Vocarium (left) challenges Jack Dillinger (centre) after the last© Photo Healy Racing
The pressure was on Peter Fahey as his mother Maureen went racing for the first time in many years at Gowran Park this afternoon, and the Monasterevin trainer came up trumps when saddling Vocarium to land the Racing Again Tomorrow Maiden Hurdle.
Davy Russell set a searching pace on 4/5 favourite Jack Dillinger in this two-mile event but Vocarium made gradual progress to challenge approaching the final flight.
Roger Loughran ’s mount got a nice run up the far rail on the run-in to head the odds-on chance in the closing stages to score by three quarters of a length at odds of 4/1. Turbine was a further three lengths back in third, while Generalisation could find no more after the last to finish back in fourth.
Fahey said, “It probably wasn’t the strongest of maiden hurdles. We always felt he’d be better when stepped up in trip and he showed that today as he was a bit outpaced early and his jumping got better as it went along.
“He’s not too ground dependent and he’ll go on soft and tip away over the winter. We’ll step him up to two-and-a-half-mile novice races now and see what he’s like.
“My mother hasn’t been racing in about ten years and she came today so she put added pressure on all of us. She told Roger he had no instructions only to go out and win. He carried them out perfectly!
“She’s had loads of horses in training and loves her racing. She’s always watching Attheraces and follows all of us. She puts more pressure on me than any of the owners in the yard!”
