Jack Kennedy made a fine start to the new week when riding two of Gordon Elliott’s three winners at Fairyhouse on Tuesday. The pair comfortably won the opening two races on the card with the Tim O’Driscoll-owned Harmonya Maker taking the mares’ maiden hurdle by all of 18 lengths. The 7/4 chance made most of the running and was far too strong for the Gavin Cromwell-trained 10/11 favourite Law Ella on her seasonal and hurdling debut. Kennedy was also in the saddle as Gerri Colombe landed the beginners’ chase in the colours of Robcour. The 6/5 favourite made light of a near 11-month absence as he beat Willie Mullins’ 9/4 chance Bronn by two and three-parts of a length. In the Gigginstown House Stud silks, Search For Glory completed the trainer’s treble in the concluding bumper. Harry Swan had an easy time of it in the saddle as he brought the five-year-old home a four and three-parts of a length winner from the Ellmarie Holden-trained Zaidi at odds of 4/9 favourite.
Gordon Elliott again won the opening two races at Clonmel on Thursday with Kennedy and Davy Russell riding his winners. Kennedy partnered 9/2 chance Landrake to a one and a quarter-length success in the opening two-mile three-furlong maiden hurdle, the five-year-old scoring at the main expense of the Eugene O'Sullivan-trained Corbetts Cross. Russell then stepped in to win the two-mile auction maiden hurdle on 5/1 shot The Four Sixes in the colours of the McNeill and Stone Families. The four-year-old got the better of Henry de Bromhead’s even money favourite Senior Chief by a length and a half.
Bryan Cooper landed a notable success as he partnered the Joseph O'Brien-trained Midnight Run to win the Grade 2 Craddockstown Novice Chase at Punchestown on Saturday. In the colours of Gigginstown House Stud, the eight-year-old made all the running to beat the Gordon Elliott-trained Mars Harper and Davy Russell by an easy nine lengths at odds of 7/4. Cooper completed a double when a winner on another 7/4 chance, this time the race favourite, in the rated novice hurdle. Again he had an easy time of it as The Model Kingdom, trained by Noel Meade, beat the Emmet Mullins-trained 9/4 shot Halibut by four and a quarter lengths. However, Cooper’s brace was eclipsed by a treble for Jack Kennedy. Again, his winners were all trained by Gordon Elliott and the pair took the maiden hurdle with the Robcour-owned 11/8 favourite Absolute Notions and followed up with 8/15 favourite Queens Brook, in the Bective Stud colours, in the Listed Grabel Mares Hurdle. Owned by the Bull On Syndicate, 11/4 favourite Jungle Prose completed the Kennedy treble with a nine length win in the three-mile handicap hurdle. For good measure, Elliott enjoyed a 1-2 in the bumper as 13/8 chance Caldwell Potter and Jamie Codd beat his own stable companion Cardamon Hill, the 6/4 favourite, by seven and a half lengths.
Kennedy and Elliott were also on the score sheet at Punchestown on Sunday where their Cheltenham Festival winner Delta Work just lasted home to win the Risk Of Thunder Chase over the banks’ course. The 4/6 favourite was all out to beat John Walsh’s 40/1 outsider Singing Banjo by a short-head in the colours of Gigginstown House Stud. The intervention of the stewards was needed for Elliott to win the bumper with Cato Capone while the trainer rounded off the weekend with three further winners at Cork on the same afternoon. Bryan Cooper and Noel Meade were also winners at the venue for the second day running as Farceur Du Large won the handicap chase over two miles and six furlongs. Another in the colour of Gigginstown House Stud, the 11/1 chance led before the second last fence and battled away to win by a length and three-quarters from the Seamus Fahey-trained Take All. Monbeg Park gave Cooper another winner as took the two-mile five-furlong maiden hurdle for brothers Sean and Donnchadh Doyle in good style. The 9/4 chance made a mistake at the penultimate flight but recovered to lead at the last and pull away to won by two and three-parts of a length from the Gordon Elliott-trained Will Do and Jack Kennedy.
At Cork on Sunday, the long-standing partnership of Phillip Enright and Robert Tyner were on the mark as Big Debates won the handicap chase over the two-mile trip. The 5/1 chance, owned by Maurice Kelleher, led close to the finish to score by a head from the Joseph O'Brien-trained Embittered, a fourth career success for the nine-year-old.
