To quote the immortal phrase, it was deja vu all over again at Laytown last night when the champion apprentice Eddie Ahern made the biggest impression on the sand with a double.
Twelve months ago Ahern scored a treble, but brilliant as that was, his winning effort on the favourite, Gerrydardis, in the Guinness Perfect Pint Handicap last night was just as worthy.
When the outsider Copper Glen shot clear at half way, the rest of the field were quickly off the bridle. Initially it was New Chapter that seemed to respond best as they came to the furlong pole, but Ahern used his streamlined American crouch style, honed on the Californian dirt tracks during winter breaks, to gradually force Gerrydardis up on the outside and beat New Chapter and Approved Quality by two heads.
"He almost gave me heart failure but Eddie Ahern says he was always going to win," grinned winning trainer Jim Kavanagh, who was saddling his first Laytown winner. "But I suppose when you're riding well you can do these things."
Gerrydardis was a first Irish winner for Hong Kong owner Wong Wai Kai, who has bought the Cheerine Stud on the Curragh. He owned the winner of the Macau Derby winner this year who was trained by Danny Murphy, and Kavanagh said: "This should set him up nicely in his Irish career, although when he sees the tape of Laytown he may be a bit confused."
Ahern's win in the opening sprint was a much easier affair as Magic Annemarie shot clear of her opposition to finally win a race at the 23rd attempt.
"At last," said a relieved trainer Pat Martin. who trains the filly for the 12-man Impact Syndicate headed by David Hughes, who is the assistant general secretary of the Impact Trade Union. The syndicate's two previous wins also came at Laytown, with Jenbro. "She barely gets five furlongs on the racecourse but her style is to just go," Martin added.
Sycamore Boy had an equally easy win in the seven-furlong maiden when Garrett Cotter coped with the horse's high head carriage to give Sycamore Boy's owner Paddy Kelly a first winner in 15 years of ownership. "Paddy has stuck it out well," said trainer Dessie Hughes, who added: "The horse is dead honest. He carries his head high but that's just his gait. He showed more speed than I thought he would."
Course specialist Bolero Dancer couldn't win his fifth race at Laytown and had to settle for second in the last to Vintage Display, while Iftatah followed up an earlier successful Dundalk gamble when winning the St James Gate race for John McNamara after being backed from 4 to 1 to 15 to 8.
Adrian Maguire has reversed the decision to appeal against the 10-day ban imposed upon him by the Newton Abbot stewards on Saturday, his agent Robert Parsons has revealed.
Maguire was penalised for causing intentional interference to Caspian Beluga after the fifth fence of a handicap chase when partnering the unplaced Synieyourmissed.
