Report | Stradbally 14th April 19

Pa King enjoyed a successful day at Stradbally on Sunday, recording a treble at the Co. Laois venue.

The first of King's winners came aboard the odds-on favourite De Barley Basket for Willie Murphy, when the Alkaadhem gelding took the Joseph A Murphy Memorial Race six-year-old geldings' maiden by three lengths.
In the colours of his breeder Martin Byrne, the winner jumped his way to the front at the third-last and was never asked any real questions from that point on to defeat Hellenic Fire.

The winning handler has done well with De Barley Basket's family, having previously saddled his full siblings Global Citizen and A Hare Breath to success in the point-to-point sphere.

Jim Murphy was present representing his brother Willie and said: “We have been very lucky with the family. He is a big horse that has just taken a bit of time to mature. He was a bit weak but has been strengthening up all of the time.

“There is no plan at the minute so we’ll sit down with the owner and decide where to go.”

King returned to the winner’s enclosure in the Ashbourne Meats five-year-old and upwards adjacent maiden for the in-form Sam Curling as Grand Summary took the seven-runner contest by a neck over the game Glorious Ziva.

The pair battled gamely in the home straight but the Mustameet gelding managed to come out on top in the end and the success marks Galway owner Michael Mannion's first winner as Grand Summary is the first that he has had in training.

“He is a nice horse that has had a wind op since his last run and I would say he will still come on plenty for that. The plan would probably be to go for one of those point-to-point bumpers now,” said the winning handler.

Curling completed his Stradbally when providing King with the final leg of his treble when Longhouse Music recorded her eighth success of the season in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel mares open.

The daughter of Gamut was one of only two runners in this race and when the Maxine O'Sullivan ridden Holly Flight departed at the halfway stage, the winner was left to return in her own time
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“She is brilliant. I am very lucky to have her and her owner John (Duggan) is very sporting to keep her point-to-pointing. My head lad Liam Kelly rides her out the whole time and is mad about her. He nearly trains her so a lot of the credit has to go to him,” said Curling.

“She will go to the mares’ open at Loughanmore over Easter now.” 

Wexford rider James Kenny also enjoyed a successful day at Stradbally when securing a double of his own, the first of which came aboard Look Alive in the Goffs Punchestown Sale five-year-old geldings' maiden.
The son of Arakan made all on his debut to run out a comfortable winner defeating the Benny Walsh-trained Lough Har by three-and-a-half lengths.

The winner who cost €7,000 as a foal was completing a quick across the card double for Kiltealy-based handler Colin Bowe who had moments earlier also saddled the winner of the opening race at Bellurgan Park.
“He did it very well in fairness. He is a nice horse and always went well at home, he has just taken a bit of time.

“He is a good ground horse who would like the ground out there and jumps very well so he can be a nice horse in time. He will be sold now,” said Craig Casey representing the winning handler.
 
Kenny doubled his tally later on in the day in the Park Engineering and Erkina Vet Clinic winner-of-three race aboard Crutches Lad for Willie Murphy.

The son of Alkaadhem, bounced back from a disappointing showing at Ballyragget recently, to follow-up his Borris House success when defeating Poetic Presence by half-a-length.

Winning owners Chris Morrissey and Brian Kennedy said:  “He hated the ground in Ballyragget. He preferred the ground today and showed what he can do, so we will have a sit down with Willie (Murphy) and decide where we go next.”

Success in the McLoughlins Super Valu five-year-old and upwards mares' maiden went to Court Glory for hander John Berry.  In the hands of John O'Neill, the daughter of Court Cave inflicted a two-length defeat of the Cormac Farrell-trained Moonshot.

Farrell's mare looked the likely winner of this race until she began to weaken as Court Glory continued to stay on strongly to clinch the victory having fallen on her last outing at Borris.
The winning handler said; “She has been unlucky to tell you the truth. She wasn’t right the last day at Borris, but I was expecting that.

“She does want quicker ground than we got today but she got through it anyway. They probably went too quick up front and he (John O’Neill) gave her a great ride. He took his time and I told him to hold onto her a bit.”