Casey, Mullins are the stars at Ballinrobe

RISING star David Casey the soon to be crowned claiming champion, brought his tally to 21 winners for the season with a comfortable double on the Willie Mullins trained pair of Lady of Tara and Betterbebob at Ballinrobe yesterday.

Casey had little to do on either winner with 7 to 1 chance Lady Of Tara going clear from the second last to win the first division of the Rathcarren Maiden Hurdle by IS lengths.

The well backed 6 to 4 favourite Betterbebob was always holding Persian Mystic from the final flight in the Corrib Maiden Hurdle and she will be part of the Mull ins team at Punchestown.

Sandwiched between his winners, 20 year old Casey had to settle for second place behind Letterlee on Lady Quayside, which having led before the last, eventually went down by three parts of a length.

Mullins completed the treble and rode a valuable winner himself when even money favourite Three Scholars was awarded the River Robe Flat Race in the stewards room.

After a lengthy inquiry, the gambled on West Leader, backed from 7 to 2 to 9 to 4, was disqualified after he had bumped the favourite over a furlong from home.

As Mull ins retires from race riding at the end of this season he hopes to bow out as champion amateur and he moved to within one winner of Frances Crowley with this success.

Another well regarded rider is Dessie McDonogh's 16 year old son Declan, who rode his first winner of the year on 8 to 1 chance Texas Friday in the Innishmaine Handicap.

Leading before the straight, the Pat O'Leary trained Texas Friday beat Legal And Tender by two lengths, giving McDonogh the third winner of his career.

Both Tommy Stack and Jason Behan got off the mark for the season when 16 to 1 shot Blending Element swept past JJ Baboo close home to win the Claremorris Maiden.

. Norman Conqueror was put down on Wednesday only hours after undergoing an operation on a cracked near fore knee sustained in Monday's Jameson Irish Grand National. Vets successfully pinned his knee but a rare post operative complication called radial paralysis set in and there was no option but to put him down.

"It will be very difficult to replace a horse like Norman Conqueror especially in the public eye. He'd won his last three races and although an 11 year old did not have many miles on the clock," said his trainer, Tim Thomson Jones.