Meade in the Blue

Blue reversed previous Galway placings with The Baltimore Man to take the featured Smithwicks Beer Handicap Hurdle at Listowel yesterday.

Paul Carberry maintained his record of a winner-a-day at the track this week when giving the Noel Meade-trained gelding a determined ride in this £35,000 event. The Baltimore Man adopted his usual front-running tactics, although Charlie Swan did well to keep the partnership intact following a bad blunder at the first flight and he was never travelling with any real fluency.

Blue was rousted along to take the lead two out and stayed on gamely under pressure to beat Galway Breeze by a length, with The Baltimore Man just half a length back in third.

The Kevin McManus Beginners Chase proved a real success story for the Moore family. Alexander Fourball, trained by Arthur Moore for his wife Mary and ridden by their son John Daniel, justified good support when leading before two out to beat Jolly Paddy by a comfortable five lengths.

Andrew McNamara is considering a switch to the Flat for Marakiya after the four-year-old filly showed great reserves of stamina to take the three-mile Spectra Photo Labs Handicap Hurdle in great style, quickening clear in the straight to beat Gomaune Hill by five lengths.

John Murtagh narrowed the gap to three behind Pat Smullen in the jockeys' championship when recording his 68th seasonal victory aboard newcomer Thought in the Harvest Festival EBF Maiden. Sheikh Mohammed's home-bred juvenile touched off Smullen's mount, Moayed, in virtually the final stride of the mile event.