Athlumney Lad makes the day for Meade

Leopardstown Report:With the winter game looming, Athlumney Lad's 16 to 1 success in the November Handicap was an appropriate one for the champion jumps trainer Noel Meade as flat racing on grass in Ireland finished up for the year at Leopardstown yesterday.

There was even more symmetry to the result, however, as Meade's other runner, the favourite Orbit O'Gold, finished third, repeating a first and third for the trainer in the big handicap chase at Cork just minutes before.

Meade's heart had barely stopped racing after Mattock Ranger's narrow victory at Cork when its tempo probably increased again with a vengeance as Orbit O'Gold met with trouble in running on the turn into the straight.

However, while Johnny Murtagh negotiated his way out of that, Athlumney Lad sailed up on the outside to grab control of the race and hold off Majestic Concorde's late thrust by a neck.

"The other fella was unlucky on the bend but the winner has been a very lucky horse," Meade said. "He has a real choppy action but he seems to love that ground. The faster they went, the better he likes it."

Conditions then were ideal since the final time of three minutes and 23 seconds was almost 12 seconds faster than last year's time and reflected the unseasonal speed of the going.

The legendary Vincent O'Brien watched on TV from his home in Straffan as Lord Admiral secured just the fourth success of his busy career in the Listed Knockaire Stakes, where Michael Kinane's mount beat Excelerate by a length.

"I think that brings his prizemoney total up to about $650,000 which is not bad for a horse who's won just four times," said Charles O'Brien, whose plan to campaign the six-year-old in the USA again this past autumn had to be scrapped when Lord Admiral scoped badly.

"He went on his holidays, but then the weather changed and we brought him back into training," the trainer added.

"It was a fair performance to give five pounds to those horses. We will think about Dubai for him again although I thought it was more competitive over there this year than in previous years - and it will probably be more competitive again in 2008."

Alessandro Volta broke his maiden at the third time of asking, and earned some 33 to 1 quotes for next year's Epsom Derby, when justifying strong market support in the Listed Eyrefield Stakes over nine furlongs.

Séamus Heffernan secured a run up the inside of his stable companion Hindu Kush early in the straight and the Montjeu colt strode away to a two-length victory over The Fist Of God.

It was a step up on Alessandro Volta's previous third to Moiqen at Navan, and Heffernan said: "I was disappointed with him at Navan. They went too slow and he wants to go a trip. But I do like him. He's a big horse with a good attitude and he's coming along."

Heffernan was also successful on the odds-on Ballydoyle runner Halfway To Heaven, but she had to be driven out to hold Charlotte Bronte by a head in a tight finish to the seven-furlong fillies' maiden.

Another jockey in double form was Danny Grant, and the Waterford-born rider was not surprised by Prince Shaun's winning debut in the colts maiden when just holding off Mourinho in a desperate finish.

"He's been working well and would be the best two-year-old I've ridden at Pat Flynn's," Grant said of the €105,000 purchase at the Goresbridge breeze-up sales.

He doubled up in the mile handicap, where the favourite, Mojito Royale, showed a fine turn of foot in the straight and gained enough to hold Monteriggioni's late run by half a length.

Observation Post was a disappointing favourite for the premier nursery, having a troubled run from the start and not helping his chance by pulling.

Even given a perfect passage, however, he would have been hard pressed to cope with the consistent Bunsen Burner and David Moran, who powered to a three- length victory. The last race of the turf season fell in some style to Do The Trick, but he will now concentrate on hurdling and therefore won't be taking part in any of the six all-weather fixtures at Dundalk between now and the new official end of the season, on December 7th.