Weekly Racing News - Tipperary winners to the fore this week with a 100/1 winner amongst them!

Denis Hogan and Joey Sheridan were winners as Riyami took the two-mile handicap at Dundalk on Wednesday. In the colours of the Carthy, Rogers & O'Brien Partnership, the five-year-old gamely defied top-weight as he saw off the John McConnell-trained Rockview consort by half a length at odds of 4/1. 

Ballinalard trainer Seamus O’Donnell landed his sixth success with Theriverrunsdeep which won the six-furlong handicap in the hands of Seamie Heffernan. The 11/2 chance, running in the trainer’s own colours, led passing the two-furlong pole and stuck to her task well as she beat the Andy Slattery-trained My Girl Sioux by a length and a quarter.

Fethard trainer Josh Halley won the opening mares’ maiden hurdle at Clonmel on Thursday with The Lord Maid which was ridden by Phillip Enright. A 7/1 shot, she led at the fourth-last hurdle and only needed to be pushed out from the final hurdle to win by eight lengths from the Marie Harding-trained Lep Around.

Halley was back in the winners’ enclosure at Dundalk on Friday evening where newcomer Badda Bing ran out a very good winner of the eight-furlong maiden for three-year-olds. A well-supported 6/1 chance, he led at the furlong pole and had a little in hand under Seamie Heffernan as he beat the Joseph O'Brien-trained 4/5 favourite Al Mudhaffar by a length and a half. Heffernan had earlier been on the mark for another Fethard trainer, Willie Browne, as Billboa won the five-furlong handicap.

The strong 11/8 favourite came through to lead inside the final furlong to beat Ross O'Sullivan’s 100/30 chance Samrogue by half a length in the colours of Tracey Kearney. Denis Hogan was again on the mark as the Daniel King-ridden Ransom won the eight-furlong claiming race at odds of 8/11 favourite. He led home a 1-2 for the stable as Joey Sheridan’s mount May Night took the runner-up spot, half a length behind the cosy winner.

Trainer Philip Fenton landed a 100/1 winner as the Patricia Hogan-owned Karl Des Tourelles scored a very comfortable success in the four-year-old maiden hurdle at Gowran Park on Saturday. Ridden by Brian Hayes, the unconsidered outsider was hampered before the final hurdle but he picked up best of all on the run in and came home a six-length winner from Jessica Harrington’s 9/4 chance Pigeon House.

A most impressive winner on the day was the Rachael Blackmore-ridden Lantry Lady which made light of an 11-month absence to land the Grade 3 Red Mills Trial Hurdle for trainer Henry de Bromhead. A winner on her debut over the same course and distance in March of last year, the 13/8 shot easily picked off the Gordon Elliott-trained What’s Up Darling, the 11/10 favourite, between the final two hurdles and raced away to score by nine and a half lengths in the colours of the Mariga family.

Lantry Lady is one of 16 entries for the Mares Hurdle on the opening day of next month’s Cheltenham Festival.

Blackmore and de Bromhead were also winners at Punchestown on Sunday where 2/9 favourite Senior Chief took the near three-mile beginners’ chase. It was tight at the line as the seven-year-old, owned by the Lucky In Life Syndicate, led after the final fence to beat Gordon Elliott’s Duffle Coat by three-parts of a length.

Upcoming Fixtures

Punchestown – Wednesday, February 21 (First Race 1.45pm)

Thurles – Thursday, February 22 (First Race 1.53pm)

Dundalk – Friday, February 23 (First Race 3.35pm)

Fairyhouse – Saturday, February 24 (First Race 1.30pm)

Naas – Sunday, February 25 (First Race 1.20pm)