Despite several counter sporting attractions during the afternoon a bumper crowd turned up at Tipperary yesterday to see light-weight Temony make every yard a winning one in the valuable Tote Exacta Handicap Chase.
Tony Mullins' 4/1 shot jumped big and bold for three pound claimer Ross Geraghty to come home with nine lengths to spare over Sparkey Smith with Carina Bay a further seven lengths adrift in third.
'That was his first run against those handicappers and that was a real jumping performance,' said Mullins before he outlined future plans for the seven-year-old, 'That puts him in the Plate picture. If he got balloted out or anything like that there is one or two other Galway options available.'
Regarding other Ballybrit plans, Mullins revealed that The Baltimore Man will take his chance in the GPT Amateur Handicap while Definite Best will go for the McDonogh Handicap at the big festival meeting which begins on Monday 29th July.
Timber King carried the J. P. McManus colours for the first time in the Betdaq Hurdle and the new partnership reaped handsome dividends when the Christy Roche-trained six-year-old landed the E32,500 winners purse in the hands of Paul Moloney.
His task was eased somewhat when warm 6/4 market leader The Gatherer, also owned by McManus, crashed out at the final flight when beginning to take closer order under Conor O'Dwyer. The Galway Hurdle is next on the agenda for Timber King, formerly owned by Sue Magier.
Nine went to post for the first nursery of the season and the old adage of rowing in with the top-weight in the nursery certainly paid off as Kevin Prendergast's Warrimoo and Pat Cosgrave defeated the well-backed Neeze before then surviving a subsequent stewards enquiry.
Racing opened with Pat Shanahan teaming up with Dermot Weld's Mejhar to defeat a never nearer first reserve The Great Gatsby while Mick Kinane, who rode the runner-up, was seen to better effect later when scoring on Tasmanian Tiger in the nine furlong maiden.
Afterwards Kinane complained about a shoot some eight metres in length protruding out in the line of the runners at the seven furlong marker which contributed to the fall of Dueling B'Anjiz. 'We manged to avoid it but if the ground was slippy we would all have ended up in the ditch,' Kinane said.
The stewards investigated the matter and instructed course manager Peter Roe to draw up a checklist when unprecedented changes to the course take place in future. They also instructed the course manager and clerk of the course to familiarise themselves with such a list prior to future meetings when such changes take place.
Aidan O'Brien, who trains Tasmanian Tiger, intends stepping him up to listed company over a trip ranging from a mile to a mile-and-a-quarter. 'He never got good ground in his life the poor horse but he seemed to act on it there,' remarked O'Brien.
Cool Cousin survived a stewards enquiry to take the fillies handicap for the in-form Mick Halford/Tadgh O'Shea alliance while Gerry Keane and Barry Geraghty combined in the penultimate Willie O'Rouke Memorial Hurdle with 6/1 shot Danaeve.
'I will consider the Galway Plate for this fellow as he's not too badly handicapped over fences,' said Keane of the versatile Danaeve.
