Doubles for trainer David O’Meara, and riders Daniel Tudhope and Jason Hart punctuated a sunny and breezy afternoon at Ripon yesterday as the course enjoyed the twelfth fixture of the 16 day season, with 42 runners across the card.
However, the race of the day proved to be the 6f Wilmot-Smith Handicap, which produced a scintillating finish in which Sean Kirrane brought Mister Sox from near last to first in the final furlong to beat the Jason Hart – ridden Eye of Dubai a head on the line. Favourite Kodiak Thriller was another half length back in third, so the handicapper has good reason to be pleased with his work! The winner, trained at Sherriff Hutton by Tim Easterby is the stable’s tenth winner at Ripon this year.
David O’Meara is enjoying a productive August to date, his double bringing the month’s tally to four, including the Coral Golden Mile, a heritage handicap, at Goodwood on Friday. The two well-backed favourites, first novice Goyard, in the opener, then Tiva in the fillies handicap, brought his seasonal tally to 55.
Goyard, returning to the scene of his maiden success here in mid-July, was more than a match for his four opponents, winning as he liked by a half length in the 5f contest. At 1/3 however, this was a race to watch rather than bet on.
There was plenty left in the tank on Daniel Tudhope’s second winner for O’Meara too. Three year old filly Tiva showed good pace from the off in the 5f Weatherbys Bloodstock Pro Handicap, and the 2 3/4l margin over Tina Jackson’s Cheerleader could have been more. Favourite backers were happy with the 13/8 winner, the second of three winning favourites on the card.
Yorkshire – based Tudhope has every reason to be chipper presently. This double followed Group I success at Deauville on Sunday and his appetite for rides is to be admired, averaging around 600 per season. He has been the North’s leading rider on no less than 4 occasions.
There’s not always a wealth of expensively purchased horses at Ripon, but one such marked punters’ cards for the future in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Novice Stakes. Dandana, a Blue Point filly, has done nothing wrong in two outings to date, winning at Kempton before running in again here in determined style, having led from the start. Harry Davies kept the filly a half length ahead of the chasing pack, where the race for second place resulted in a dead-heat between favourite Pearl Fortune and Edward Bethell’s Rogue Temptation, who would have delivered a third winner for Daniel Tudhope.
The winner has an entry for the Group II Lowther Stakes at York on August 21, where, on the face of it, she merits a chance to step up in class for Simon & Ed Crisford.
Two handicaps made up the final two races, the first over 1m 2f, the second 1m, providing Jason Hart with a short-priced double for two different trainers.
Five yar old Spioradalta is already well travelled, this being a fifth career success in 37 outings. To those that say horses are racing against their will, the Mark Walford – trained gelding can re-educate. Keen as mustard, he came back like a bullet, breaking first and never headed. Dawn of Liberation and Poet’s Dawn both came at him in the closing stages and he held them both off to win by a half length.
Hart had to work harder for the final winner of the day on a juvenile you may well see hurdling later in the autumn. The rider had Precious Spartan up with the pace from the off of the delightfully named Bowel Cancer Screening Saves Lives Handicap, and picked off challengers one after another to beat the Easterby challenger Perfidia 3/4l. Trainer Patrick Neville is sparing with his flat runners, a more familiar sight at jumps tracks. However, his infrequent outings to our flat venues can be very rewarding with a one of four strike rate this season.
