Denis Coakley's latest news...

• Power Home WINS in her first handicap hurdle race

  

  

  12 April 2021

  Power Home brought up her fifth career win, and her first hurdle win, for the delighted Poachers Dozen syndicate after her graduation from the heavy ground at Leicester through her progressive runs at Wincanton and Chepstow. She was certainly looking a picture in the preliminaries and had been working and schooling well under pilot Jonny Burke and others with Henrietta Knight. So a good run was expected and once more Jonny had her jumping for fun in a prominent race position tracking the leader all the way. For a moment crossing the third last of eight flights she lost second place, but as soon as Jonny asked her for more she responded very well turning in for home and looked to overhaul the long time leader. She was pushed along to take up the race approaching the last hurdle and then was always doing enough to hold off one challenging rival up the run in. By the post she had maintained a good margin to win by a length and three quarters. The good ground seem to bring out the best in Power Home, who holds no fears in a well run race at this distance or perhaps a little further in the future. 

  A number of photographs taken at Warwick can be found in the Gallery, and a link to the race video is posted here :

  https://www.dropbox.com/s/nniq...
  

• Two at Wolverhampton have to make do with seconds

  12 April 2021

  On Saturday hopes were high of good runs on the tapeta of Dunstall Park as Imelda Coakley's gelding Bobby Kennedy and Chris van Hoorn's filly Nell Quickly went up for the early evening meeting. Bobby Kennedy broke well in his extended nine furlong handicap race but he was very keen and green in early behind the race leader and a dawdling pace. He was running in second before halfway and was ridden to take it up from the quarter mile mark. Gaining a length advantage at the top of the straight he kept on well to the finish, but was strongly pressed by Karl Burke's filly in the closing stages and in a head bobbing finish was just denied by a short head right at the post. Nell Quickly had a very different race in her extended mile Novice Stakes contest, with some highly regarded opponents from top yards. Charlie Bishop this time was obliged to take the horse to the rear of the field and avoid racing wide until he moved her to an outside position at the top of the straight. Nell then really got into gear entering the last furlong to sweep past several rivals and gain a clear second, beaten only a little over a length by James Tate's filly, who had just been denied over course and distance last December. Fingers crossed that both Bobby and Nell hold every prospect of going one better next time out.

• Busy weekend begins with Patroon at Leicester

  12 April 2021

  Last Friday Chris van Hoorn's Blame gelding Patroon headed up to contest the 7 furlong Novice Stakes at Leicester on good to firm ground. Charlie Bishop had him breaking smartly and chasing the race leader of Kevin Ryan's but he had to be pushed along after five furlongs and weakened inside the final furlong as the market principals of Marcus Tregoning and Roger Varian outpaced him and fought out a tight finish about nine lengths ahead. Now he awaits an official rating so that he can step into handicap company for the first time.

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