By the HRI
Bryan Cooper got off the mark for the new National Hunt season when partnering the Ray Hackett-trained Happy Jacky to win the two-mile six-furlong handicap hurdle at Killarney on Monday. Owned and bred by Paddy Ryan, the 7/1 chance scored with a little more in hand the one-length winning margin might suggest and connections will aim the eight-year-old at a handicap hurdle over the same distance at the Galway festival.
Gearoid Brouder credited County Offaly trainer Joseph Murray with his first winner when scoring a cosy success on Mass Gathering in the near six-furlong claiming race at Sligo on Tuesday. The 25/1 chance skipped clear early inside the final furlong to beat the Denis Hogan-trained Royal Tribute by a length and a half in the colours of the Lios Dearg Partnership. The third-place Eglish was the only horse claimed out of the race and Murray commented, “That’s my first winner. I worked for George Webb for five years before getting my own licence. I’m based in Belmount in Offaly which is good football and hurling country. I have a small team of horses there. I thought she had a chance this evening. She ran a couple of crackers at the Curragh and she’s just been coming to hand.”
