Curragh Report: It would be pushing things to say that Wayne Lordan lit up the opening day of the 2006 Flat season at the Curragh yesterday but he was definitely the jockey in form with a double that included the Group Three Park Express Stakes on Danehill Music.
In fairness to the 23-year-old Cork-born rider, neither God nor man could have carved a light through the sort of damp murk that made the home of the Classics look more like the home of a particularly testing point-to-point.
Sure enough the heavy conditions looked all against Aidan O'Brien's Chenchikova who started the day as Oaks favourite but ended it being taken out of the Classic betting by some firms after finishing only fourth in the big race.
"She ran well enough and Kieren (Fallon) was happy with her," said O'Brien. "But the ground was desperate." The full-sister to the Derby and Breeders' Cup hero High Chaparral certainly had no answer in the closing stages as Lordan swept to the front on Danehill Music who put two lengths between herself and the runner-up, Utterly Heaven.
"She likes the mud and she will get a mile and a quarter no bother," summed up the winner's trainer David Wachman who appeared pleasantly surprised at the victory. "She's a valuable filly now. We will look at a Guineas Trial now and hopefully it will keep raining!"
Wachman supplied a substantial wedge of Lordan's 41-winner total last year and the jockey received the perfect start to this term from another regular employer, Tommy Stack, who supplied Drayton in the opening juvenile maiden.
"This one isn't too bad but we were worried about the ground. In fact the only reason we ran was because he's a fresh horse and we want to keep on top of him," said Stack's son, Fozzie.
Another young jockey to impress was 20-year-old Shane Gorey who steered Bawaader to an eight-length rout in the ladbrokes.com Lincolnshire.
"Shane rode four winners in Dubai and is riding with confidence. I told him to go for home early because he was on a fit horse with a light weight who likes heavy ground," explained trainer Dermot Weld.
Gorey made the decisive strike over three furlongs out and Our Jaffa and Kalderon never looked like catching him. The favourite Victram stayed on for fifth.
"When you get away on heavy ground you won't get caught if the horse is fit enough. We got first run and maybe the tactics flattered him," Weld added.
Despite the horrible ground conditions, both John Oxx and Michael Kinane got off the mark for the season with the Derby entry King In Waiting who won the concluding maiden by four lengths. "It's hard to know what to make of that because the ground is so bad. But it's a good start to his career and we will find out more in four weeks time in the Ballysax Stakes," Oxx said of the half-brother to Millenary.
It was also hard not to be impressed by Footy Facts who who looked perfectly at home in the conditions and ran out a 20-length winner in the bumper.
Champion jockey Pat Smullen got his campaign off to a winning start as Spring Snowdrop completed a Dermot Weld double in the seven-furlong handicap. The filly battled well to a short-head victory over Misskinta.
Kingsdale Ocean landed the five furlong handicap but trainer Mark Roper is thinking bigger and further for the colt's future.
"He's in the Irish Guineas and we will look at the Leopardstown Guineas Trial for his next race. His brother got a mile and a half and I think this horse needs a much longer trip too," said the local trainer.
