Vocaliser set to stay the distance
Ridden by former champion apprentice Ronan Whelan, deputising for suspended stable-jockey Kevin Manning, the Coolcullen colt, a second winner for his sire, Vocalised, was never far off the pace, travelling strongly and, when sent to the front, ran on in good style to beat Intransive by a length and a half.
Ger Flynn, representing the winning trainer, commented: “He had a good run in Galway and seems to be improving. Ronan said he seems like a nice horse, with a good attitude and thought he was still a bit green — he even had a good look at the winning-post and drifted to his left.”
The Tom Cleary-trained Queen Of Alba, winner of the Connacht Derby in Sligo before finishing unplaced in a listed event won by Carla Bianca in Gowran Park, bounced back to winning form when making all to land the Irish Stallion farms Fillies Handicap providing Daniel Edmond, apprenticed to Jim Bolger, with his fourth career success.
A Rock Of Gibraltar mare, Queen Of Alba stayed on strongly in the closing stages to beat Sli Na Fiarana by a length and three-quarters, prompting her trainer to admit: “That didn’t surprise me — I knew she was in good form and the ground was just right for her. The last day, in Gowran, the ground was way too quick for her and she was badly hampered. But she came out of it well.
“With Rory (his son) unavailable, we had a chance to claim the 7lb. and Daniel has ridden for me before. This mare will give me an excuse to go to Listowel — she’ll run in the nine-furlong premier handicap on the Friday.”
Shane Foley gave Ken Condon’s Millington an enterprising front-running ride to land the seven-furlong handicap at the expense of Denis Hogan’s English import Teeline. Condon explained: “He’s a consistent horse and still a bit green. He’ll go for a three-year-old handicap in Listowel and might jump a hurdle at some stage.”
In the other flat event, 81-rated Ode To Psyche continued the good form of Jessica Harrington and Fran Berry, battling hard to land the fillies maiden by a half-length from Ceylon and prompting her rider to explain: “She deserved that — she’s been very consistent and had bumped into a few good fillies along the way. She’s a well-bred filly, so it was important to win with her. She’s game and genuine and the race developed nicely for her — I was able to do my own thing and she stayed on bravely.”
Tal The Lingo, an eight-year-old half-brother to 2012 Galway Plate winner Bob Lingo, provided Castlemartyr, County Cork-based Joe Hennessy with a victory to savour as he made all for Barry Cash to beat odds-on favourite Killer Crow by six lengths in the Four Roads Maiden Hurdle.
Hennessy explained: “He’s the only horse we have in training and looked a good horse when he got knocked out as a five-year-old. He’s had a lot of problems, nothing serious, but we kept the faith. He’ll hardly emulate his brother, but he should win over fences. We’ll see what the handicapper does to him now, or we could go for a novice somewhere.”
Willie Mullins, trainer of 4/9 shot Killer Crow, had to settle for the runner-up berth in the bumper too, as debutante Captain Carol (11/8 favourite) failed by a length to the Tony Martin-trained Fill Your Hands, strongly ridden by Nina Carberry. Martin said of the Gigginstown gelding: “He’s a long-time knocking on the door, so it’s good to win with him. He’ll go hurdling straight away.”
