Local winners were few and far between in Gowran Park yesterday but there was a good result for Kilkenny jockey Shane Foley who steered the 4/1 Mellow Magic home for Jessica Harrington in the SP Or Better Guaranteed With Tote Handicap after five o’clock on Tuesday.
Yesterday’s activities were the first of a doubleheader in Gowran with another full card of racing action planned for this afternoon.
Mellow Magic is not for passing in the SP Or Better Guaranteed With Tote Handicap, with the five-year-old seeing off all challengers and pulling clear close home to score for the Shane Foley and @Jessica_Racing partnership 🥇 pic.twitter.com/X8rTpFGpHw
— Gowran Park (@GowranPark1) April 18, 2023
The going yesterday was soft and thoughts were it was likely to remain that way for today’s racing with the first of a seven-race card going to post at 4.05.
Joseph O’Brien’s Green Sky runs later in the day with the last race underway at a 7.15. With a full run-down here is Gowran Park race manager Eddie Scally;
“The first of A 7 race card today goes to the post at 4:05 PM in Gowran Park. Our courtesy buses will be leaving from Kilkenny Castle Gates at 3:00 PM getting punters out here in ample time.”
“The ground conditions have dried a little and our official going is now yielding on the flat track. The card today looks a very, very competitive card and the first race “Simpsons Paradox” for the Jessica Harrington stable will take a lot of beating with Graig jockey Shane Foley in the play for that race. Later in the card today, Barry Fitzgerald, another local trainer, runs his horse “Brave Troop” and will be looking to follow up a win at Navan earlier this season, and that horse will be running in the 5:15. “
“And then, of course, the exciting “All Lies Ahead” of William McCreary second in Gowran Park at the very end of last season. However, he came out and won at the beginning of this season also. So he will take all the beating, no doubt in the 5:45 for former Kildare footballer William McCreary.”
“That will bring us nicely on to our last race today, the 7:15 PM. It’s a really tricky contest that could really go anywhere, but the one that I’d be looking out for in that race there is “Ellatt” for Charles Burns who will be ridden by Gavin Bruder, and I’m sure he’ll be very much supported by the punters here on the day. “
