Dreaper tradition is maintained at Plumpton
Barry Geraghty was in fine form at Ascot on Friday as he notched a treble of winners.
Kauto Star's garnering of a fourth Betfair Chase at Haydock Park on Saturday will have dominated many of the headlines in the aftermath of the event, but many leading local figures on the racing scene have been making their own waves in the last week.
Plumpton is not a racecourse that features very often in Irish racing coverage, but it did so with great reason after last Monday's meeting at the track. Making history is nothing new to the Dreaper family, given the legendary exploits of the likes of Arkle, Flying Bolt and Fortria in the past, but last week Shernaz made its own piece of history.
The eight-year-old gave a bold display of front running and impeccable jumping under Richie McGrath, ensuring that the Greenogue handler made history by becoming the first from these shores to send out a winner at that particular track. Unfortunately, their bid for a quick follow up came unstuck when the horse fell at the first during a fog shrouded fixture at Towcester on Sunday.
Limerick's meeting last Monday provided Tony Martin with his second winner in a novice chase for Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown House Stud in the space of 24 hours as Gift Of Dgab followed Bog Warrior into the winner's enclosure.
Noel Meade's blistering start to the current National Hunt season continued on Wednesday when his Leroy Parker showed plenty of guts under Paul Carberry to just outstay the Gordon Elliott trained His Excellency in a driving finish to the three-year-old hurdle that opened the Fairyhouse card. There was further local cheer on the same card as the locally owned Savello scored for the Wexford based John Berry under Ruby Walsh.
Friday was Barry Geraghty's day at Ascot as the Drumree rider notched a short priced treble for his boss across the water, Nicky Henderson, thanks to Simonsig - who was an impressive winner of the Point-to-Point Bumper at Fairyhouse last Easter - and Solix and Broadback Bob.
Kilmessan's Jason Maguire has also been on a great run since has return from injury, bagging four winners in seven days, with the most significant of them coming, at greatest expense to Geraghty who parted company with short priced favourite Oscar Whisky, as the admirably consistent Overturn, trained by Donald McCain, scored in the £50,000 Coral Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday.
The action at home on Saturday was in Punchestown and it was Summerhill man Robbie Power who stole the show as he partnered a double courtesy of Colm Murphy's useful chaser The Hard Hat (8/1) and Citizenship (12/1), trained by Jessica Harrington. Meade and Carberry also got in on the act as Corbally Ghost built on a Bumper win under Nina Carberry to get off the mark over timber steered by her brother.
The first race on Sunday's card at the Kildare track was dubbed the 'Paul Carberry The Autobiography Best Seller Hurdle' but the man in whose honour the race was named had to settle for second spot as Mullins' So Young (2/5f) eased to victory on his seasonal reappearance with Meade's admirably consistent Fully Funded 11 lengths back in second.
Andrew Lynch scored aboard Henry De Bromhead's progressive novice chaser Days Hotel, getting the better of Barry Geraghty and favourite Lucky William.
What was a memorable week for the local racing fraternity was completed when Dedigout comfortably took the maiden hurdle on a top class card, making it three winners from the last three Gigginstown owned runners for Tony Martin.
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