On the back of a fine two days at Fairyhouse, Jack Kennedy was again the big winner in the jockeys’ room over the weekend as he rode six winners across the two days for trainer Gordon Elliott. Elliott landed yet another treble with winners shared with Kennedy and Cork’s Michael Kenneally at Navan on Saturday. The Kerryman was in the saddle as the 4/1 chance Road Exile gave Elliott his first of the day in the two-mile maiden hurdle. The Gigginstown House Stud-owned five-year-old made all the running to beat Willie Mullins’ 100/30 shot Copacabana by three-parts of a length. Kenneally rode his first winner for Elliott when partnering the Bective Stud-owned Gringo D’aubrelle to capture the €100,000 Listed Bective Stud Tea Rooms & Apartments Handicap Hurdle in fine style. The gambled-on 6/1 shot led before the second-last hurdle and raced away to win by all over seven lengths from the Peter Fahey-trained 15/2 shot Koori Star. Kennedy completed the trainer’s treble with an easy winner of his own on the JP McManus-owned Down Memory Lane in the listed two and a half-mile handicap chase. A 7/2 shot, the seven-year-old hardly came off the bridle as he scored by a length and a half from his own stable companion Search For Glory, a 5/1 chance ridden by James Smith.
Having shared four winners at Fairyhouse on the previous Sunday, Kennedy and Elliott repeated the trick at Cork seven days on. Their day was highlighted by the success of the Bective Stud-owned Found A Fifty in the Grade 2 Bar 1 Betting Hilly Way Chase, a first win in the race for both trainer and jockey. The 4/1 shot backed up his victory in the Fortria Chase at Navan last month when readily seeing off Willie Mullins’ error-prone 4/6 favourite Majborough by a length and a half with the champion trainer’s Energumene seven and a half lengths back in third place. A little earlier, Elliott and Kennedy had won the Grade 2 Coolmore NH Irish EBF Mares Novice Chase with the five-year-old Kala Conti. In the Robcour colours, the 11/4 chance led after the third-last fence and drew clear at the last to win by all of 16 lengths from Mullins’ 5/6 favourite Kargese. Their day had begun with wins in both divisions of the two-mile maiden hurdle. The Robcour-owned Lord Rouge, a 100/30 chance, got the better of yet another Mullins-trained hotpot in the opening leg. He scored by a length and three-quarters from the 8/11 favourite Dani Donadoni before the 3/1 shot Kazansky won division two by the same margin from Henry de Bromhead’s 11/2 chance Splendid Fellow.
Upcoming Fixtures
Punchestown – Tuesday, December 9 (First race 11.50am)
Dundalk – Wednesday, December 10 (First race 3.45pm)
Dundalk – Friday, December 12 (First race 5.15pm)
Fairyhouse – Saturday, December 13 (First race 12.02pm)
Navan – Sunday, December 14 (First race 11.50am)
