Ger Lyons eyes Lowther bid after Livenka lands €200,000 Ballyhane Stakes
Livenka and Colin Keane win the Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes at Naas. Pic: Healy Racing Photo
The Juddmonte-owned Livenka justified 4/6 favouritism when giving Ger Lyons and Colin Keane a third win in the €200,000 Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes in Naas.
The Bated Breath filly, a half-sister to Babouche and Zarinsk, dictated the pace along the far rail, had her rivals in trouble with more than two furlongs to race and, soon clear, ran on strongly to beat Sheila Lavery’s 100/1 debutante Maeda Matsu by three and a half lengths with Ballydoyle hope and joint-top-weight South Dakota third.
“This race has been lucky for us (he won it with Sacred Bridge in 2021 and Howd’yadoit last year) and I have no problem taking (sponsor) Joe Foley’s money,” stated Lyons.
“She’s a filly we’ve always liked and this is a lovely pot to win en route to black type. Like all the Juddmonte fillies, that’s the plan.
“It was a mistake going seven furlongs with her – six is her trip and she’ll stick to six for the rest of the season. I don’t know what she beat today, but her performance in Fairyhouse was strong – the runner-up bolted-up in Leopardstown.
"I put her in the ‘Lowther’ (Group 2 in York) this morning and, if she’s in one piece, that’s where she’ll go. I don’t know where the ceiling is with her, but I think she’s a black-type filly.”
Fresh from a fruitful week in Goodwood, champion jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle was in double form, sparked when landing the Matchbook Betting Exchange on Michael O’Callaghan’s Red Evolution, who collared Gotta Catch’em All close home to score by a half-length.
The champion brought his domestic tally for the season to 52 when Never The Same, trained by his boss Joseph O’Brien, landed the one-mile fillies maiden, making virtually all to reverse Curragh form with Nautic Star. A return to Cork, where she won her maiden (her only previous success) almost two years ago is planned for Likedbymike following her smooth 4/9 win in the TRM Ironxcell For Energy Race.
A 36th winner of the season for Joey Sheridan, Mick Byrne’s mare scored by two lengths from Focaccia, her trainer commenting: “It was a grand soft race for her and it should do her confidence good. She’s bigger and stronger this year and, although she has placed black type, it would be great to win a listed race with her – she’ll head to Mallow at the end of the month (for the ‘Abergwaun’, normally run in Tipperary).”
Shane Foley got Diamond Exchange (17/2) up in the last stride to beat Nakasero by a head in the Watch All Racing Live At Matchbook Handicap, compensation for the rider and trainer Jessica Harrington following Bear Right’s failure to peg back Brendan Duke’s all-the-way scorer Zheleznaya Dama (Rory Cleary) in the Bet 20 Get 40 With Matchbook Handicap.
Meanwhile, in Cork, Willie Mullins, who saddled no fewer than ten winners at the Galway festival, followed-up with a sparkling treble.
The champion trainer took the opening www.mourneabbeyoil.ie Mares Maiden Hurdle, not with the Paul Townend-ridden 4/6 favourite Emerald Enigma (finished third) but with Easter Bonnet, a convincing all-the-way winner under Brian Hayes, who explained: “She disappointed the last day here, so we decided to let her roll along. Earplugs helped her and she got into a good rhythm, jumped well and I was happy from a long way out.”
Similar front-running tactics were employed by Sean Cleary-Farrell on even-money favourite Livio who landed the Adare Manor Opportunity Maiden Hurdle with five lengths to spare over Eye Contact.
Third leg of the Closutton treble was the long-absent Green Style, another all-the-way scorer, in the bumper, with Patrick Mullins toying with the opposition in the straight to score by nine lengths from Red Shea.
In the handicap action, O’Gradys Cracker, up 10lb for his breakthrough win in Kilbeggan, struck again under J J Slevin in the Jim Ryan Racecourse Services Handicap Hurdle while Pat Foley’s Gino Bella (Alan O’Sullivan) bagged the biggest prize on offer, for the John O’Flynn Motors 110 Series Handicap Hurdle Final, defying a 7lb hike for a course and distance success.
And the Terence O’Brien-trained handicap debutante Ina Mina made all to take a division of the 0-100 handicap under John Shinnick.
