Dundalk treble sees Colin Keane take control of the race for Irish Champion jockey

Colin Keane moved clear of Billy Lee at the top of this season’s Irish Flat Jockeys’ Championship courtesy of a treble at Dundalk on Friday night. The campaign ends on November 6th at Naas.

His victories came on Cursory Exam (11/2) for trainer Ger O’Leary in the View Restaurant at Dundalk Stadium Handicap, Skip James (13/8 fav) for his boss Ger Lyons in the Michael Cooney Memorial Nursery, and Chica Power (6/1) for Ciaran Murphy in the second division of the seven-furlong handicap.

O’Leary’s assistant Adrian Joyce said that they have “around 15 horses” to run over the winter at Dundalk, including Cursory Exam, who “enjoys it (here) and is sound and straightforward.” 

Ger’s brother, and assistant, Shane Lyons revealed that the owners - Sean Jones, David Spratt and Ger’s wife Lynne – “run Skip James in memory of Kevin O’Riordan, a friend of David’s, who passed away from cancer. All prize money goes to Brain Cancer Research at Liverpool University.”

Racing in a visor for the first time clearly helped Chica Power who, his trainer said, didn’t quite get home over a mile last time out.

It was lovely to see Michael Cooney’s daughters presenting the trophy for the race named in his memory. Michael was for many years the ‘head man’ at the hugely successful racing stables of Bunny Cox, who operated from Dundalk.

The first division of the seven-furlong handicap was won by Tawaazon (11/2), who is trained by Denis Hogan and was ridden by Sean Bowen.

The winner also won at Dundalk on September 23rd, his latest race before today, and his rider confirmed his affinity with the Stadium, saying: “He loves it here, loves the surface.”

That previous win had come in a claimer and tonight’s claiming contest went the way of Dalvey (7/2), who ran out a comfortable two-length winner in the hands of apprentice James Ryan.

Winning trainer James McAuley is enjoying a very good year, including eight winners at Dundalk. Only Joseph O’Brien (14) and Ado McGuinness (12) have had more in 2022. Denis Hogan has also had eight.  

The William Hill Extra Places Everyday Handicap was won by Finans Bay (3/1 fav), a timely success as the gelding is due to go through the sales ring on October 24th.

Owned by Nicky Hartery, a longstanding supporter of winning trainer Michael Halford, he was ridden to victory by Ronan Whelan, who has now had six winners at the last four Dundalk meetings, four of them trained by Michael in County Kildare.

Dylan Browne McMonagle made it three winners at the last two Dundalk meetings when guiding Mickey The Steel (6/1) to victory in the card’s finale for County Meath-based trainer Joe Murray, with the penultimate race, a handicap for fillies, going to Marsa (17/2).  

Marsa was gaining a fourth success, three of them coming at Dundalk, when winning under Chris Hayes.

Trained by Eddie Lynam, she races for Joe and Marita Rogers and David and Sabena Power. David and Sabena own and bred Marsa’s sire Slade Power, a dual-Group 1 winner in his pomp. He too was trained by Eddie in County Meath.

“She’s a useful filly,” he said afterwards. Lightly raced, her best days are surely ahead of her.

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Next meeting

Dundalk will race again on Friday 21st October. The provisional start time is 5:30pm, but this will become 5pm if a race divides, which is highly likely given the popularity of racing at the Stadium.

The feature race is the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai Pat Smullen Mercury Stakes, a five-furlong Group 3 race worth €55,000.