Punchestown report: Double delight for Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy
The Tide Turns and Jack Kennedy, centre, jump the third flight before going on to win the Hollywoodbets Bets 4-Y-O Maiden Hurdle at Punchestown. Picture: Healy Racing
Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy shared a Punchestown double with The Tide Turns and Minella Crooner in Monday’s maiden hurdle action.
Having separated Journey With Me and Kilcruit on his hurdling bow at Leopardstown, dual bumper-winner Minella Crooner was sent off 2-1 favourite for the three-mile Hollywoodbets Maiden Hurdle.
The Shantou gelding swept past chief market rival Eye Van between the last two flights and drew clear to win comfortably by 11 lengths, prompting Elliott to comment: “He’s a grand honest horse. He does nothing fancy at home, but he’s nice and keeps winning.”
Quizzed about future plans, Elliott nominated the Grade Three Surehaul Mercedes-Benz Novice Hurdle at Clonmel on February 17 as Minella Crooner’s next target.
The Elliott-Kennedy double had been initiated when The Tide Turns, a dual-winner on the Flat for Mark Prescott, made a successful stable and hurdling debut in the opening Hollywood Bets 4-Y-O Maiden Hurdle.
The 9-4 market-leader beat HMS Seahorse by two and three-quarter lengths. Elliott said: “He’s a grand horse. He was professional, jumped well and did everything right, although Jack felt he was in front soon enough.
“He’s a nice fun horse and will mix it, hurdles and Flat, for the summer — he won on the all-weather in England.”
Backed into 11-8 favourite, the Gavin Cromwell-trained Limerick Lace initiated a double for owner JP McManus and Mark Walsh when landing the Hollywoodbets Money Back Mares Maiden Hurdle, confirming recent Naas form with runner-up Broomfields Hall.
Walsh extricated the Walk In The Park mare from a pocket on the home-turn before mastering the runner-up before the final flight and scoring by three and a half lengths.
“She’s a lovely big mare and, on the way she jumped out there today, a nice one to go chasing in time,” said Cromwell. “She needed every yard of that trip (an extended two and a half miles) and will stay further. I suppose we’ll try to get some black type for her somewhere — I have no immediate plan for her.”
The McManus-Walsh double was completed when 11-4 favourite Gain De Cause, up 9lb for a course and distance win last month, pipped top-weight Krabat in the Hollywoodbets Daily Boosts Handicap Hurdle.
This winner is trained by Tony Martin, who said: “We had luck on our side — the good jump at the last was crucial. I suppose the handicapper got it spot-on. Chasing will be this fellow’s job down the road.”
In the other handicap action, Evan Dwan registered his fourth win under rules on board Sam Curling’s Bonnie Kellie in the latest leg of the John Thomas McNamara Series Handicap Hurdle while Liz Doyle’s Salamino (Sean Flanagan) held off A Different World to take the Holloywoodbets Streaming Handicap Hurdle.
The bumper went to debutante Knockanard Lady, trained by Pat Doyle and a first track winner in the saddle for his daughter Susie (she has 14 point-to-point winners to her credit) who brought the Fame And Glory mare with a well-timed challenge to foil odds-on favourite Brookline, on her stable debut for Willie Mullins, by a length and a quarter.
