Kelly presents Percy in top shape to land Galway prize

THE renaissance of local trainer Pat Kelly continued at Ballybrit on Sunday when the Craughwell-based handler turned out the promising Presenting Percy to land the Corrib Oil Maiden Hurdle.

Having saddled his first ever winner at the Cheltenham National Hunt festival last March when Mall Dini landed the Pertemps Hurdle, Kelly struck at his local track on the first day of the Galway October meeting with the well-backed 9/4 chance.

A bumper winner at Balinrobe last April, Presenting Percy was a never dangerous fourth on his debut over hurdles at the new Galway early October meeting, but that experience stood the five-year in good stead on his return to Ballybrit.

Approaching the last, Presenting Percy was travelling the best against the front-running Ceide Feils and market leader Canelie, and though jockey Sean Flanagan had to keep his mount honest, the outcome was never really in doubt as Kelly’s charge had two lengths to spare at the line.

Carrying the colours of Philip Reynolds, who also owns Mall Dini, Presenting Percy’s next target is far from certain. “You know me, I could go for a handicap with him,” said a contented Kelly afterwards. “He was more settled today and I think this is a horse going places.”

Having trained Natalies Fancy and No Tag to both win the Guinness Galway Hurdle over a four-year period in the nineties, Kelly gets a real kick of having success at his local track. “Galway has been good to me over the years and there’s nothing to beat winning here,” he added.

Kelly was the only local trainer to hit the jackpot at the Galway October meeting, but Steve Mahon’s He Rock’s was arguably unlucky despite only finishing fifth in Monday’s feature, the Ennis Lifts Handicap Chase.

Badly interfered when stable-mate Aranhill Chief fell on the first circuit, the hat-trick seeking seven-year-old temporarily lost his confidence by throwing in a couple of sketchy leaps, but had got back into contention heading into the dip for the final time only for his earlier exertions to take their toll.

Instead, victory went to the well supported Hash Brown –  not surprisingly, a particularly popular result among the big student attendance – which was given Limerick trainer Michael Hourigan only his second winner in the past 12 months.

Hash Brown, rated just two pounds higher compared to when landing the same race in 2015, had a comfortable four and a half lengths margin over Dromea with Fergus Hanley’s patiently ridden The Black Russian completing the placings in the €25,000 event.

It was the second leg of a treble for Barry Geraghty, who would have achieved a notable four-timer on the day only for the heavily-backed Oathkeeper being caught on the line by bottom weight and the consistent She’s A Star in the Barna Recycling Novice Hurdle.

Geraghty had initiated his hat-trick when Kalopsia emerged a somewhat fortunate winner of the opening mares maiden hurdle after the challenging and better travelling Lettre De Cachet made a jolting error at the final flight in losing valuable momentum.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.