Sensational Fairyhouse action has punters hungry for more

It was worth the wait at Fairyhouse yesterday, as top class action eradicated the frustrating period of scuppered Irish racing. JOE's horse racing columnist and tipster Niall Cronin recalls the thrills and spills.

By Niall Cronin

Let’s start by giving credit where credit is due and Fairyhouse and Horse Racing Ireland deserve bags of it.

Eight races were held at Fairyhouse yesterday, all carrying that illustrious word 'Grade' in the title which, in racing, means it’s one of the sports more sought after races.

Four of them were Grade One’s – two of which were won by Willie Mullins and Paul Townend, another gave Gordon Elliott his first ever win at the highest level and the other went to a deserving winner in Tranquil Sea and Edward O’Grady.

Quality

The only disappointment of the day was that just over 3,000 people were in attendance for a card that should have attracted at least 20,000-30,000 as it was undoubtedly the best single card of racing ever held in this country.

Yes it was a Wednesday and yes the first race was very early, but you could spend an absolute fortune to go to Cheltenham for two days and not see the amount of high quality horses that punters were treated to in County Meath yesterday.


Solwhit is beaten on the run up by Hurricane Fly (blue) to win the Bar One Racing Hattons Grace Hurdle

Before the church bells had even belted out 12 consecutive dings or dongs, we had witnessed a Cheltenham candidate in Gordon Elliott’s Toner D’Oudaries, before the same bell had got back to just the one clatter we saw the countries leading novice hurdler Zaidpour and our Champion Hurdle hopeful Hurricane Fly both lay down the law to their rivals.

It was just bang, bang and bang, graded horses coming at you from all angles and a grade one horse almost anywhere you looked. It was sensational.

Bookies scramble

There were a few bookmakers representatives getting treated by the Order Of Malta they were doing that much running around and scribbling with so many of the races throwing up a new leading contender for one of Cheltenham’s championship races.

It would have been all picture and no sound in the Mullins household if Willie didn’t go home with at least a brace to his name with the legion of runners he brought racing and he managed to bag a treble in the wind-up.

Any trainer in Ireland would be pleased to train just one of the nine he saddled, but when you just think that Zaidpour, Hurricane Fly, Golden Silver, Mikael D’Haguenet, J’y Vole, Cooldine and Mourad were the best of them – well a Garda escort would nearly be appropriate.

There is no doubt that Mikael D’Haguenet would have made Gordon Elliott sweat a bit more for his first ever Grade One winner if he stood up at the last, but a novicey crumbling on landing left Jessies Dream (pictured above, top) with a more easier task than it might have been.

Jessies Dream wasn’t finished either though and it would have been a thrilling finale but the Elliott team fully deserving the victory and it won’t be the last either horse or trainer wins in that company.

Mikael D'Haguenet (right) falls at the last as Jessies Dream runs in to win the Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Steeplechase

Just on a side note and without threatening to be like AIB, I want to go back and give a bit more credit where it’s due.

Fair play to Willie Mullins for opting to saddle Mikael D’Haguenet in the pre-parade ring rather than in the stable yard. A sizable congregation flocked to watch Mullins tack him up and to those not used to getting up close and personal with such high quality beasts, I am sure it was an enjoyable insight.

More credit

Further credit goes to the stewards on the day as they allowed Colm Murphy take out his charge Quito De La Roque from the Grade One Drinmore as he was also declared at Clonmel today. Murphy declared him for Fairyhouse just in case Clonmel was lost to the weather and with the meeting looking safe he was allowed come out without a fine.

Finally, some felt that this meeting coming just 11 days before the start of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival was too late to be run, but fair play to all the trainers who supported it.

With the current weather forecasts and uncertainty, and the possibility of a white Christmas, Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival might not be to Christmasy at all and well done to those who took their chance and let Christmas look after itself.

Niall Cronin is a horse-racing correspondent for the Evening Herald. Niall joins the JOE punditry team for daily tips and regular analysis.