Cieran Fallon made the most of a group of small field races at Ripon on Tuesday, scoring a treble to take his career winners to 450. On a cloudy evening, just 36 runners made up the six race card.
The evening began with a 4 runner field of impeccably bred 2 year olds in a 6f Novice event. Three of the four were making their racecourse debut, and their inexperience showed. Three weakened toward the close, whilst the winner, Al Shaham, from the stable of Simon & Ed Crisford, was slowly away, but once into his stride, showed good stamina and speed to justify his 2/5 favourite tag under Harry Davies.
Fallon made good on the first of his three rides of the evening in the second, a 6f nursery, where he rode A’AliG for Charlie Clover. The Newmarket handler has a small stable which has fielded 13 individual runners to date this term, of which 6 are winners. A’AliG has been narrowly beaten in races at Windsor and Bath since winning a Goodwood seller in early June, and was well supported. He needed all Fallon’s help to beat Sioux Perfect half a length to reassure favourite backers with a second consecutive jolly in the winner’s enclosure.
Fallon’s happy evening continued 30 minutes later, with the first of two winners for the William Haggas stable. The three year old filly has taken her time to find a winning streak, but finally, things came her way in the 1m4f 3 year olds handicap. Prominent from the off, she took it up 2 out, and held on by 3/4l.
The second leg of the Haggas double was an altogether more straightforward affair, Abloom losing her maiden tag after second place finishes at HQ and Yarmouth these past 5 weeks. Taking a keen hold, she had something in hand at the close over the early leader, when overturning the favourite, Renewal by 3 1/4l at the line. Time for Fallon to hit the road on the schlep back to Newmarket – job done.
Meantime, it was Ripon business as usual in the preceding Michael Chapman Memorial Handicap, a 5f dash. Tim Easterby brought up his ninth Ripon victory this term with five year old Canaria Queen, who had 3/4l to spare over Bryan Smart’s Arlington at the line, under Duran Fentiman. On an evening for favourite backers, this 7/2 favourite was the third of four to go in. Third placed Ziva’s Star didn’t enjoy the smoothest of runs and may be worth looking out for.
Homeland concluded the evening with a finish almost as thrilling as the US espionage thriller TV series starring Claire Danes and Damian Lewis. Connor Beasley had the Michael Dods – trained maiden well up with the pace throughout, and was scrubbing away from two out, but the effort was justified, as the gelding wore down Madrigal Moment to compound the bookies’ miserable evening for the fourth winning favourite at 5/4, the winning margin a neck.
