Kilbeggan Lad rises to the challenge

RACING/Listowel report: Denis O'Regan's remorseless rise to the top continued at Listowel yesterday with a comprehensive success on Kilbeggan Lad in the featured Guinness Handicap Hurdle.

The 23-year-old jockey from Youghal in Co Cork really hit the headlines when winning the Galway Plate on Ansar in July but that was simply the most high-profile example of a consistent stream of success. That consistency has been impressing the right people and significantly yesterday's big-race winner was provided by Michael Hourigan.

With a string of almost 100 horses being geared up for the winter campaign, Hourigan is trying to organise riding arrangements and he revealed yesterday that O'Regan and Andrew McNamara will share the majority of the rides.

"It's very hard to work without a jockey. It's not what I like to do. Agents are constantly ringing and different fellahs end up riding all the time," the Co Limerick trainer said. "Denis and Andrew ride out a couple of times a week and they're sharing the rides."

Considering Beef Or Salmon is one of the 100, it looks like it could be a winter full of promise for O'Regan who will continue to be attached to the Noel Meade yard and who is now fourth in the current jump jockeys table with 23 winners.

Yesterday Kilbeggan Lad arrived late on the scene to out-kick Dbest with Blue Corrig back in third. The winner was a 14 to 1 shot but Hourigan had been confident of making up for some bad luck in the race last year.

"I won last year with The Screamer but Kilbeggan Lad was very unlucky and was almost brought down at the third last," he said. "He was sick for most of last year and there is probably a big hurdle in him."

Andrew McNamara didn't waste any time advertising his own talents either as half an hour later on The Spoonplayer he defied Martinstown by a length in a good finish to the maiden hurdle.

Aidan O'Brien's newcomer Shark Tooth was an expensive failure in the opening maiden which fell to the Pat Smullen-ridden Rare Delight.

Shark Tooth, a €310,000 purchase, missed the break and was badly hampered at halfway. Kieren Fallon reported he couldn't handle the course and a vet's examination found that the colt had badly struck into himself.

In contrast, the ex-Mick Channon-trained Disobey ran on strongly from the rear of the mile maiden field to make her first Irish start a winning one. "She had snippets of form in England but she's been showing us a lot of pace," said trainer Colm Murphy.

"We'll see what the handicapper does but she schools well and we will mix it up."

Disobey's jockey Tadhg O'Shea doubled up in the following mile-and-a-half handicap when the first reserve, Fire Finch, made the most of her opportunity to win by half a length. It was a 35th winner in what is O'Shea's best season to date.

Fire Finch's trainer, Tom Hogan, is also enjoying his best flat campaign with 17 victories and later doubled up in the three-mile handicap hurdle with the 14 to 1 shot Sonnyanjoe who was two and a half lengths too good for Nassaro. Last season's leading claimer, Tom Ryan, took a heavy fall from Wotsitooya in this race and has been stood down for 21 days with severe concussion.

Results generally went very much in favour of the bookmakers but there was substantial support for the bumper winner Silent Oscar who won impressively under Colman Sweeney.

There was a marginal increase in bookmaker turnover at Listowel yesterday but the bumper produced the biggest betting race of the festival with €323,409 wagered on the last race. It helped the overall total reach €1,741,390 which was slightly up on last year. Tote turnover was slightly down, however, to €452,546.