Fresh from his 2,000 Guineas success on King Of Kings, Michael Kinane teamed up with Dermot Weld for a double at Navan yesterday which continued the Curragh trainer's blistering start to the season.
Neither Archive Footage nor Bold Raparee may be in the King Of Kings class but classic aspirations are held for Bold Raparee, and after the Bob Back colt won the opener Weld declared him a likely runner in the Italian Derby.
Weld has already won Italy's premier classic with In A Tiff, and Bold Raparee has travelled to Italy already in his career, having run in two Group races there last autumn.
There are no such exotic plans for Archive Footage, who brought his winning total in Ireland in 1998 to five with an ultimately comfortable defeat of Generous Lady in the EBF Race.
Another jockey on the double was David Casey, who won the maiden hurdle on Back To The Nest and then earned the praise of trainer Tom Taaffe when guiding Mr Baxter Basics to a nine-length defeat of Merry Gale in the Flower Hill Handicap Chase. "There's no jockey better who can do 9st 7lb," said Taaffe.
The £20,000 McManus Hunters Chase ended with Wilbar beating Elegant Lord, but the post-race focus was on Tony Costello's mount Miners Lady who had unseated her rider at the second fence.
Miners Lady did a circuit of the track riderless but was then remounted by Costello, who proceeded to jump the rest of course on her. By the time the pair had past the post, however, the judge Brendan Sheridan had left his box and Miners Lady didn't qualify for the third placed prizemoney of £2,000.
Costello was not happy but the stewards decided that the judge had waited a reasonable length of time for finishers and had acted within the rules.
The £25,000 Murphys Irish Stout Handicap Hurdle at Killarney on Sunday could be next on the agenda for the Austin Leahytrained Sea Fisher, who ran out a convincing winner of the Patrickswell Handicap at Limerick.
Sea Fisher's rider, Fran Berry, made it a double in the following race, the Pat Keogh Nissan Maiden, Hurdle, when Mantles Prince easily landed the odds.
"He will probably go for a flat maiden at Clonmel next week," said trainer Pat Hughes.
Jason Maguire (18) has now ridden 18 winners this season after Altregan Boy took the Cnoc Glas Handicap Hurdle by five lengths and Dante's Moon made it double for him by recording a hard earned success in the Ballygeale Handicap Hurdle.
Jockey Terry Mitchell landed a double at Down Royal and in doing so he deprived Tony Dobbin of a winner on his first ride at an Ulster racetrack.
Dobbin appeared to be heading from victory when riding Gravity Gate, the 4 to 5 favourite, in the Isuzu Governors Cup Beginners' chase, but with only a few strides to go to the post, Mitchell urged Dangan Lad through on the stands rails to win by a head.
