Mehman lands gamble for Ger O'Leary and Mark Enright
GAMBLE LANDED: Mark Enright steers Mehman, right, to victory in the Happy New Year From Dundalk Stadium Handicap. Picture: Healy Racing
The first race of 2023 on Dundalk’s polytrack produced a notable 1-2 for trainer Ger O’Leary as Mark Enright brought the gambled-on Mehman with a late surge to peg back stablemate Primo Uomo in the five-furlong Happy New Year From Dundalk Stadium Handicap.
As big as 40-1 in the morning and punted into 3-1 favourite, Mehman had triumphed on his only previous visit to Dundalk, last September.
Winning rider Enright said: “Adrian Joyce (O’Leary’s assistant) fancied him and told me he’d travel well and to sit on to him as long as I could. It all went pretty smooth.
“He travels plenty well enough for five furlongs, but would have no problem with six. He’s still learning and doesn’t know yet how to extend fully. So there should be plenty of improvement to come.”
Joyce added: “We’ve always loved this horse. He shows a lot of class and speed, but he’s still big and raw. He could be a bit better than this grade.”
The other 0-85 handicap on the card, the Floodlit Fridays Return To Dundalk Handicap, over seven furlongs, produced a similar 1-2, this time for Ado McGuinness, whose Hightimeyouwon, formerly trained by Dermot Weld and having his third start for his new trainer, delivered in style, beating joint top-weight Hodd’s Girl by three-quarters of a length with favourite Jaafel back in third.
McGuinness said: "We put a visor on him to help him go forward and Cian (MacRedmond) gave him a good ride — he was drawn wide and was nice and patient on him.
“He’s a huge, big, smashing horse and I think he’ll be better on turf — a straight seven furlong is probably what he wants. He’ll have a break now and we might bring him back for the All-Weather Finals day in Lingfield, or wait for the grass.”
Following up a hugely successful festive period with his jumpers, Joseph O’Brien shared a double with apprentice Hugh Horgan as Capuchinero (4-1 joint-favourite) landed the seven-furlong claimer and once-raced Sioux Nation colt Behind Enemy Lines justified even-money favouritism when bolting up in the Wednesday Racing At Dundalk 3-Y-0 Maiden.
Capuchinero was claimed by John M Keogh, to be trained by Seamus Fahey, following her one-length victory over Ghumama (claimed by James McAuley).
“It might not have been the greatest race in the world, but he was impressive,” enthused O’Brien’s assistant Brendan Powell, after Behind Eneny Lines scampered clear to win the three-year-old maiden by almost five lengths. “Joseph liked him going to the Curragh. But he was big and weak, the ground was tacky and he got lost in it.
“He has a lovely action and plenty of speed. I think he’ll go on from here and should stay further.”
Upped 16lb after landing a gamble impressively before Christmas, the Paul Flynn-trained Cheers Again (Jack Cleary), still in the 47-65 grade, followed up with another wide-margin success, scampering home four lengths clear of Reverberation in the apprentice handicap.
Flynn said: “He’s a big horse and will improve again — I think he could be a good horse. I had a plan for him, to go to Leopardstown in the spring, but that’ll have to change now.”
Rodger Sweeney was on the mark with 100-30 favourite Where R Un Now Bob in the one-mile nursery while the divisions of the mile-and-a-half 47-65 handicap produced a couple of shocks, notably, the late challenge of Mark Fahey’s 40-1 Bambeano (Jack Kearney) to deny Gracesolution in the finale.
