Jack Kennedy’s burgeoning talent again to the fore
The first leg came aboard the James Nash-trained My Manekineko, in the Martinstown Opportunity Handicap Hurdle.
Golden Ticket looked to have stolen the race when turning for home with a clear lead, but Kennedy was confident aboard his mount, and waited until between the last two hurdles to deliver his challenge. The horse asserted late for a half-length victory.
Said the winning trainer: “He is improving with each run over hurdles, but we might chance him back in a flat race. For now, though, he’ll have a little break.”
Kennedy employed very different tactics when deputising for Kevin Smith on the Ray Hackett-trained Phil The Flyer (10-1) in the two-and-a-half-mile handicap hurdle.
The rider saw the opportunity to steal an easy lead, and his mount relished the tactics. Jumping well throughout, he found plenty to repel the late challenge of Just Call Me by a length.
Said Hackett: “No-one wanted to make it, so Jack decided to kick on, and poached a lead at the start.
“ Jack is very good from the front for such a young lad. He got a lovely breather into the horse turning in, filled him up, and got him home.”
Favourite backers got off to a flyer when Roconga (4-6) took the opening maiden hurdle. A handicap at Ballinrobe, on September 22 is the next target for the easy winner.
For short-odds players the good start to proceedings continued when Tigris River (2-5) prevailed in the Online Sales @ corkracecourse.ie Hurdle. Confidently ridden by Barry Geraghty, he travelled well and only had to be pushed out to beat Moonmeister by a little over a length.
After three consecutive winning favourites, the tide turned in favour of bookmakers when odds-on Daneking blundered away an almost certain winning position when unshipping Ruby Walsh at the third-last in the JP McManus Rated Hurdle. The main beneficiary was the Denis O’Shea-trained Coolmill, who gave rider Cian Collins his second career success.
Walsh earned a modicum of compensation when making all aboard the Eddie Hales-trained Hard Fought, in the Mares’ Maiden Hurdle.
Said Hales: “Ruby came in after her last run and said he had a plan – to step her up in trip. Before the race he said ‘now we’ll see how good a judge I am’. Safe to say, he is a good judge.”
Newcomer Pont De Alma was sent off 8-15 for the bumper, but had to settle for fifth, as Walkers Point made all for a comfortable victory under Declan Queally. Of the four-year-old trainer David O’Brien said: “I always knew he was a right horse, but he was wicked jittery so we said we’d give him a couple of runs, and he surprised us he ran so well both times. We gave him a break then, and he came back a different horse.”
*There was an unfortunate incident prior to the start of the opening race, when jockey Davy Russell was unshipped from Meadowlands in the parade ring. His intended mount reared up and the Youghal rider suffered a nasty fall, from which he fractured his left arm.
