Ballyshannon Rose

Ballyshannon Rose was impressive in winning the two-and-a-half-mile mares’ beginners’ chase at Thurles on Thursday. Held up early on by Donie McInerney, and wide around the first turn, she moved up on the outside down the back straight first time, and she jumped her way into a share of the lead over the two fences across the top of the track. She moved to the front on her own over the first fence in the back straight final time, and she wasn’t headed thereafter. She jumped well, stretched her rivals out across the top of the track and, when Brave Way challenged her, she just extended when her rider gave her a squeeze. She jumped the final fence well and kept on nicely to win by three lengths from The Sliding Rock, who kept on into second place.

It was quite a taking performance from Paul Fahey’s mare. The ground was probably faster than ideal and the trip and track combination was probably sharper than ideal, so she did well to win as well as she did. As well as that, she was weak in the pre-race market, it is probable that she will come on appreciably for this run, her chasing bow and her first run since she finished second to Darrens Hope in a Grade 3 mares’ novices’ hurdle at Limerick last March.

She was a rapidly progressive hurdler last season, she won four handicap hurdles on the spin during the winter, remarkably, on soft and heavy ground, improving from a handicap mark of 87 to a mark of 129, and there is every reason to expect, on this evidence, that she can continue that progression now over fences. She should do even better too when she steps up in trip over fences and when she encounters softer ground.
Thurles, 21^st October 2021