O’Su ll ivan double edges her closer to ladies’

A DO UB LE pu t Ma xi ne

O’ Su llivanbac k into po le position in herquestforasixth ladies’title,asshemovedon to the seven-winner mark forthe camp ai gn and,crucially,one wi nner cl ear ofchi ef ri va l Moira McElligott

O’ Su llivanco mb in ed wi th Shark Hanlonforthefirsttime inthe po intin g fields to ki ck st ar t her aft ernoonwhen Sp ea ke r Th omas ga mely madeallofthe running inthe Go ffs Pu nches to wn Sa le adjacent maiden.

Bouncing backfromadisappo intin g displa y at Bo rr is Houselastmonthwhenfailing to ju st ify ma rk et su ppor t, the six-y ear -old pr ov id ed hi s supporters withcompensation ashe be at Ia n McCa rt hy ’s Be lcla re ru nne r- upAr tic Weather by alengthanda half.

“M axine ga ve him a gr ea t, confident rideandthat ’s what

Star performance

thehor se wa nt ed ,” Ha nlon said. “He’ll go forthefarmers’ ra cein Pu nches town He wa s thir d init last ye arandthe ownersarefrom Kildare, so this will puthim rightforit.”

Despite facing the challenge of16 rivals,thevictoryof Littlebig gi e inthe Mc Lo ughlin’s Su per Va lu ma re s’ ma ide n pr ov ed farmor e comfortable for O’Sullivan.

Making her debut at the age of six , theAsk mare proved ina lea gu e of her ow n as Ra y Ha cke tt ’s ba y be at th e va stly mor e experience d six-time place d St ellar Sy mp hon y by sevenlengths.

TheCork rider came withina lengthofaddingathirdvictory toher haulwhen Delta Melody chased home ImperialData in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel sixyear-old geldings’ maiden.

Jo hn Ne ilan’ s Im per ia l Mo na rc h ge ldin g ap prec iate d thedrierconditionsfrequently found at theLaoiscours e, ha vin g be en pu ll ed up in testi ng grou nd at Dro maha ne in December. New ow ners are no w to befo un d af ter Fi nn y Maguire steered himto a onelength success.

Fo cu s Po in t ha d sw ept all beforehim winningthree races in succession by acombined73 lengths,however, he was putin hisplace by Irishdebutant Far

From Ov er inthe Co olrain Concrete winner-of-three

A wi nner of a goo d-grou nd ma iden po in t at Lar khill in February2022whenunderthe ca re of Maurice Li nehan,itis

Li neh an’s br other Brianwho nowtrainsthesix-year-oldand also rodethe Valirann gelding.

The bay tookcontrolon the ap proachtothefinal fence to inflictashock 15-lengthdefeat onthe odds-onfavourite

“We hadhiminthe saleslast ye ar He wo n in Eng landan d wewe re n’tgoin g togiv e him aw ay , so to okhi m home ,” Linehan said.

“If he’s sold,he’s sold,ifnot we’llholdontohim. He’s a big, imm at ur e hor se andhe’ll improve again.”

Local suppor ters had lotsto che er abou t when Snug sboroug h Ha ll str u ck for Mo un trath-based Liam Cusack inthe Nicky& KatieLawlessopen.

A Grade B ha ndic ap ch as e wi nn er at the2019 Pu nchesto wn fes tival,the12- ye ar-old ha d notbe en inactio n si nce finishin g las t in a Ki llarne y handicap hurdlein August

Th e re tu r ntoth e po intin g fiel ds wa s immediatel y re wa rd ed asthe Ro ss Be rr yridden Beneficial gelding beat Br ook sw ay Fa ir a ndhi s fir sttime ri derFrankie Mu rphy by fourlengths.

Th e Ke vin O’Do nnellow ned,bred andtraine d Re d Hugh wastheday’sfirstvisitor tothe winner ’s enclosureashe againproved hislikingfordrier gr ou ndinthe Ta tte rsallsNH five-year-old geldings’ maiden.

Be at en ju st tw o lengths at Ty re llalas t month , Tr oy Wa lsh’s mo un t re tu rne d fiv e lengthsclearofthedeadheatin g pai r Ol iversTr av els and Illegal D’Ainay.

“He’d be en a bit ri ng -rusty, so thefew raceshe hadbrought himonnicely. He hasa lovely at titude;he ’s lik ea ter ri er,” O’ Do nnellsaid “He’sa re ally we ll-rel at ed hor se whocould go anywhere.”