Moonlight Boy overcomes slow start to post impressive win
On an afternoon that witnessed seven races, the Boulta runner-up Moonlight Boy (6/1) lost quite considerable ground at the start. Colman Sweeney however refused to panic as Moonlight Boy got onto the tails of the main group after three fences. The winning son of Saffron Walden was always travelling with purpose and he moved through to challenge at the fourth last of the 14 obstacle, easing into the lead three out. It was all plain sailing from there with the winning son of Saffron Walden storming clear to beat the promising newcomer Tick Tock Tim by 10 lengths.
“This is a very nice horse and we could well look at the Pegus bumper for him at Cork over Easter, that’s provided that he’s not sold in the interim,” said handler Kennedy of Moonlight Boy, owned by his first-cousin Patrick Kennedy from Two-Mile-Borris.
Derek O’Connor, who sustained a sixth last fence fall from Easy To See in this same race, was earlier on the mark aboard the Mary Twohig-trained Family Oficial in the open lightweight.
The lightly-raced Family Oficial (9/4), who was recording his fifth success from ten starts in points, made all the running. Whilst runner-up Whitty’s Choice closed on the run to the last, the winning son of Beneficial was merely in a different league and he duly obliged by an unextended one and a half lengths. The Tetretema Cup Hunters Chase at Gowran Park on March 9th will be Family Oficial’s next port of call.
Adrian Maguire’s Up The Ante (5/1) showed admirable battling qualities to make a winning debut under Declan Queally in the first division of the five-year-old geldings’ maiden. Up The Ante led until he was overtaken by the gambled-on Double Irish on the approach to the second last. The latter, trained by PJ Colville, lost valuable momentum with Pat Collins at the final fence as Up The Ante came a second time to lead on the flat en-route to scoring by a length. A bumper is now a possibility for the Royal Anthem-sired Up The Ante.
Inishturk Lad (6/1) initiated the opening leg of a two-timer for handler Edmond Kent and rider Ciaran Fennessy by winning the second part of this same contest. Inishturk Lad, a fine fourth on his previous start at Ballindenisk in December, edged noticeably out to his right on the run to the last and he was then joined by Measureofmydreams on the flat. Inishturk Lad though was much the stronger on the flat as he fought off Pat Doyle’s Measureofmydreams by one-length.
Kent and Fennessy brought up their two-timer with Avaune runner-up Sh Bam (4/1) in the winners of two. Ex handicap hurdler Sh Bam threw the faster jump at the final fence and he then asserted on the flat to dismiss the sweet-travelling Carli King a length.
