Charlie Swan brought his score for the season to 37 with a double at Fairyhouse yesterday. The highlight for the champion was yet another victory for the remarkably-consistent Colm's Rock in the Rossmore Hurdle, but for punters, it was Colm's Rock's starting price of evens that really took the eye.
The Aidan O'Brien-trained six year old opened at 4 to 6 in the market, which seemed to reflect his dominance on the book, but with a trickle of money for Welsh Grit, and one of racing's inexhaustable supply of rumours that all was not quite right with the favourite, Colm's Rock drifted right out.
When Three Rivers led by a distance at half way, it appeared that events might indeed conspire against Colm's Rock, but sadly it was Welsh Grit who felt fate's full effect. Willie Mullins's smart handicapper shattered a leg before the third last and had to be put down.
Up front, Colm's Rock overhauled the tiring Three Rivers after the second last and did as he was entitled to in winning his ninth race of the year (seven over flights and two on the flat) by five-and-a-half lengths.
Swan had earlier scored in the Chestnut Handicap Chase on Jack Yeats who jumped well to beat Random Prince by eight lengths, but this contest also had a fatality when No Tag, winner of the 1995 Galway Hurdle, fell and injured a shoulder four out and had to be put down.
Jack Yeats was a welcome winner for trainer Ger Lyons, however, and he said: "It's been a long time coming for this horse, but this shows it was quite a good race he was in at Down Royal on Saturday."
Kevin Prendergast continued his good recent run when Hasanat won the opening maiden for owner Sheikh Hamdan.
"I can go back to Goffs now and have a cup of tea with the boss!" joked the Curragh trainer after Stephen Craine delayed his challenge just long enough for the idling-in-front Hasanat to win by half a length.
Prendergast and Craine had to settle for second in the following Clonalvey Handicap when the fast finishing Dilgent Dodger failed to catch Alarme Belle, while Jamie Spencer, who starts a suspension at the weekend, took the Palmerstown Handicap on Lady Oranswell.
With the powerful assistance of Kieren Fallon, Special Treat battled on strongly to keep Inchalong at bay by a head to win the Equity Financial Collections Nursery at York yesterday. The victory put the jockey - now almost certain to be the champion - on the 173 mark for the season. Fallon stretched his lead in the jockeys' table to 18 when galvanising Celestial Choir to victory in the Stonegate Limited Stakes.
The mare looked in trouble coming into the straight but the persistent Fallon pushed her into the reckoning in the final furlong and she forged clear close home to defeat Hoh Express by three-and-a-half lengths.
Les Eyre, Celestial Choir's trainer, said of Fallon: "He's shown just why he will be champion jockey this year and for many years to come. He gives every horse a ride."
