Our Joe Mac

Our Joe Mac ran a cracker in the Class 2 seven-and-a-half-furlong handicap at Chester on Thursday to go down by just a short head to the useful Yaa Wayl, overcoming the combined disadvantages of an outside draw and the fact that he didn’t race up with the pace. Drawn in stall 12 of 12, Paul Hanagan tucked in behind early on well off the pace. Even at that, he was four horses wide rounding the turn into the back straight and he had to race four wide again around the home turn, which was obviously not an advantage, but the early pace was strong enough to give him a chance. He moved nicely in behind the leaders just before the home turn, and he was only a length down on the eventual winner Yaa Wayl as they straightened up. Philip Robinson got first run on him on the favourite, however, and went about a length and a half up on him before Our Joe Mac started to wear him down inside the last 100 yards, with the line just coming three strides too early.

This was a big performance from Richard Fahey’s gelding. Four of the first five home occupied the first four positions throughout the race, and they had a little break on the rest of the field. Our Joe Mac was the only horse to get into it from the back. This was just the fourth run of Our Joe Mac’s life and his first of the season, so he could come on significantly for it. The handicapper has raised him 5lb for this, which is fair, and he should be very competitive now off his new mark of 93. He is entered in the Silver Bowl at Haydock next Saturday, and he would be of big interest if he lines up in that. He should get a mile well, and that is a race that his trainer Richard Fahey won with Anna Pavlova four years ago.

6th May 2010