Latest news with #JohnnyMurtagh
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Aidan O'Brien's Rock Of Cashel upsets the odds to get back on track at Navan
The three-year-old had been highly tried since winning a Galway maiden last season, running in the National Stakes and the Dewhurst last autumn. This term he has been campaigned in Group and Listed company before trying his hand in a handicap to no avail at Royal Ascot. Against just three runners in this conditions race, however, the 3/1 chance took command early in the straight under Wayne Lordan to get the better of Johnny Murtagh's 1/4 hotpot Nautical Force by two lengths. O'Brien's stable representative Chris Armstrong said: 'In fairness to him, he has been dropped in the deep end from word go this year. He ran with credit behind Henri Matisse and Delacroix and was beaten five to six lengths behind proper Group One horses. 'Obviously, Johnny's horse brought a high level of form here. Wayne gave him a lovely ride and the race worked out for him beautifully. 'He's a horse we thought of as a stakes horse after Galway last year as a two-year-old, so hopefully this will do his confidence good and we will bring him back up to a stakes race over a mile and a-quarter and see how he goes.' Murtagh had already been on the mark with newcomer Zuheila (5/2) in the six-furlong maiden. Ben Coen nursed the Aga Khan Studs-owned three-year-old into the closing stages before getting down to business to beat Ger Lyons' Washington Street by half a length. 'She's a nice, big filly and bred to have a bit of speed. She has been doing things nice at home,' said Coen. 'You can see why she hasn't got to the track until now, she's a big girl but she did that nicely. She'd a good look when she hit the front, but hopefully she can stay improving. 'She was green running down the hill and, when I hit the rising ground, she came good.' At Sligo, meanwhile, the featured handicap hurdle went to Sargent Lightfoot (4/1) for the trainer-jockey combination of Adrian Murray and Kieren Buckley – the 11-year-old getting the better of fellow veteran Jack Holiday on the run-in.
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Rock Of Cashel gets his head in front for Navan victory
This term he has been campaigned in Group and Listed company before trying his hand in a handicap to no avail at Royal Ascot. Against just three runners in this conditions race, however, he took command early in the straight under Wayne Lordan to down Johnny Murtagh's 1-4 favourite Nautical Force by two lengths at 3-1. O'Brien's stable representative Chris Armstrong said: 'The way the race worked out, it was a lovely race for him. 'In fairness to him, he has been dropped in the deep end from word go this year. He ran with credit behind Henri Matisse and Delacroix and was beaten five to six lengths behind proper Group One horses. 'Obviously, Johnny's horse brought a high level of form here. Wayne gave him a lovely ride and the race worked out for him beautifully. 'He's a horse we thought of as a stakes horse after Galway last year as a two-year-old, so hopefully this will do his confidence good and we will bring him back up to a stakes race over a mile and a-quarter and see how he goes.' Murtagh had already been on the mark with newcomer Zuheila (5-2) in the Ardboyne Hotel Maiden. Ben Coen nursed the Aga Khan Studs-owned three-year-old into the closing stages before getting down to business to beat Ger Lyons' Washington Street by half a length. Coen said: 'She's a nice, big filly and bred to have a bit of speed. She has been doing things nice at home. 'You can see why she hasn't got to the track until now, she's a big girl but she did that nicely. She had a good look when she hit the front, but hopefully she can stay improving. 'She was (doing all her best work late) – she was green running down the hill and, when I hit the rising ground, she came good.'
Sunday World
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Murtagh and Meade ready to strike in Navan
Local favourites | Nautical Force ready to make waves on local track She ran a cracker on debut at nearby Bellewstown when beaten by half a length by even money hotpot Parkside Lad where she was slightly awkward at the road crossing late on. Picked up for just €8,500 at the Tattersalls Yearling Sales last September, the Starman filly already looks a snip and she sets a fair standard here. There are some very interesting first timers though and the betting market could be the best guide to their prospects while The Right One and Salacious have already shown promise on the racecourse. Johnny Murtagh's NAUTICAL FORCE (2.50) has certainly made waves this season, kicking off with a snug maiden win over ten furlongs on soft ground at Cork. The bookies, both off course and in the betting ring at Mallow, won't forget that race in a hurry as he landed some nice wagers in the process, from 10/1 in the morning trading to 10/3 jolly at the off. Nautical Force then chased home a smart Paddy Twomey winner Arouet on a better surface at Roscommon. Johnny Murtagh saddles Nautical Force in Navan. Photo: Thomas Doolin/Sportsfile. While there was certainly plenty to build on there, an assignment in the King George V Handicap at Royal Ascot looked pretty ambitious for his next outing particularly considering his relative inexperience for a streetfight like that. But, as so often before, Murtagh knew exactly what he was doing and the Paddy Woods owned gelding ran a blinder. Despite racing a bit too keenly for Ben Coen and having to be switched out when badly squeezed for room approaching the business end, he finished a close fourth to Merchant, who holds an entry for the Group 1 King George back at Ascot later this month. And second home in the red hot contest at the Royal knees-up was Serious Contender who of course then gave stablemate Lambourn a scare when filling the same position in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby. Today's four runner affair at Proudstown sees Nautical Force returning to much calmer waters, and he proved at Ascot that, despite winning in the mud at Cork, he is perfectly happy on a fast surface which he will certainly encounter here. When Rock of Cashel made all at the Galway Festival last year for Wayne Lordan, he looked yet another potential star rolling off the Ballydoyle conveyer belt, and indeed he next appeared in the Futurity at The Curragh where he didn't look at all out of place when a respectable last of four to Henri Matisse, Hotazhell and Scorthy Champ. However it's been a gradual decline from there, and he was pacemaker for Delacroix on occasions this season. That Galway victory was his lone success, but Lordan could well repeat the Ballybrit tactics to very good effect here, and Nautical Force would need to be fully recovered from his Ascot exertions to cope. While easy in the market, the Donnacha O'Brien trained Professor Longhair looked a lovely sort when scooting home first time out at Dundalk, but he never landed a blow when taking a big leap in class in the Tetrarch at headquarters where he was last of eight to Officer. He was 33/1 there and is hard to assess, but we'll find out a bit more here. At Sligo today CORNMARKET (4.10) can follow up his recent popular success at the course. Trained on a beach near Ballina by John Cullen it was a particularly welcome victory for John who had to take a break from training for over a year and his 7 lbs. claiming jockey Alan King had good reason to celebrate too as it was his first winner since November 2020! An 8 lbs. hike will make life more difficult for all concerned here but he should still have the edge over another recent course winner Ladiam. Despite having raced 85 times, THE LITTLE YANK (4.45) retains all his appetite for the game and John Ryan's recent Kilbeggan scorer can resume winning ways back over hurdles here having finished third over fences at Tipperary in the meantime.
The Herald Scotland
29-06-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Skukuza gains second Curragh victory for Ed Dunlop
Quickly sent to the head of affairs by his big-race pilot, the Newmarket traveller never missed a beat on the front end as Moore dictated the pace before sending his mount on to secure a two-and-a-quarter-length victory over Johnny Murtagh's Alakazi, with Paddy Twomey's 2-1 favourite Currawood further back in third. Robin Trevor Jones, travelling head lad to Ed Dunlop, said: 'We ran him in the Britannia last year where he ran a great race (second) but it really jarred him up and we couldn't risk him on that fast ground at Ascot this year. 'It was a brave decision not to run when you are one of the favourites for the Royal Hunt Cup but the plan has worked. He's a Listed winner now so we are growing. 'Ryan really wanted to get a lead but he didn't expect any pace on so he said I might have to make my own running which he did. The horse has never done that, but he did everything right and I think the further he went the further he was going to win. 'He likes coming back here for Classic days so maybe there is something for him on Oaks day!'
The Irish Sun
23-06-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Field Of Gold, Los Angeles, More Thunder – Horses don't win for lots of reasons and I'll always say it as I see it
ON Monday there was yet another article in horse racing's trade newspaper calling on TV pundits to call out more so-called bad rides. The hypocrisy is quite something. 1 Field Of Gold has looked sensational since his 2000 Guineas defeat Credit: PA It comes on the back of ITV's Johnny Murtagh very much questioning the ride of subsequent Royal Ascot winner Havana Hurricane in a juvenile race at Epsom on Derby Day. Oh well. This kind of article is what is called clickbait. You write something you know people will like without putting much thought into the topic. It's 'lowest common denominator journalism'. In some ways I'm doing the same here! I know people will loath what I'm penning and will just say I'm typical of the problem. You just have to smile. I am, though, in a pretty good position to discuss the topic. It's rare I analyse rides in great depth in my current roles. But ten years ago it was just about all I did. Then, almost all my work was studio-based - rather than reporting and interviewing - and every day my job was to dissect races. Most read in Horse Racing This latest article in the trade paper once again harked back to Field Of Gold and the 2000 Guineas. And it compared racing analysis with that in football. At the essence of why these articles are merely clickbait is the writer is basically saying: "I think so and so was a bad ride so you should as well. And if you don't you are wrong." What, of course, everyone should actually want is a TV presenter who says what they believe, rather than what someone thinks they should believe. It all goes further than that, however, and the root issue is: What is a bad ride? Is a bad ride simply one that most feel should have won, for instance? Of course not. Horses don't win for lots of reasons. A rider can just be unlucky, time their run a second or a few strides too late or miss the break. Are they bad rides? In footballing terms, calling out every horse who should have done better would be like saying every pass that doesn't go direct to another player is a bad pass. A football commentator would spend 90 minutes stating the same thing over and over. In this case it was Field Of Gold again. A defeat which can be explained for many totally sensible reasons for all that another day the horse would clearly have won. Oddly, the writer said nothing about White Birch in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, or Los Angeles in the Prince of Wales's Stakes, or More Thunder in the Wokingham. Or the countless other losers I could mention. Were they all bad rides, or unlucky? Or did they suffer defeat due to something else? Should a TV presenter have gone mad about those as well? And why hasn't the trade paper written article after article about them? After all, it's that publication that is calling for more to be said. It seems to pick its targets very carefully. If a footballer scores a penalty - top left-hand corner - that is impossible to save, we would surely all agree it's a good penalty? In contrast, if a goalkeeper stands still and the penalty taker just scoops it into their hands, I would presume we would all agree that was a bad penalty? But, in the first scenario, at what stage as that ball gets closer to the fingertips of a goalkeeper does it become a bad penalty? There are many degrees along the scale from good to bad with plenty of reasoning in between. As a pundit I have always just said what I see. That's what I think all pundits should do. And if that is not what social media or certain journalists agree with, then so be it. But that's being real to a viewer. It's many times more honest than just reacting to what the masses feel. For me a truly bad ride is one where a horse never seems to have been put into a race. One where a jockey drops their hands for a place. One where a rider clearly goes off too fast. And yes, sometimes, when a horse should have won that didn't - and I can't think of any reasons why what happened took place. Not every losing ride on a horse that probably should have won is a bad ride. If that's what you want from TV pundits then good luck to you. The sport is a little more complicated than that. And that's the beauty of it all. FREE BETS - GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. You should be aware brands pay fees to appear in the highest placements on the page. 18+. T&Cs apply. . Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who: Read more on the Irish Sun Establishes time and monetary limits before playing Only gambles with money they can afford to lose Never chases their losses Doesn't gamble if they're upset, angry or depressed Gamcare – Gamble Aware – Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.
