Tag Archive for: Cork

Moracana makes most of Cork opportunity

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Moracana came with a withering run to mow down Irish Lullaby and take the feature Irish Stallion Farms EBF Noblesse Stakes at Cork.

The five-year-old had plundered a valuable mile-and-five-furlong handicap at Leopardstown on Irish Champions Weekend, but had been well held in two Listed races thereafter.

Sheila Lavery’s daughter of Elzaam was consequently sent off an unconsidered 22-1 chance in the mile-and-a-half Listed race, where the money was for the former David Menuisier-trained Ottilien, who was bought by American celebrity chef Bobby Flay after she finished third in the Prix de Royallieu at Longchamp in October.

Now in the hands of Joseph O’Brien, the evens favourite set out to make the pace as usual under Dylan Browne McMonagle, but she tired in the soft ground with a furlong to run.

The sectionals suited those who found cover and Robbie Colgan timed his run to perfection to score by half a length, with Annerville staying on for third.

Lavery could not hide der delight and said: “After she won a big handicap on Champions Weekend in Leopardstown, we thought she wanted soft ground, so were really looking forward to two late runs in Naas. But how wrong did I get that? She hated it.

“Robbie just said that she was so relaxed and knew, when he pulled her out, she would get there. That was a class ride.”

She added: “I had the grandmother, her mother and bred her, so and it is great for a filly to get black type – it is what you want. I sold her to Sue (Chadwick) after her run in Navan.

“She will stick to good ground now and quite often I jump up too quickly, so baby steps. She is so relaxed she could stay further and I’ll sit down and have a proper look at her upcoming races now.”

Bachasson extends winning run with Cork glory

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The prolific Bachasson led his rivals a merry dance to secure a 17th career victory in the Bar One Racing Chase at Cork.

The Willie Mullins-trained grey is in the twilight of his career at the age of 12, but proved the fire still burns bright when making a successful return from over two years off the track at Clonmel last month – his sixth win in succession.

Despite facing a six-time Grade One-winning stablemate in Chacun Pour Soi, who was testing the water over three miles for the first time in a bid to turn around his form, Bachasson was the 6-4 favourite to add to his tally and made every yard of the running in the hands of Sean Flanagan.

Chacun Pour Soi loomed up looking a threat on the run to the final fence, with Feronily also bang in the mix, but Bachasson found plenty once challenged to prevail by three and a quarter lengths, with Feronily narrowly beating Chacun Pour Soi to the runner-up spot.

Flanagan said: “I actually texted David Casey yesterday morning when I saw nobody down to ride him. That’s my third ride for Willie and my second winner, so I’ll try to keep up the strike-rate!

“Bachasson was attacking his fences and was very quick through the air. Obviously he liked the bit of nicer ground today and did it well. He is very very clever and still has loads of enthusiasm.

“He is a classy horse and every time he straightened up and saw a fence, he priced his ears and was attacking all the time – I was taking him back on the flat.

“He doesn’t feel like he’s a 12-year-old.”

Tenebrism bursts into sprinting picture with Cork success

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Tenebrism made her class count with victory on her return to action at Cork.

Aidan O’Brien’s filly is a dual Group One winner, but remarkably returned at a very generous 11-10 favourite in the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Cork Stakes over six furlongs.

Saddled with a 5lb penalty, she was nicely tracking the pace set by Moss Tucker and Wave Machine, then her turn of foot under Ryan Moore at the furlong pole soon saw the race put to bed.

Paddy Power and Betfair went 7-1 for the King’s Stand at Royal Ascot and 20-1 for the Platinum Jubilee.

O’Brien said: “At the backend of last year we put her into the sprint at Ascot and it became apparent that she was an obvious sprinter. We had been trying to stretch her to seven (furlongs) and a mile, but obviously it is all pure natural speed she has.

“She has a lovely mind, relaxes and quickens and could be very exciting for the year.

“She was at the Curragh a couple of weeks ago when Dean (Gallagher) rode her and she went up with the Guineas horses and he was delighted with her and was happy with her since.

“We took her here without training her hard and she was really only ready to come racing. That’s the way we wanted and she can go back to Naas in a couple of weeks.

“We thought if she got to Royal Ascot that she could run two days, in the King’s Stand and the Diamond (Platinum) Jubilee.”

He added: “On that (testing) ground we usually struggle, but the horses are forward and we have to be careful now when they are that forward. A couple of months before the ground got back it was good and they were all doing half-speeds so the foundation was in them.”

All eyes in the following Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden were on the O’Brien-trained Alabama, but the well-touted No Nay Never colt never quite looked like he would oblige, albeit there was promise in his third to the very taking winner Noche Magica (7-4).

Ridden by Billy Lee for Paddy Twomey, the Night Of Thunder youngster cost £230,000 as a yearling and might be good value at that judged on this effort.

Noche Magica returns with Billy Lee
Noche Magica returns with Billy Lee (Thomas Weekes/PA)

Twomey said: “Like plenty of mine on debut, he was green and fell out of the gates but once he was going and joined them, Billy said he was just going through the gears. He said that that ground actually blunted his speed. He doesn’t want that heavy ground, but I felt he was ready to start and run a nice race.

“I don’t gallop horses in the spring and he had one breeze and a little half-speed with a three-year-old last week and that’s all he has done so far – it is natural ability with him.

“Mark McStay bought him for a new owner to the yard, Mohammed Ahmad Ali Al Subousi, who is a Dubai businessman, and I’m delighted to have him and delighted he sent the horse to us.

“Hopefully it’s onwards and upwards now and while I didn’t think past today, I’d say six (furlongs) is no problem and we’d love to go to Ascot in June. Wherever we go before then, I think he is good enough.”

Elsewhere on the card, You Send Me is set to test her Classic credentials after an impressive success in the Welcome To The Racing Home For Easter Festival 2023 Fillies Maiden.

The well-supported Fozzy Stack-trained daughter of Starspangledbanner was only seen once last season and went into the notebooks with her fifth place in that run at the Curragh in September.

All the better for it, the 11-4 chance quickened up smartly when asked by Mark Enright, coming home three and a half lengths to the good over Beauty Bella.

“She is a big filly and was very weak when she ran last year so we put her away,” said Stack.

“We’ll see how she comes out of this and if it doesn’t take too much out of her, we might look at a Guineas trial. She is very big and still very raw and could even make a better filly next year than this year.

“She wants seven (furlongs) or a mile and I don’t think she wants it that soft as she is a good moving filly. She is a nice filly.”

Chacun Pour Soi and Bachasson in Cork showdown

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Chacun Pour Soi takes on stablemate Bachasson in the Bar One Racing Chase at Cork on Sunday.

Chacun Pour Soi has won six times at Grade One level over fences, but has been beaten in each of his three previous races this season and was last of nine in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham last month.

The 11-year-old steps down in grade but up in trip for this weekend’s three-mile Grade Three – and his biggest danger appears to be fellow Willie Mullins-trained gelding Bachasson, who recently made a successful return from over two years on the sidelines at Clonmel.

Bachasson has been a fantastic servant to his connections
Bachasson has been a fantastic servant to his connections (Alan Magee/PA)

Patrick Mullins, assistant to his father, said: “Bachasson has won 16 races in total and won his last six. He has never won over three miles, although he did run in a Gold Cup and I don’t see why it should be a problem.

“The bigger worry is maybe coming back quick after a long lay-off, but he seems to have come out of his Clonmel race very well and no doubt he will run well again.

“He has been an incredible horse and is a real yard favourite. Usually as (grey) horses get older they get white but he seems to be a Peter Pan and a steel grey which is quite unusual.”

Of Chacun Pour Soi, he added: “He is stepping up to three miles and it is a little bit of a shot in the dark. He has to give away an awful lot of weight, which won’t make life easy on him either.

“But Chacun Pour Soi has won at Cork before so we are just hoping he can get somewhere back to his best form as he doesn’t seem to be at his best this season so far.”

The Mullins pair head a five-strong field, with Ronald Pump (Ciaran Murphy), Feronily (Emmet Mullins) and The Little Yank (John Ryan) completing the quintet.