Halpin edges out his former boss

THERE was a first training success at Galway last Thursday for Dunderry trainer James Halpin when his 8/1 chance Noble Commander which he purchased for a syndicate from the Ratoath and Ashbourne areas won a thrilling bumper under a stylish ride from talented amateur Andrew Duff. The victory was made all the more memorable for Halpin as his charge got the better of the Noel Meade-trained Eirinn"s Rock by a short head. Meade and Halpin are cousins and the Nobber native won the same race almost 30 years ago for the Castletown trainer with a horse called Dusky Fox. 'It was a very tight finish with two short heads separating the first three and while Noel was disappointed not to win, he was the first person to congratulate me in the winners" enclosure,' stated the trainer. 'The horse is owned by a syndicate and two of the members, Simon Donnelly and Terence McGovern, were there for the celebrations. 'We"ll keep him going over the next couple of months and he will probably go over hurdles next,' added Halpin. There was plenty of local success at the seven-day Galway Festival. Trainer Ger Lyons gave South African jockey Keagan Latham his first winner on Wednesday when Invincible Joe (8-1) scored a decisive win in a handicap while Tony Martin was on the mark on Tuesday with Reisk Superman. Meade eventually got off the mark on Saturday when he landed the opening race with Gay Sloane which won impressively for jockey Niall 'Slippers" Madden. Johnny Murtagh bypassed Galway after the opening night and was in action at Goodwood. On Saturday he won another Group 1 race, the Nassau Stakes, with the Aidan O"Brien-trained Halfway To Heaven and also successful with Jukebox Jury in a seven-furlong maiden event to complete a double. Also at Goodwood Murtagh won on Yeats as the O"Brien colt took his career earnings past the £1million mark by landing the Royal Bank of Scotland Goodwood Cup for a second time. The triple Ascot Gold Cup winner took over from the pace-setting Tungsten Strike two furlongs out and powered clear of the opposition. 'He"s a great horse and a true warrior, the crowds turned out to see him and he didn"t let them down, but he has often done more at home on the gallops,' commented Murtagh. Henrythenavigator made it four Group 1 wins this season when getting the better of Raven"s Pass for Murtagh in the Sussex Stakes and will now be aimed at the Breeders Cup Classic at Santa Anita. Back at Naas on Monday, Murtagh was the man to follow as he recorded a treble. The first leg of the treble came on John Hayden"s Harrier Call followed by the impressive Black Bear Island for O"Brien and Festival Princess for trainer Michael Halford.