One of the themes running through the sport of horse racing has been the dominance of the Irish trainers when targeting Britain’s major prizes. Over the jumps, Willie Mullins continues to swat away the best of the home team at the Cheltenham Festival and, in 2024, had the gall to win not only the Irish Trainers Championship but the British one too!
Meanwhile, on the flat, Aidan O’Brien is the all-time leading trainer in the Epsom Derby, the 2,000 Guineas, the St James’s Palace Stakes and the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, to name just a few.
With all of the above in mind, recent events at the Curragh made for a refreshing shot in the arm for the British training fraternity, as Richard Hannon Jr and Karl Burke made the trek across the Irish Sea and returned home with the goods.
One-Two for Hannon in Irish 2,000 Guineas
First up on Saturday afternoon was Wiltshires’s own Richard Hannon Jnr, who, having saddled the second and third in the English 2,000 Guineas, reloaded and sent both Rosallion and Haatem for a shot at the Irish one-mile Classic.
With the Newmarket form invariably amongst the strongest of the season and question marks regarding many of the home team, in relation to form and fitness, Hannon looked to have solid claims of landing a first Irish 2,000 Guineas success – a race won by his father in 1987, 1990, and 2010.
The bookies seemed to agree with that assessment, with Rosallion sent off as the 10/11 favourite and Haatem third in the betting at 6/1. Lining up in a race won by his father (Phoenix Of Spain in 2019), Haatem appeared set to repeat the feat when kicked into the lead approaching the final furlong. The Aidan O’Brien number one River Tiver never looked like getting there, but arriving with a late surge down the outside was stablemate Rosalion to deny the gallant runner up by a head.
Angel Soars to 1,000 Triumph
In common with Rosallion, Karl Burke’s Fallen Angel was well fancied to go well in the English 1,000 Guineas – backed into 100/30F on the day. However, unlike Rosallion, Fallen Angel didn’t run particularly well at Newmarket.
An eighth-place effort was certainly no disgrace, but the daughter of Too Darn Hot ran noticeably flat in a performance which lacked the exhilarating acceleration displayed during her juvenile campaign.
Undeterred, supporters went in again, with the mount of Daniel Tudhope heading the market at the Curragh at 11/4 – this time, she delivered in some style.
In hindsight, handling a filly renowned for her speed an easy lead probably wasn’t the most sensible decision by the opposing riders. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Tudhope seized the initiative – controlling the fractions before kicking for home at the two-furlong pole. Soon two and a half lengths clear of a field that couldn’t match her acceleration, she extended to almost three lengths ahead at the line, followed home by Irish duo A Lilac Rolla and the highly regarded Opera Singer.
For those wondering, this year’s score in the British and Irish Classics stands at Britain 4-0 Ireland. Will the Irish bounce back at the Epsom Derby Meeting?
