Dundalk winner on course for Kentucky Derby following Patton Stakes triumph

The Aidan O’Brien-trained Cairo kept his name in the frame for a tilt at this year’s Kentucky Derby when winning the €40,000 Patton Stakes at Dundalk on Friday.

The race is effectively a European qualifier for what is known as the ‘Run For The Roses’, which is staged at Churchill Downs in Kentucky and this year will take place on Saturday May 6th.

With leading jockey Ryan Moore flying in from England to take just one ride on the card, there was a tangible sense of excitement at the Stadium and racegoers were not left disappointed because Cairo won comfortably by two lengths as the 30/100 favourite.

Representing Coolmore, the winning owners, was Chris Armstrong, who said afterwards: “It was a nice start for him, although he’ll come on a lot for the run. All being well, he’ll now head to Dubai for the UAE Derby and then we’ll look at Kentucky.”

“Ryan was happy with him. He has the Triple Crown entry in America (of which the Kentucky Derby is the first leg), he’s an exciting horse to have and he has a lovely attitude. Yes, for now, the Derby dream is still alive.”

No horse trained in Europe has ever won the Kentucky Derby so it would great to see him take his place in this year’s race.

It was a good night at Dundalk for trainers based in County Meath, who had four winners between them.

Firstly, John McConnell won the Qualified Riders’ Handicap with Khadaash (8/1), who was ridden by Alex Harvey, who is just 19. He is also the brother of Ben, who is carving out a successful riding career with McConnell.

John was registering his fifteenth Dundalk winner in the track’s ‘Winter Series’, which runs from November 22nd 2022 to March 24th of this year, a total bettered only by Joseph O’Brien’s 18, which gives an indication of how well his horses have been running.

Then Gavin Cromwell won with Tabuk (6/1), who relished the step up in distance to land the card’s 10-furlong, 150-yard maiden under Gary Carroll. Gavin would go on to have a winner in England on Saturday at Doncaster and his stable remains in good form.

The hat-trick was completed when Noel Meade’s Might And Mercy (8/1), who was ridden by Colin Keane, won the DundalkStadium.com Handicap.

The winner is owned by Mairead Cahill, Caroline Hendron, John Muldoon, a former Connacht and Ireland Rugby Union player and international, and Ciaran Kennelly, who is a former director at the Stadium. There were smiles all round as current racecourse manager Jim Martin presented the winner’s trophy.

And the four-timer was completed by Turf Range (6/1), who won the Crowne Plaza Dundalk Race & Stay Package Handicap for Summerhill-based David Broad and jockey Danny Gilligan.

Crowne Plaza Dundalk’s general manager Brendan Joyce was on hand to present the winner’s trophy to owner Danny Mulligan and his brothers, Martin and Brian.

If you’ve never experienced the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dundalk, which includes a panoramic view from the dining room on the top floor, it could be worth your while having a look at the packages on offer.

Runner-up in the race was Roman Bull, ridden by Jamie Lee Gonet, who was having her first ride under Rules, which must have been some thrill.

County Dublin got in on the act when Ado McGuinness’s Distillate (12/1), just got the better of Noel Meade’s Knockard Prince in a thrilling finish to the card’s finale. The winning margin was the shortest of all winning distances, a nose.

The winning rider was Cian MacRedmond, who, Ado said, “gave her a great ride”, before adding, “The owners (Mark Devlin, Nigel O’Hare and Philip Smith) are long-standing ones with me and are thrilled. Mark in particular has been with me a very long time.”

It is rare for Ado to leave Dundalk these days without success and he was recording an eighth winner already this year at the Stadium, a number bettered only by Joseph O’Brien’s ten.

The winning distance was also a nose in the opening race, the Irishinjuredjockeys.com Claiming Race, when Inflection Point (7/2) beat the fast-finishing 40/1-shot Prince Of Abington.

The winner is owned and trained by James McAuley, who only acquired him a week earlier from a claimer at Dundalk. Talk about a quick return on your investment. Jim Gough, who is such an important part of James’ Naul's County Dublin-based operation, was on hand to receive the winner’s trophy.

Winning jockey Billy Lee now leads the calendar-year jockeys’ championship at Dundalk with eight winners.

The father-and-son team of Andy (trainer) and Andrew (jockey) Slattery teamed up to win the card’s six-furlong maiden with Almendares (5/2 joint-fav), who got the better of the other joint-market leader Heartrate, by one-and-a-quarter lengths.

In fairness he always looked likely to win and, as Brian Slattery – Andy’s brother and assistant – put it, “He’ll have no bother staying seven furlongs, he powered up the straight and Andrew said he had plenty of horse left at the finish. It was a lovely performance.”

Next Meeting

Dundalk will race again on Friday March 10th, when an eight-race card is due to start at 4.45pm.

The following week, Dundalk will race on Thursday March 16th, owing to Friday being St Patrick’s Day. The first race is due off at 4.40pm.