Noel Meade, a 73-year-old trainer from Co Meath, celebrated a triumph in the Tote Galway Plate on Wednesday with Pinkerton solving this summer’s most ambitious steeplechase challenge. Meade, a seven-time jump champion prior to Willie Mullins’s rise to power, has secured plenty of the festival’s main awards in the past, including Galway Hurdle consecutive wins with Pinch Hitter in 1982-83.
Although it took him 30 precious years to seize Plate glory with Road To Riches in 2014, he has since turned his attention more towards flat races. In 2021, Helvic Dream delivered a Group One victory in the Tattersalls Gold Cup.
Despite the 20-1 odds against him, Pinkerton delivered a sensational triumph in a tight Plate contest against the pair by Gordon Elliot, Duffle Coast and Zanahiyr, under the brilliant ride by Donagh Meyler, with just a length separating the top three.
It was the second Plate victory for Meyler, who had ridden Lord Scoundrel for Elliot in 2016 and this time blocked his old comrade from gaining a fifth record victory in the race.
The 28-year-old Kilkenny-born jockey’s rather lacklustre week, featuring three second-place finishes for Emmet Mullins, turned around dramatically as the small winner completed a hat-trick.
Meyler commented on the fantastic win saying, “Winning again is definitely special. He did everything perfectly, travelled well and jumped superbly. He was excellent throughout, making my life considerably easier.”
Looking forward to the Galway Hurdle on Thursday, Meade’s Jese Evans hopes to finally claim victory after finishing as runner-up for the last two years. The prospects of his win look favourable as Monasterboice, another from Meade’s stable, secured victory in the flat race following the Plate.
The highly anticipated races here sure do draw a crowd, and this is among the most popular ones, acknowledged a thrilled Meade who had sought out the skills of Meyler following Ewing’s commitment to ride Elliot’s Tullybeg for Pinkerton’s regular rider, resulting in a 14th place finish.
Meade stated, “Donagh has been excellent on him. I attempted to dislodge Sam from Gordon. Although he claimed we might be good friends, this is definitely a battle!”
Meade continued singing Donagh’s praises: “He’s a fantastic horseman with wonderful hands and I’ve always held him in high regard. With him, the horse leaped beautifully. He was worried he would arrive there prematurely given his exceptional performance. He’s primarily competed in two-mile races, and we were unsure if he would last the distance,” he explained.
However, any lingering doubts were dispelled by Meyler’s determined performance and his extensive experience from previous significant handicap wins such as the Paddy Power with Anibale Fly and a Munster National with a certain Tiger Roll.
On the other hand, it was a disappointing day for Elliott who saw six out of twenty-two runners under his wing. Nonetheless, he was resilient and stated, “Both runners did exceptionally well coming second and third. I am excited at their performances and incredibly happy for Noel. We’ve had an amazing friendship over the years.”
Unfortunately, Danny Gilligan, who rode Duffle Coat, incurred an eight-day ban for his use of the whip during the major race. Mike O’Connor, who rode the fourth-placed horse Life In The Park, was also penalised for breaching whip regulations for the fourth time and received a 16-day suspension.
Earlier, the esteemed trainer Ross O’Sullivan paired with jockey Darragh O’Keeffe to achieve two consecutive victories. Talk In The Park deservedly won a handicap hurdle following a notable increase in market support, while Champella triumphed in the mares handicap at 10-1 odds. This means that O’Sullivan’s last four entries were successful.
Jack Kennedy, who placed third on Zanahiyr in the Plate, kickstarted the week with a win when Lightkeeper became a surprise 11-1 winner of the inaugural maiden hurdle. The winning horse is owned by a syndicate that includes the father of Gordon Elliott.
In the original text, amateur jockey Tom Hamilton concludes his British riding career on a high note, securing a seamless win for Joseph O’Brien on Shoda in a novice race. Hamilton now sets his sights on Australia for the continuation of his career in horse racing. In the final round, topweight Busselton, also under O’Brien’s guidance, triumphed over Emmet Mullin’s recent addition, Jacovec Cavern.
Meanwhile, at Goodwood, Aidan O’Brien’s contender Henry Longfellow failed to live up to the 11-10 expectations in the Sussex Stakes, ranking fourth behind Godolphin’s celebrity form the 2,000 Guineas, Notable Speech. This was a drastic turn from the results at Royal Ascot, where Henry Longfellow held second place to Rosallion while Notable Speech lost his undefeated record due to mediocre performance.
Returning to form in a dramatic fashion, Notable Speech’s victory granted both trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick their inaugural win in the prestigious mile competition. Appleby expressed his disappointment following the St James’s Palace Stakes, stating that he preferred his horse being defeated in the manner it was as opposed to ending in second or third place and admitting they weren’t up to par. He admitted the underperformance was a simple failure of the horse to show up, a question he asserts will persistently resurface, and one he fears he’ll never fully understand.
In terms of the audience, Galway’s third-day attendance dropped slightly from last year’s equivalent, with a reported 16,023 spectators compared to 16,604 the previous year.