Kenneally off the mark for new season
MODEL CITIZENS: Crowsatedappletart wins the Wexford Handicap Chase in the hands of Michael Kenneally. Picture: Healy Racing
Last season’s conditional jockeys’ championship runner-up Michael Kenneally landed his first success of the new term when partnering the Michael Winters-trained Crowsatedappletart to win the Wexford Town Handicap Chase at Wexford last evening.
It was Kenneally’s first ride of the season and he brought the Paul Mullins-owned 10-1 chance home a two and a quarter-length scorer from Eoin McCarthy’s Kilbrin Rocco. It was an eighth career success for Crowsatedappletart and this was his third victory over fences at Wexford.
Winters commented: “I’d say two miles and five furlongs at Limerick was too far for him, if it had been two miles he would have been bang there. We were hoping to be in the first three, he’s surprised us there now, but if you get into the money, you’ll always be happy.”
Harry Cobden was out of luck on his first outing as champion owner JP McManus’s retained jockey as the Willie Mullins-trained Karoline Banbou could only manage sixth place in the opening Wexfordraces.ie Beginners Chase.
The 6-4 favourite was soon on the back foot after a slow jump four from home with victory going to the only four-year-old in the field, Wild Bill Hickok, ridden by Eoghan Finegan for trainer Ciarán Murphy.
A listed winner over hurdles when trained in France last year, the 15-2 chance raced clear from the final fence in the colours of owner Patrick Sheanon to win by 11 lengths from the Noel Meade-trained Mick Collins.
Ross O’Sullivan and jockey Shane Markey combined to win the Visitwexford.ie Handicap Chase with the Tommy Ward-owned Butter Fingers. The 100-30 favourite led after the final fence to beat Paul Nolan’s Tequila Talkin' by a length and a quarter.
It was far tighter as the Tom Cooper-trained D Art D Art scored a battling success in the Purple And Gold Beginners Chase. Ricky Doyle was all but out of the saddle when the 15-2 shot pecked badly at the fourth-last fence but the partnership was quickly back on an even keel and dug deep to hold Henry de Bromhead’s Grade One hurdles winner and 4-5 favourite Hiddenvalley Lake by a head.
Brothers James and Pa King combined to land the Buy Tickets Online Novice Hunters Chase with 12-1 chance Muskerry Rock. The two-time point-to-point winner made much of the running and drew clear in the closing stages for a four and a quarter-length win over the Liam Burke-trained Tiffiny's Girl.
The Dromahane winner Wilton Mills Trier ran out a good winner of the Slaney Mares Pt-To-Pt INH Flat Race for Paul Pierce and Luke Murphy. The 100-30 favourite got the better of Jonathan Fogarty’s 4-1 chance Five Shiros over a furlong out to win by two lengths.
Gordon Elliott and Josh Halford shared a Grade One success at last week’s Punchestown festival and they were winners again as the four-year-old Fortysixnchange recorded a three-length win in the concluding Racing May 16 Pt-To-Pt INH Flat Race. Another 100-30 chance, he was too strong for the Roger McGrath-trained Coolnav inside the final furlong.
