Mullins and Townend dominate Tipp Super Sunday
Love Me Tender & Paul Townend win the Grade 3 Boyle Sports Novcie Hurdle with Frank Berry. Photo HEALY RACING
There were three Grade Threes on the National Hunt part of Super Sunday in Tipperary and Willie Mullins and Paul Townend dominated proceedings, taking all three, though there was more than a little luck involved in one leg of the short-priced treble.
It certainly wasn’t in the first of the three, the Boyle Sports Novice Hurde, as Love Me Tender made every yard of the running and won in a canter. Doing so brought the trainer’s record in the race to ten wins in the last 11 runnings.
Said Townend. “He’s three from three now, and he loves jumping. He’s looking for the next hurdle, all the time, and that’s a big plus. Coming back to two miles around a sharp track like this, we were hoping he was going to jump that way.
“He’s a progressive horse, doing everything right and hopefully he can continue to improve. They’ll have plenty of fun with him.”
Gaucher, who won that novice hurdle in 2024, took the Horse & Jockey Hotel Hurdle this time but this was the most fortuitous of successes.
The 13-8 favourite set out to make all the running, but Glen Kiln got the better of him after the second-last and was clear over the final flight. Unfortunately, he met that one all wrong, got unbalanced at the landing side and sent Brian Hayes tumbling to the ground. That left the market leader to regain the lead and race on to victory over 2022 winner of the race Jesse Evans.
The last of the three graded races was the ODS Engineering Novice Chase and Gold Dancer completed his own hat-trick in great style. A winner here in May and then at the Galway festival, he had a credible challenger in Downmexicoway but pulled away in the closing stages to post a performance even better than it may read on paper.
“He likes jumping and the drying ground here suited him,” said Townend of the Gigginstown House Stud-owned six-year-old. “For a novice to be so sure of himself jumping, it was great fun out there.
“I’d say a bigger fence and a more galloping track will only improve him. He’ll have stiffer tasks ahead, and I thought cantering back that he deserves to line up in the Drinmore. That would look an obvious place for him.”
There was plenty to like about Cappa Hill’s performance in the Jimmy Hayes Memorial Handicap Hurdle. Sean Allen’s horse, ridden by Jack Kennedy, was a winner in Cork in early August and the break did him no harm as he returned with a doughty display.
Henry de Bromhead isn’t renowned for his bumper winners but when La Cote Fleurie, ridden by John Gleeson, took the Peppermill Restaurant Nenagh Fillies’ Bumper, it was the trainer’s second in ten days, following Mister Pessimistic’s victory at Listowel. This winner carries the Kerry National-winning colours of Dr Peter Fitzgerald, and her dam line has already produced Grade One-winning chaser Lagunak.
The listed Coolmore Sioux National Concorde Stakes was the feature of the Flat section of the card and Deepone won by a National Hunt distance.
Billy Lee’s mount wasn’t that quick to find stride but was soon sent forward to take control of the race. Duckadilly tried to follow him around but once Lee asked for extra effort, the class of his mount, trained by Paddy Twomey, shone through.
Enjoying the deep ground, he stretched right away to win by nine lengths from the staying-on Lord Massusus.
“That was a good performance, and he put them to the sword well,” said Lee. “He likes to pour on the pressure and have them at it early, and the ground helped. He had been going well at home and his couple of runs through the year had been fairly decent.
“Hopefully that is a stepping stone in the right direction and there might be something to look at before the rest of year is over, though he might have to travel.”
The opening race, the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden, was quite a funny race in how it was run but the winner, Shosholoza, is clearly a nice prospect.
Joseph O’Brien’s debutant was slow to start but then keen when the pace slowed markedly after two furlongs. However, Wayne Hassett did a great job of curbing his mount’s enthusiasm and he was back on the bridle before the turn for home.
By Australia out of an unraced Juddmonte mare whose dam line has produced Dansili and Banks Hill, he picked up strongly and won in the style a bright staying prospect for next season.
Grey Leader shook off a disappointing effort at Listowel by taking the Great National Ballykisteen Golf Hotel Handicap for Joe Murphy and Ben Coen. The five-year-old was a touch keen through the race but Coen kept a lid on him until asking him to go on as they turned for home. Moving wide for better ground, he quickly asserted and won readily from fellow grey Akecheta.
