EDDIE AHERN had never set eyes on Laytown before yesterday evening, but he left it having established the sort of relationship with the famous beach that guarantees he will return.
Ahern (19), arrived at the unique fixture as the season's leading apprentice, having ridden 11 winners already. But after a brilliant 74 to 1 treble, he starts today claiming only 2 lb, for his new career total of 51 has cost him his right to claim 4lb.
"I'd never seen the place before but I was told to go straight all the way and I couldn't go wrong," the Templemore-born rider joked after he powered the 14 to 1 shot Moscow's Flame to a head defeat of the favourite My Trivet in the opening Guinness Race.
For punters it was a body blow of a start and left more than one bemoaning the fact that the Mullinavat, Co Kilkenny trainer Michael Holden, on his own first visit to Laytown, got the correct answers when he asked for directions on the way to the track.
For Ahern, though, it was a night to remember. A product of the RACE apprentice centre on the Curragh, he has served his time with trainer Michael Grassick, having first bitten the racing bug riding out for Donald Swan. He is clear in the apprentice table and is a noticeably more polished rider having spent last winter riding out for top US trainer Richard
Mandella in Los Angeles.
That polish was evident on Playprint, who had just a short head to spare in the Perfect Pint Handicap. Attacked on each side by Stephen Craine and Pat Shanahan, on Shamartini and Aurliano respectively, Ahern remained notably cool to put the favourite's nose just in front on the line.
"When Playprint won at Gowran in April he was Eddie's first winner of the season and it's great to have him on again. He's the up and coming man," judged Playprint's trainer Michael Cunningham, who 30 minutes later completed a double of his own, 20 years after his first Laytown winner, when Cable Beach waltzed down the beach to win the qualified riders race at his leisure.
It was rider Gordon Elliot's 19th winner and Cable Beach will continue to mix flat racing with the steeplechasing he is better known for. "Hopefully he'll go for a chase at Galway, where he gave Richard Dunwoody his first Galway festival winner in a hurdle race some years ago. That's Richard Dunwoody's claim to fame," joked Cunningham.
Ahern is likely to have greater claims to fame in the future, but he completed his first treble when More Risk completed a trio of narrow wins for her jockey by just holding off the fast finishing Ma Barnicle by a head in the Guinness Maiden.
More Risk has had her disagreements with starting stalls and the flag start clearly suited her better yesterday. "She's been her own worst enemy out of the stalls but this win is long overdue. She has been placed a few times," said winning trainer Jimmy Coogan of the filly who is currently in foal to Coogan's former smart sprinter, Up And At Em.
For more than a few strides, it looked like Ahern might make it four winners from four rides in the concluding Coca Cola Handicap. His mount, Genial Jenny, was always prominent, but just as the favourite Mountain Rocket began to back pedal and encourage hopes of Ahern's clean sweep, Bolero Dancer and Willie Supple arrived on the scene and swept two-and-a-half lengths clear in the closing stages.
It was Bolero Dancer's fourth win on the Laytown beach, having won at the 1993, 1994 and 1996 meetings. But another course specialist, Jenbro, couldn't cope this time with Dancing Clodagh in the St James Gate Handicap, going down by four lengths.
