Whilst the final day of Royal Ascot was rounding off another fabulous festival, there were other meetings across Britain providing worthy back up. Two very speedy horses provided and across the card double as Kinnalargy and Mon Na Slieve blitzed their rivals.
There are certain things that can give a moment of fulfilment in this game and providing an owner with their first winner has to be towards the top of the list. Patrick and Sinead Dunne stepped into ownership this year, along with their family, looking to enjoy racing from a different side. They didn’t just dip their toe but jumped in and Kinnalargy was the result of an impressive breeze up purchase. He began to pay some of that back when he shed his maiden tag and took the 5f Free Racing TV At racingtv.com/freetrial EBF Novice stakes at Redcar.
The juvenile was set a fair task on debut, tackling a York novice which was sure to deliver some nice 2yo’s for the season ahead. Although worthy of lining up at the Knavesmire, inexperience unfortunately didn’t allow the colt to really show his true colours. He ran a lot better than the bare result and the manner in which he handled the occasion suggested that a win would no be far off.
Having raced over 6f on debut, Kinnalargy would drop to 5f for his second start. There would be 7 heading to post but the race revolved around the first two in the market, the well backed fav and Kinnalargy with Oisin McSweeney taking the ride. With the stalls being in the middle, stall 6 was seemingly no problem but, as is so often the case, they made a beeline for the far rail leaving the gates. This meant Oisin was stuck out on a wing, but not for long, as Kinnalargy showed good speed to move up allowing Oisin to track over and press the leader.
The two market rivals were locking horns from the off as they pressed the leader, forcing a pace of around 44mph. Blistering past halfway the leader was constantly under pressure, as the fav came through with ease. Oisin just had to nudge away to keep tabs on his rival, which Kinnalargy did on the outer. As they moved inside the 2f marker, the favourite was cantering alongside the leader, with Kinnalargy still moving through the gears under Oisin.
Entering the final furlong the whole race changed. The long time leader now gave way to the favourite who was still hard on the bridle. Kinnalargy was now finding his feet and began to hit top gear, closing down on the new leader. Within strides of passing the 1f pole, the seemingly obvious result quickly flipped. The favourite came under a drive and was not finding as much as expected. On the other hand Kinnalargy was only just getting going. Oisin pulled up alongside the leader with 110 yards to go. Momentarily he lugged in, changing legs, before quickening up. Sticking his neck into the lead, Kinnalargy was now eating up the ground. He put the race to bed in the final strides, crossing the line to win by a length.
It was great to see all the Dunne family attending Redcar to welcome in their first winner. Not only did Kinnalargy win going away but he also lowered the 2yo track record, so this really was an impressive performance. Although he showed plenty of speed, Kinnalargy didn’t hit top gear until late on so a step back up to 6f would likely be coming on his next run. He is a very likeable colt and looks to have bags of potential.
From a juvenile with bags of speed to a real speed ball. Mon Na Slieve has been on a bit of a comeback mission this year and made a huge impression at Ayr. Showing blistering speed he burnt his rivals off and took the 5f Unite John Gillespie Memorial Handicap at Ayr.
Having got back to winning ways earlier in the season, Mon Na Slieve has kind of been a little in and out. Despite that he had performed admirably on a higher grade than this, so coming into the contest he looked to be the one to beat. Kevin Stott took the ride as the pair took on 6 rivals, with positivity being the mantra of the day.
The only time that Mon Na Slieve would see a rival would be in the stalls because once they opened he was out and gone. Quickly into his stride, the chestnut had a clear lead from the off. He had his rivals strung out through the first furlong, as the speedometer rose to 44mph.
There was no hanging about and to some it may have looked as though Mon Na Slieve could end up being a spent force with the pace he was travelling at. Far from that he had his rivals in trouble a long way from home as Kevin allowed the gelding to bowl along utilise his speed.
Mon Na Slieve held a length lead entering the final furlong as he came under a drive. Once Kevin got to work, the chestnut quickened up and quickly put the race to bed. Opening up an unassailable advantage, Mon Na Slieve strode out to an eased up 3 1/4 length win, dominating from start to finish.
It was an impressive victory from Mon Na Slieve as he blasted down the straight 5f but was able to quicken off a strong gallop. He has a ton of natural speed and there is only one gear he knows, which is top gear. There are some nice races coming up and somewhere like York should suit him perfectly, especially with a likely ride in the handicap upcoming.