Harry Rogers’ course specialist Calm Bay in the sprint handicap and the David Marnane-trained He’s Got Rhythm in the claimer, it was Wayne Lordan who took the riding honours at the Co. Louth venue, sharing a treble with trainer David Wachman.
Lordan and Wachman triumphed with fillies Strike Action and Jessie Jane in the maiden action, the latter justifying 4/7 favouritism, after a battle, and earning a possible crack at the Group 3 Give Thanks Stakes in Cork on August 5.
The middle leg of the treble came with Circumstances, which prevailed by a nose over Cebuano in a blanket-finish to the Anglo-Printers Handicap.
Like Fran Berry, Johnny Murtagh tasted success at both meetings, scoring on Eoin Griffin’s Ferryview Place in a division of the one-mile handicap at Dundalk before 15./8 favourite Shelford, trained by John Oxx, outstayed his rivals in the JAPE maiden at Leopardstown.
Shelford was a first winner in Ireland for Australian owner Lloyd Williams while Murtagh had cause for earlier satisfaction when King Of Dudes, trained in his yard by Tommy Carmody and ridden by Ben Curtis, won the jogforjockeys.ie Handicap, a tonic for owner Andrew Tinkler, recuperating from a broken ankle.
In-form trainer Oliver McKiernan struck again when Whatuthink, enterprisingly ridden by Leigh Roche, won the Leopardstown finale: “He loves what he’s doing,” stated McKiernan, who will consider running the ten-year-old in the opening hurdle in Cork this evening.
