Galway Kid and Zoom Zoom Zoe provided Irish point-to-point exports with an American double on Saturday, as steeplechasing stateside returned with the Middleburg Spring Races.
The former, a Kinsale four-year-old maiden winner for Mick Goff, recorded his second victory on the bounce since crossing the Atlantic last year, as he followed up a maiden success at Pine Mountain last November, by winning the $25,000 Allowance Hurdle on his seasonal re-appearance on Saturday.
Facing 13 rivals, including fellow pointing export Tomgarrow (Loughrea runner-up for Sean Doyle), the son of Sholokhov, made strong progress to challenge at the last flight in the 2m 1f contest, before showing a good battling attitude to defeat Brianbakescookies.
Tomgarrow did lead briefly from the third-last flight before fading into seventh.
The success of Galway Kid featured as part of a treble on the 11-race card for Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard and jockey Gerard Galligan, as they also combined with a more recent pointing export in Zoom Zoom Zoe.
The daughter of Leading Light had only made her debut between the flags three months earlier when finishing third in a Borris House four-year-old maiden for Ellen Doyle when pitched in against geldings.
Taking on elder rivals for her American debut in the fillies and mares maiden hurdle, the four-year-old made nice progress from mid-field at the penultimate flight, and whilst the runaway leader Lear Avia still held the advantage at the last, the Buttonwood Farm-owned mare picked up strongly on the run-in to overhaul her and win going away by five and a quarter lengths.
First crop 4YO hurdle winner for Leading Light as Zoom Zoom Zoe bolted up in the maiden yesterday @MiddleburgRaces on her first start for Jonathan Sheppard.
— Coolmore (@coolmorestud) June 14, 2020
Pictured finishing a promising 3rd on debut at Borris House for @BaltimoreStable
Bred by Danny Doran#CoolmoreNHSires pic.twitter.com/3KOGNPvgsP
Elsewhere on the card, another Baltimore Stables graduate that was making their American debut, French Light finished third in the $20,000 2m 1f maiden hurdle, whilst Cormac Doyle’s former pointer, The Silent Trainer, also finished third in the 3 mile maiden timber race.
