Romeo Coolio could be the next Doyle superstar

NO T for the firs t time

Donnchadh Doyle looks to have used the Tattersalls NH and Canavan’s Bar & Lounge fo ur-y ear-ol d ma id en to introduce a potentially smart youngster and Romeo Coolio is the latest to do so

Mu lti ple Gr ade d-r ace winners Topofthegame and Farouk D’Alene won the 2016 and 2019 races respectively and confidence was high that the British-bred would do likewise in 2023.

Star performance

Romeo Coolio could have a big future after a dominant debut victory the maidens for youngsters as the €90,000 purchase Hens Tooth kept going best of all in an attritional Jim Derwin Equestrian five- and six-yearold geldings’ maiden. neck in a thrilling finish to the Wi lli am Do nnellan MFH winners-of-two.

Bellharbour winner Asian Master proved to be a tough nut to crack in the home straight and ultimately held on to su pply ri der Th om as Costello with the second success of his career on his only ride on the card when he teamed up with regular ally Willie Murphy to land the Leonard Group fiveand six-y ear-old ma re s’ maiden on Followango odds-on favourite at the line Th e ma rk et als o sp ok e favourably of Incognito Fatal in the Ire-Well Pallets Ltd five and six-year-old geldings’ maiden and his supporters collected as Walsh completed his double when guiding the Network gelding to a onelength defeat of Captain Butler

Brian Lawless never had a moment’s concern on the odds-on favourite, a €92,000 Derby sale graduate, as he breezed to a five-length defeat of fellow newcomer Nowwhatdoyouthink

“His homework was very good and it was lovely for him to come here and do that,” Doyle said. “Brian was mad about him He got a great feel off him and Romeo Coolio will now go off to the sales.”

It proved to be a day for following expensive stores in

Just three of the 11 runners completed the strongly run con te st and He ns To oth stepped up from his Oldtown debut fourth to beat a muchimproved Magic Sadler by two and a half lengths

Tipperar y handler Sam Curling said. “He’s a lovely horse and he is going to develop into a lovely staying chaser.”

Half an hour earlier Hens Tooth’s rider Derek O’Connor came close to winning on Now Is The Hour, a horse he also trains, but was denied by a

KILWORTH & ARAGLEN AT KNOCKANOHILL SUNDAY

THERE’S nothing like winning on home turf and Darragh

Allen sent his local followers home happy from Knockanohill after landing a sparkling three-timer

Allen, who hails from just three miles from the course at Ballinmadock in the parish of Araglen, got the ball rolling on the Pa t Cr ow le y-tr aine d newcomer Fiveafterfour in the Ga in Eq uin e Nu tr itio n, Dairygold & KDC Ltd five-yearold -and-up wa rd s ma re s’ maiden.

Fiveafterfour was bounced out at the head of the field and made virtually all the running. The daughter of Flemensfirth had most of her rivals on the stretch three out before forging clear on the ascent after two out to dismiss Lorna Yeats by eight lengths

“She’s a mare I’ve always been delighted with and the plan had been to jump off in front,” Crowley said.

Fiveafterfour was bought by Austin Curran as a foal and the Du ng ar va n-bas ed hardware merchant shares her with handler Crowley’s wife Hazel.

The 28-year-old jockey then teamed up with his brother Sean Allen to win the Jimmy Linehan, The Swallow Inn & McCarthy Insurance Group

Adam Ryan also left the Galway venue with a 100 per cent record for the day as his trip from Killenaule was richly re wa rd ed whe n s te er in g Ahaknowyerself to success in the Tim Kelly Group older maiden for his uncle Andy Slattery.

The seven-year-old has long been knocking on the door of a breakthrough success and he followed up six placed finishes by getting the better of the less experienced Artic Weather by four lengths, with a winners’ race next on his agenda

Th e re ig ni ng we stern champion Pa King enhanced his claims of retaining the title

A first horse the Carlow handler has trained for ownerbreeder Patrick McCarthy, the Ocovango mare gamely held off the favourite Fine As Wine to make a winning debut by half a length

“She was good there; she did all she had to do and she has pleased us from day one,” Murphy said. “She’s a good mare to gallop and jump and she got a great ride from the front.”

Miss Carli Fay was another to benefit from front-running tactics when, despite being turned out just seven days after chasing home Baby Shally at Ballycahane, she made all to beat her only rival in the Paul Gilligan Racing adjacent maiden.

The one-and-a-half-length victory was a first success of the season for Claregalway handler Gerard Kyne