Danoli is on course for the £30,000 Kilkenny Irish Beer Champion Chase, the highlight of the three-day Kilkenny Racing Festival which takes place at Gowran Park from October 14th-16th.
Tom Foley reports Danoli as "a little more than 50 per cent fit at this stage, and it's all systems go for Gowran Park."
The Festival meeting boasts a total prize fund of just under £200,000, while other attractions in the area include golf, greyhound racing and a host of social gatherings, notably a "Racing Forum" at Langtons in Kilkenny featuring Brough Scott, Willie Mullins, Bob Champion and Charlie Swan.
Meanwhile, John Murtagh took a step closer to gaining his third flat jockeys' championship yesterday at the scenic midlands track when partnering Renge to victory in the featured Denny Cordell Lavarack Memorial EBF Fillies Race.
The daughter of Generous led a furlong out in the 11 runner event, and kept on strongly to beat the 11 to 8 favourite Darina by three quarters of a length. "She will make a nice broodmare, and we will try to win a Listed race before the end of the season," said winning trainer John Oxx.
Island Of Dreams showed an abundance of stamina to take the three-mile Gowran Handicap Hurdle under David Casey, and trainer Martin Brassil revealed afterwards that the six-year-old mare will turn out again at the Curragh tomorrow where she will be ridden by his niece Aislinn Malone in a charity race.
Curragh trainer Frank Ennis belatedly opened his account for the season when Trojan Bridge headed favourite Pink Coral well inside the final furlong to score by half a length in the EBF Fillies Maiden.
