High Stakes proved why he has taken the interrupted point-to-point season by storm with a dominant victory on the all point-to-point bumper card at Wexford on Saturday afternoon.
John Walsh’s seven-year-old entered the six and seven-year-old geldings’ bumper off the back of four wins already in the campaign which have seen him rise from winning a maiden at Ballingarry in September to winner-of-three success at Stradbally in December.
Absent since then owing to the suspension of pointing action, the Scorpion gelding set out his intentions when the tapes went up as he took up his now customary position at the head of affairs and was not for catching.
Although the eye-catching Flurry Yeats did valiantly try and give him a race on the run for home, James Walsh was always full of confidence and the pair went on to record an 18-length victory with a further 38 lengths back to Fame Valley in third.
The victory was a first on the track for the winning rider since scoring on Miley Shah at Tramore back in August 2012, whilst it was also a first track runner that his father John has sent out.
Local connections dominated much of the day’s proceedings with three of the races being claimed by Wexford-based connections including in division two of the five-year-old geldings bumper when the usual circumstances arose of Harley Dunne training the winner Pull Again Green, whilst also riding the runner-up Gris Gris Top for Carlow handler Aidan Fitzgerald who had been sent off as the 6/4 favourite.
It was former two-time Under-21 champion Shane Fitzgerald who was entrusted with riding the eventual one and a quarter length winner for the Four Shook Men Syndicate.
“He has been a bit unlucky throughout his pointing career, I was actually behind him when he fell in Mainstown at the second-last, looked to be travelling the best of the bunch, but he was very good today,” said the winning rider.
“We sort of bunched up coming around the home bend and I was just lucky that Harley (Dunne) quickened and gave me that gap to get out and to be fair to him the very minute I gave him a squeeze he picked up and went away at the end.”
A similar fate befell the favourite of the five-year-old mares’ bumper when Miss Tempo was a rare runner of the week from the Henry de Bromhead yard to find one too good, as the former Boulta winner had to settle for the runners-up spot on her stable debut when unable to reel in the 8/1 shot Love Envoi.
The Westerner-sired mares comes from a family winning trainer Seán Doyle knows well having sent out her half-sister to win an Oldtown maiden last year, with Jamie Scallan once again doing the steering for the Monbeg operator.
“She was tough. I was probably there way too soon, just coming down the hill here she jumped into the bridle and the gap was there and I kinda had to go, but I was there plenty early and it’s a long old run up from the bend here to the line,” said Scallan who had only recorded his first success on the track eight days earlier when stablemate Solomn Grundy won the Tetretema Cup at Gowran.
“I just tracked the leaders the whole way down the inside and she travelled great everywhere. Everything went smoothly and couldn’t have worked out any better really. When I gave her a flick of the stick now she put her head down and galloped right to the line.
“We thought coming here that she would improve an awful lot from it. She was ready to run in a mares maiden around Christmas time there but it’s just the way things ended she couldn’t go ahead, so she was fit and well and we said we might as well chance it.”
The Ballinaboola Mares Point-To-Point INH Flat Race goes to the Jamie Scallan ridden, Sean Doyle trained Love Envoi %u2764%uFE0F pic.twitter.com/l8Tq8D15SP
— Wexford Racecourse (@WexfordRacecour) March 20, 2021
Crossgales Ophelia defied a lengthy absence as she rewarded the patience of her connections with a taking victory in the opening division of the six and seven-year-old mares’ bumper.
Having not been seen in competitive action since finishing third to Shallow Run at Lisronagh in November 2019, the seven-year-old caught the eye with a rapid move forward along the back straight, from where she then tacked the long-time leader Shanavoun Lady in a race which saw the pair pull over 50 lengths clear of their rivals.
In the end, the Westerner mare prevailed by three and a-half lengths under winning trainer Benny Walsh.
“We have always thought a lot of her, she has always shown us plenty of ability but she has had her issues for the last couple of years. All credit has to go to MJ Berry and his daughter Lilly Mae who rides her out every day and she has got over the line today,” said Walsh’s wife Jenny who part owns the winner with her husband.
The second division of that contest proved to be a competitive affair which saw the consistent Eyre Square belatedly open her account and complete a week to remember for the Gavin Cromwell team.
Placed in each of her previous five starts, the Doyen mare tracked her main market rival Current Mood into the home straight and once coming wide with her challenge, she got the better of a good battle with that horse and the progressive looking Greenhill Damsel to win by seven and a-half lengths.
Winning rider Joey Dunne suggested that the John Mangan-owned six-year-old had appreciated the step up in trip and would be open to going up even further in time.
Henry Box Brown did not disappoint his supporters in the opening four-year-old geldings’ bumper as he made the best start of his career for Shane O’Brien and owner Louise Beresford.
Having opened up at 12/1, the Getaway gelding was sent off as a 17/2 shot and Darragh Allen kicked on rounding the home bend as they took full advantage of the luckless Limerick Leader meeting significant trouble in running to win by a length and three quarters with the fast finishing Kilnacarra coming through for third.
“He was a little big green up the straight but Shane has always thought a lot of him and happy enough that he has got his head in front and hopefully he will be worth a few pound after that,” said the winning rider.
“He can run a fraction keen every now and again, so that was the reason for the hood but he actually settled lovely and I was able to sit half a length down on Derek O’Connor and I got a grand breather into him up the straight on the second time. He went away and did his job well and there seemed to be plenty left.”
Twenty-four hours after watching his brother ride the winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Michael Kennedy had success of his own to savor as he saddled Hurlerontheditch to win the five-year-old geldings’ bumper under Michael O’Sullivan.
The son of Shirocco had been early casualty at Boulta on his debut in late November, however the 11/1 shot was confidently ridden by O’Sullivan who stalked Barry O’Neill on the favourite Chrissies Diamond into the straight before sending his mount on in the closing stages to win with what seemed to be a bit up his sleeve by a length and three quarters.
Hurlerontheditch is given a peach of a ride by Michael O'Sullivan %uD83C%uDF51
— Wexford Racecourse (@WexfordRacecour) March 20, 2021
Division I of the Monksgrange (C & G) Point-To-Point INH Flat Race goes to the Michael G Kennedy yard %uD83E%uDD47 pic.twitter.com/FoVFPOdeHy
