Rock y’s Howya hits sevent h heaven on highway to the top

RO CKY’S HOWYA is makinga bo ldbid to be cr ow ne d champion pointer and Declan Qu ea lly’s ge ldin g ma intaine d hisunbe at en re cord be tw ee n thefl ag s by posti ng a se ve nt h su cce ss in the Fi tzge ra ld Familyopenfornovice riders.

A fin e fourthin Cheltenh am ’s Hu nt ers ’C ha se , Rock y’s Ho wy a wa s bounce d ou t inhiscustomar y fron tru nnin g styl e by firs t- time partnerAlan O’Sullivan.

Th e se ve n-y ear-old, re pr ese nt in g Ma rga re t Ki el y from Du ng ar va n, bo und ed cle ar be for e the lastfe nc e tobe at Dashing Perk by ninelengths.

“He’sa cracking good horse andtheplanisto ma ke him champion pointerthis season,” Qu eal ly’s so n,als o Dec lan , said. “HeleadsLa Feline by one nowasshe’s onsix wins.

“He’ll be entered intheopen herenext Sundayandthenthe wi nn ers’ ra ceforhor se s who were maidens at the startofthe season,whichtakesplacehere thefollowing Sunday.”

Mi ck Go ffand Mi ke y Sw ee ne y combine d for a double, thepairopening their accoun t wi th newcomer Fo rtunate Ma n inth e Go ffs Pu nches to wn Sa lefour-y earold geldings’ maiden.

Fo rt un at e Ma n ma de smoothprogr e s s frommiddivisionto ov er tak e Gh ost Hunter after tw o ou t. Th e so n of So ldie r Of Fo rt un e then unleasheda potent turn of foot fromthelasttocontainhis rival by tw o le ng ths , thepair re tu rnin g 12 len gths clea r of thirdhomeProfessor Klump.

“He’s been exceptionalfrom dayone,” Goff saidof Fortunate Man,whose unraced damis a siste r to Grade 3 hu rd les winner Jenkins. “Pat McCarthy, who ow nshim wi thme , wa s away on holiday last weekand we sa id then wewoul d wa it a week to runhim He’ll be sold now.”

Goffand Sweeney were then onthe ma rk wi th Do uble Di gi ts inthe Ta ttersal lsNH five-year-old maiden.

Ab se nt si n ce finishi ng secondonhisdebut atKinsale in Oc tob er, Do ubleDigits ma dehis wa y tothefron t beforethe lastto seeoffPrimoz by four len gthsinthesilks of the handler ’s wife Catriona.

Do ubl e Digit s, who se da m wasGroup3placedonthe Flat, wa s quicklyadde d as a wildcard to tomorrow’s TattersallsCheltenham April sale.

Th e me eti ng op ened wi th the Honeysucklefour-year-old mares’ maiden, run inhonour of He nr y deBr omhea d’s st ar ma re wh o tookth i sin2018 , andthe Pa ulPie rc e-tr aine d Be llasBrid ge ma de a tak in g debutunder Sean Staples.

Th e Te le sc op e ma re go t on topfromthelast to beat fellow We xford-traine d de bu tan te True Te st imon y by th re e quartersofalength.

Laoi S At Stra Dbally Su Nday

“She’s our bestfour-year-old fillyan d sheba tt le d ha rd ther e,” Pier ce ’s br o ther Andy sa idofthe Bl ackhal l stabl es partnership- ow ne d wi nner,a £10,000acquisition at las t May’s Tattersalls Ascot sale.

Alan Ahern’ s Mi stymal ste pp ed up f ro m his fo urth at Ba ll yk noc k 11 days earlier by wi nnin g the Ra thbar ry & Glenview Studs maiden,a race restrictedto handlerswho have nottraine d te n wi nner s, and whic h ca me wi th a €1,500 bonustothe winning owner.

Mi st ymal, re pr esen tin g the ha ndl er ’s si ster- in- l aw No ra h Ahern,tookup the running four ou t for Jo hn ny Ba rr y to den y Wet The Shamrock by a length

Th e Hi ber n ia n Ho tel & Dairygold Co-Opolder maiden sawtheclosestfinishofthe day wi ththe David Ba rr y-traine d Flemens Intrest leading from the lastunde r Da rrag h Allen , andholdin g on va liantlyto deny River Vale by ashort head inthecolours ofbreeder John Cotter from Rathcormac.