Bryan Cooper has enjoyed a fruitful summer and is already well on target to improve on last season’s Irish tally of 22 winners, which had been his best since the Gold Cup winner recorded 45 in 2016-2017. Cooper was doing the steering when Grange Walk provided the third winner of trainer John Ryan’s Sligo four-timer on Wednesday in the Frank O’Beirne Handicap Chase, taking it up entering the straight and keeping on well to score.
And the Tralee pilot followed up at Downpatrick on Friday when getting the leg up on by local handler Brian Hamilton on Archies Charm in the Northern Ireland On Course Handicap Chase. The son of Shantou was always handy and was asked to exert pressure from six out, keeping on well to prevail by a cosy four and a quarter lengths.
