RACING NAVAN REPORT:DONNAS PALM advertised the "horses for courses" theory with a vengeance at Navan yesterday when he secured victory in the Grade Two Flyingbolt Novice Chase for his political masters.
Owned by the dozen members of the Grand Alliance Racing Club, including former taoiseach Brian Cowen, Donnas Palm made it five wins from five at Navan with a thrilling head defeat of Foildubh.
The high-class grey, who has now won 11 races from 28 starts, was welcomed back by some of his cross-party owners including ex-cabinet minister Noel Davern and former TDs GV Wright and Liam Cosgrave.
Trainer Noel Meade, however, immediately poured cold water on suggestions of Donnas Palm going to Cheltenham in just over three weeks despite the horse getting 50 to 1 quotes for the RSA Chase on the back of yesterday’s 8 to 1 win. “He’s not going to Cheltenham and he probably isn’t good enough for a Powers Gold Cup. He probably isn’t a Grade One horse. But I couldn’t believe his price and I told the lads to back him. This race was a grade down from what he’d been running in,” Meade said.
“There’s no doubt he’s a bit of a lad and the blinkers helped him. But he had a chance on ratings and he had been running in very good company,” he added.
Donnas Palm’s jockey Davy Condon got a seven-day ban for his use of the stick on the winner.
Punters got it badly wrong in the Ladbrokes Boyne Hurdle as Willie Mullins saddled a one-two, but with Mourad proving much too good for his 4 to 11 stable companion Mikael D’Haguenet.
Ruby Walsh brought the favourite through to challenge at the second last but Mourad quickened away from the front to score decisively and see his World Hurdle odds cut to 14 to 1.
“He’d been disappointing me all season, not himself at all, so we changed tactics and he seemed to enjoy leading,” Mullins said.
“Mikael was disappointing I have to say. He ran below par. Maybe he’s incubating a cold, we’ll have to see. Or maybe the other fella is finding his form,” he added.
Not surprisingly there were no Cheltenham odds floating about after the Grade Two Ten Up Chase won by the 50 to 1 outsider Lion Na Bearnai.
Trainer Tom Gibney was using yesterday’s race as a warm-up for a handicap back at the track in a fortnight’s time and hadn’t even considered the idea of the oldest horse in the race winning.
However jockey Andrew Thornton pounced on the run to the last to lead and though he was passed by the Gigginstown Stud pair, Start Me Up and Four Commanders, on the run-in, Lion Na Bearnai rallied to win by three parts of a length.
“I can’t believe it. He was fit and well but we were looking at a handicap,” Gibney explained.
“Hopefully the handicapper realises the others were way below form.”
Thornton received a five-day ban for his use of the whip on the winner while Davy Russell, riding Four Commanders to second place, received a two-day ban for the same charge.
Tennis Cap started a warm favourite for the opening maiden hurdle but could manage only third behind the 14 to 1 winner Oconnells Pike who scored for local trainer Gillian Callaghan.
“The two miles suited and so did the ground drying out,” she said.
The newcomer Defy Logic went for home in the bumper before the straight but only Sizing Gold was able to overhaul him to score in the Sizing Europe colours for Henry De Bromhead.
“We always liked him and he just got a little tired on his first run,” the Co Waterford trainer said.
“He’s a fine, scopey, chasing sort and the smart thing would be to put him out in a field now.”
