It was a case of doubles all round today as jockeys Ronan Whelan, Robbie Colgan and Gary Carroll had two winners each, while Johnny Murtagh, whose horses have been in very good form recently, also claimed a double.
Racing began at Gowran Park with Beauchamp Bagenal (12/1) providing trainer Barry Fitzgerald and jockey Luke McAteer with their first win of the season when taking the opening Mansion Bet’s Beaten By A Head Handicap, beating Trueba at the death.
Johnny Murtagh, who trained the runner-up in the opener, soon gained consolation as So Suave (13/2) swooped late under Danny Sheehy to win the MansionBet Proud To Support Racing Handicap from Feminista.
Murtagh’s good form continued when winning his fourth race of the week in Division 1 of the Mansion Bet’s Paid As A Winner Handicap. The former Aga Khan horse Mirann (9/1) won by a half-length on his first run for Murtagh’s yard.
Gary Carroll also rolled off at double at the Co. Kilkenny venue, with wins on board Joe Murphy’s Collaborating (12/1) in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden for three-year-old colts and geldings, and Ideal Pal for Mick Mulvany, who prevailed by a short head, in division 2 of the handicap at 5.05pm.
Aidan O’Brien unveiled Roderic O’Connor’s sister, Laburnum (2/1), as she took the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden for three-year-old fillies on debut for Séamie Heffernan.
Maiden hurdle winner Takes Itall (15/8) made his first appearance on the flat in two years a triumphant one when winning Division 1 of the It’s Not Rocket Science MansionBet Maiden for Joseph O’Brien and Shane Crosse, while in-form rider Billy Lee teamed up with Co. Waterford handler Henry de Bromhead to land the second division on Hurricane Cliff (100/30).
At Limerick, Oriental Eagle (18/1), twice a Group winner in Germany, produced an excellent performance when giving Rachael Blackmore her biggest career success on the flat, in winning the Listed Martin Molony Stakes.
Blackmore edged the five-year-old into the lead as the field turned into the straight before the Tipperary-native kept the eventual winner running straight, as he won by a length from the late-closing Pondus.
The Ado McGuinness-trained Laugh A Minute (11/2), a runner-up in a Group 3 when trained in Britain by Roger Varian, was the opening winner of jockey Ronan Whelan’s double at the Munster track.
Whelan then produced a brave ride on Global Pass (9/2) to claim the It’s Good To Be Back At Limerick Handicap for trainer Richard O’Brien. The rider moved his mount onto the rail at the two-furlong marker before squeezing up inside Kinch to win.
Half Nutz (4/1) was a length winner of the Well Done To All Frontline Staff Handicap for Robbie Colgan and Sheila Lavery, with the Meath rider also winning on Shanroe (11/1) in the Patrickswell Maiden for older horses for Karl Thornton.
