Tipperary trainer Billy Lee reaches the 50-winner mark for the season in Killarney

Billy Lee reached the 50-winner mark for the season when partnering the Paddy Twomey-trained Nelda to land the eight-furlong maiden at Killarney on Tuesday. The 4/9 favourite made all the running and went clear inside the final two furlongs to win by an easy seven and a half lengths from the James Barrett-trained 11/4 chance Free Flow.

Other Tipperary trainers and jockeys faired well too as Andy Slattery and his son Andrew combined to win the eight-furlong handicap with the five-year-old Independent Expert as the Killarney July Festival got underway on Monday. A 12/1 chance, she landed her fifth career success when coming with a late run to score by half a length over the Mickey Fenton-trained 11/2 shot Physique.

Aidan O'Brien landed back-to-back winners and he shared them with Declan McDonogh and Mark Crehan. Former champion jockey McDonogh won the fillies and mares’ maiden over an extended 11 furlongs on the 4/7 favourite Mother Mature which scored by two lengths from the Joseph O'Brien-trained 7/1 chance Sissi while Crehan took the median auction maiden on the 7/1 shot Emphasis which beat another Piltown runner, 4/1 chance The Ginger Wizard, by two and a half lengths.

The Fozzy Stack-trained Dynamic Force gave 16-year-old County Cork apprentice Darragh O’Sullivan his first winner when landing the opening eight-furlong claiming race at Killarney on Wednesday. Owned by Cormac O’Flynn, the 100/30 chance led before the two-furlong pole and kept on strongly to beat the Johnny Levins-trained 20/1 shot Mindthegap by a length and a quarter.

Aidan O'Brien landed a double on the evening and his second winner came in the feature Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Cairn Rouge Stakes which went the way of the Wayne Lordan-ridden Greenfinch. The 3/1 joint-favourite made almost every yard of the running and had a little in hand in beating the Ger Lyons-trained 100/30 chance Sakti by two and a quarter lengths with the winner’s stable companion Flight Of Fancy, at odds of 6/1, home in third place.

O'Brien and Lordan had earlier taken the eight-furlong median sires series race for two-year-olds with another 6/1 shot, Lambourn which scored in the most dramatic of circumstances. Joseph O'Brien’s 11/10 favourite Green Triangle, the mount of Wayne Hassett, had raced clear and looked certain of victory but he ducked to his left and ran out through the running rail, leaving Lambourn to come through for a most fortunate success. He got up to beat Paddy Twomey’s 100/30 chance J’Adore Chris by three-parts of a length.

Edward O'Grady and Seamie Heffernan won the handicap over the same distance with the 17/2 chance Stormie Outlook. The four-year-old, owned by the trainer himself and Sean Reynolds, came from a little off the pace to lead inside the final furlong and got the better of Andy Slattery’s 4/1 joint-favourite On Our Radar by a neck.

Owned by the CKC Syndicate, Miners Bridge scored a cosy success for trainer Sam Curling in the opening two and a half-mile maiden hurdle at Killarney on Thursday. Phillip Enright was in the saddle as the 8/1 shot raced clear from the final hurdle to win by four and a quarter lengths from the Tom Cooper-trained Jeu De Pic.

Red Glory landed the two-mile one-furlong handicap hurdle for Rachael Blackmore and Henry de Bromhead in the colours of the Garristown Aintree Syndicate, the 4/1 joint-favourite led at the second-last hurdle and battled well from the last to beat John Murphy’s 9/2 shot Chatterbox by half a length.

Trainer Andy Slattery and Killenaule amateur jockey Adam Ryan won the first of two bumpers on the card with the four-year-old Not Now Darling. A 5/1 chance for owner Pat Hurley, she led passing the two-furlong pole and raced clear to beat Henry de Bromhead’s Time In A Bottle by six and a half lengths. Ridden for trainer Harry Kelly by Susie Doyle, 4/1 shot The Gray Ghost landed the concluding lady riders’ bumper.

Owned by Nessa Haverty and Ray O'Connor, the five-year-old headed the front-running Brendan Duke-trained Ballysax Hank approaching the furlong-pole to win by half a length.