Stunning late charge

RACING:STUNNING VIEW bridged a gap of some 13 years for Dermot Weld as he swooped late to claim the featured Topaz Mile EBF Handicap on a night when the Rosewell House trainer shared a treble with Pat Smullen.

One of the most competitive handicaps of the flat season, the extended mile contest fell to Weld four times in the 1990s. However, not since Michael Kinane and Free To Speak famously came up the stand’s side rail in 1998 had Weld landed the Tuesday night feature.

A creditable showing in the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot last month was enough to see the Smullen-ridden Stunning View returned the 7 to 1 joint favourite alongside last year’s winner Ask Jack. Appropriately the Dr Ronan Lambe-owned colt rose to the occasion in fine style at the course where he had recorded his sole previous success – the opening night two-year-old maiden in 2009.

Throughout Stunning View was never too far away from the leaders, although it looked as though the front-running Royal Blue Star was in charge as she turned for home a couple of lengths clear of the field. Hard as the latter tried though, she could not withstand Stunning View’s late charge which carried him to the front inside the final 100 yards.

“This is always a difficult race to win and he got a lovely ride from Pat, who always had him in the right place at the right time,” said Weld. “He did run quite well in a high-class handicap at Ascot and my only real concern here was the ground. He likes a little ease in it and it’s drying out all the time.

“Stunning View is in a seven-furlongs handicap here on Saturday but he might have enough done for the week and the logical step for him now would be to go for a Listed race.”

Earlier Weld and Smullen combined to win the two-mile handicap with the Lambe-owned Rainforest Magic and this success was giving the trainer his third consecutive win in the race. The four-year-old, who was running for just the second time on the flat since he was third in a handicap here last year, took charge just before the straight for a four-and-a-half lengths win over Striking Force.

The odds-on Catch The Eye completed the treble as she ran out a six-length winner of the seven furlong maiden. The three-year-old filly carries the colours of Charlie McCreevy’s wife Noeleen, who was also the successful breeder.

“She had the form and she did it nicely. We’ll look for a handicap or a winner’s of one next later in the year I think that she could get black type,” commented Weld.

JP McManus saw his colours carried to victory for the second time this week as Princeton Plains landed the opening novice hurdle for Eddie Harty and jockey Niall Madden. The five-year-old has an outside chance of making the cut for tomorrow’s Guinness Galway Hurdle and could take his chance there if enough horses defect following this defeat of the favourite London Bridge.

“It was a tactical race and his handicap experience stood to him,” said Harty. “He didn’t have too hard a race as they were only racing from the bottom of the hill and if he got a run in the Hurdle he may well take his chance.”

The Weld-trained Mahaazen headed the market for the two-year-old fillies maiden but she had to settle for third as Soon nailed the front-running Redoutable nearing the line. Soon, ridden by Séamus Heffernan, was giving Aidan O’Brien his first winner of the week. The Galileo filly is out of the Irish 1000 Guineas winner Classic Park who gave Aidan O’Brien his very first Classic winner all the way back in 1997.

Sarteano gained compensation for missing the cut for today’s Galway Plate as he won the conditions chase under Bryan Cooper. The Dessie Hughes inmate dug deep to overhaul the game outsider Willies Girl.

Eddie Lynam and Johnny Murtagh successfully joined forces as Iron Major came out the right side of a blanket finish to the seven-furlong handicap.

Yesterday's figures

Yesterday evening’s crowd of 17,510 was down 350 on that of 12 months ago, while the Tote aggregate dropped by €295,961 to €671,212. The bookmakers turned over €1,451,297, almost €400,000 down.

Saturday Derby

NEXT YEAR’S Irish Derby will be run on a Saturday it was announced yesterday as Horse Racing Ireland released the 2012 fixture list

The switch of Ireland’s premier Classic from its traditional Sunday date to a Saturday is the most significant change in the 2012 racing calendar. It will be the first time since 1987 that the Irish Derby will be run on a Saturday and it will be a late afternoon fixture.

The Group One Pretty Polly Stakes which traditionally fills the Saturday slot on Derby weekend will now take place the following afternoon.

The Irish Champion Stakes will retain its position on a Saturday but the fixture will also be run as a late afternoon one on September 8th. Bolstering that weekend’s racing is the switch of the Group One Moyglare Champion Stakes from its traditionally earlier date to September 9th.

Due to the new winter season at Dundalk the total number of fixtures in Ireland in 2012 will rise to 349, which is an increase of 13 on this year’s tally.

The number of individual days with racing has increased by 25 from 267 to 292 while there will be 74 blank days in the calendar.