Jockey Rob James enjoyed his first success in his new role as point-to-point handler when he sent out My Bad Lucy to record success at Umma House on Sunday.
The Wexford native, who claimed the Under-21 title back in 2014 and has also won two regional titles in the South and West, added a further talent to his CV when the Kayf Tara gelding came home in front in the second division of the Tattersalls Ireland four-year-old geldings’ in Co. Westmeath.
Surprisingly, the Cheltenham Festival winning rider was not aboard his charge for the success despite having ridden him in both of his previous outings, having elected to ride the French-bred newcomer Gredin for Donnchadh Doyle.
That meant it was the Wicklow native Brian Lawless who came in for the ride and the pair hit the front after the penultimate fence to overhaul Denis Murphy’s Coachman and ultimately win easily by eight lengths in a race which saw just three of the nine starts complete.
James was one of those non-finishers, forced to watch on as his charge got his career as a handler off the mark from the final fence, having pulled-up aboard Fable.
The 27-year-old has enjoyed notable success with his purchases from the sales ring, with Shishkin, the Lingstown maiden winner who has remained unbeaten since, culminating in his Cheltenham Festival success last March, chief among the horses that he has been previously involved in and this new venture into the training ranks looks set to be a undoubted success.
He has already built a new shed at his homeplace with 18 stables and the early facilities at his yard includes a walker, sand ring, two-furlong circular gallop and two and a quarter mile hill gallop.
My Bad Lucy, who is owned by the Matchmaker Syndicate that includes his mother, sister and friends, is one of three four-year-old’s that James has to run this autumn, as he also has Since Day One (Fame And Glory) and Top Of The List (Shirocco) to come.
