FAYPOINT SEAN SETS THE STANDARD IN JUVENILE CUP OPENER
Peter Farrell
Kindly sponsored by Graham and Nicky Holland, the opening round of the Riverside Stud Munster Juvenile Cup got underway at Clonmel on Sunday night and it was the sponsor who set the standard as Faypoint Sean led home his litter brother in the opening heat of the night.
Owned by Patricia Flanagan, Faypoint Sean was sent to traps as the 5/4 favourite to maintain his flawless record of five wins from starts, however, he looked in a spot of bother early on as Faypoint Harvey, owned by the same connections, displayed the superior early gears to take control from trap three. Holding a two length lead into the back, ‘Sean’ began to motor at the halfway mark and there was little to separate the duo approaching the penultimate turn. Stopping the sectional clock at a brisk 16.10, it was clear the two comrades were a class apart from their rivals and it remained a nip and tuck battle all the way to the winning line. Faypoint Sean staying on just that little bit better close home, the son of Droopys Sydney and Roaming Shari got the nod, by one length, crossing the line. The time was a rapid 28.52 .10s.
HEAT WATCH
Next best in terms of the clock came in heat three as both Honey Bunny (4/1) and Newinn Deejay (2/1) shared the spoils. The former, owned by David and Michael Power, was the first to show from trap two and given her strong running style, you would have been forgiven for thinking it was all over at this point. However, as they raced into the fog at Clonmel, Newinn Deejay was coursing the hare and was making fine improvement rounding the bottom two bends. Little to separated the duo are they straightened up, a dead-heat was called between Honey Bunny (Droopys Sydney - Traceys Pet) and Newinn Deejay (Droopys Sydney - Newinn Cuckoo) as they stopped the clock in 28.62 .10s (16.26 sec).
Heat two proved a really messy affair as Claude Jeremiah justified his 6/4 favouritism for Pat Kiely and Patrick Hennerty. Running from trap two, the son of Broadstrand Bono - Jacinta overcame a bumpy ride early on before holding on to deny Annual Coco by a head. The time was 29.84 .10s.
Heat four was just a four-dog affair but this didn’t take away from the quality as Bambis Lady won in fine fashion. Jointly owned by Breda Boyle and Patrick Sheehy, the December brindle trapped smartly from one and just about held her rails pitch to turn narrowly in front of Mail Road Rebel. Sticking to her guns well down the back, the daughter of Droopys Sydney and Ballybrack Gem was briefly headed by she stuck tight to the rails to come again and score by one and a half lengths. Pepe Noir finishing well to take second, the time was 29.07 .10s. (16.43 sec).
The remaining heat was landed by the experienced Slaneyside Nike as he led from trap to line for owner Derek Kehoe. With 34 starts already under his belt prior to last night, he used all of that experience as he broke sharply from five to lead up. From here, it proved a relatively straightforward task for the son of Superior Panama as he made every post a winner to cross the line with two and a half lengths to spare over Raceway Sydney in second. The time was 28.92 .10s. (16.24 sec).