PAT HEALY: Pat looks back at a busy day at the Curragh on Saturday and the success of Bucanero Fuerte in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes …
Adrian Murray lands Phoenix Stakes
It was a fantastic success for Adrian Murray winning the Phoenix Stakes with Bucanero Fuerte on Saturday (pictured below). A lot of people may not have heard of Adrian before; he trains a small string in County West Meath and he’s formed a good team with Robson Aguiar. They’ve had great success in the last 18 months with the Amo Racing horses.
Bucanero Fuerte won his maiden in the Curragh back in March and he’s progressed at a rapid rate since then, finishing third at Royal Ascot behind River Tiber and he’s won twice since then. He has to be up there now as one of the top juveniles of the year, along with River Tiber, so it’s a fantastic story for the small stable of Adrian Murray.
There was a huge crowd at the Curragh. Well done to the Irish National Bookmakers Association who sponsored the day. There was free entry and it was a great success.
In the last 18 months it just seems like the tide has turned as Sunday always used to be the big racing day in Ireland. There was also a rescheduled race meeting on Sunday at the Curragh, but it was quiet compared to Saturday’s meeting.
200 up for Dylan Browne McMonagle
Well done to Dylan Browne McMonagle who rode his 200th winner over the weekend. He’s a lovely kid and a brilliant rider.
He was a graduate from the pony racing ranks and his first success was only in 2019. He bagged his first Group 1 last year with Al Riffa in the National Stakes, so he’s risen to the top in a short space of time. He obviously works very hard, as anyone who’s involved in Joseph O’Brien’s operation would have to. We wish him continued success going forward.
Dingle Races
The Dingle Derby was won by a horse called Caro Quintero, who is owned and trained by Maurice Ahern from Mallow in County Cork and he was ridden by 14-year-old Dylan O’Connor. Dylan is a son of well-known Point-to-Point rider Mikey ‘The Bale’ O’Connor.
Dylan is a name to look out for going forward. It’ll be a couple of years before he sets foot on the racetrack proper, so I’m sure with the experience he gets going pony racing it will stand him in good stead. We look forward to seeing him progress through the ranks.
Ladies Shergar Cup success
We have to say well done to the Ladies team of Hayley Turner, Hollie Doyle and Saffie Osborne winning the Shergar Cup. Fair play to them, between them they rode four winners on the card and it was great to see.
I’m a big fan of the Shergar Cup. It’s a great competition and a chance to see top jockeys from all over the world in action. I would imagine the logistics of putting it together are not easy, so credit is due to the Ascot team for putting it on each year and getting those big names to come over. I think there was about 25,000 people in Ascot and it looked like the meeting was a great success.
Looking forward to Tramore
The Tramore four-day August Festival kicks off on Thursday. Tramore is a seaside racetrack in County Waterford and if you haven’t been it’s definitely worth a trip. There’s always exciting racing and the atmosphere is brilliant. If you go to Tramore you also have to have fish and chips in Dooly’s Fish & Chip shop.
Owen Byrne is the boss man at Tramore Racecourse and we wish him and all his team all the best for the coming four days.
PAT
