Karniquet and Sortudo impress on debut at Tramore
SMART PROSPECT: Sortudo wins the bumper at Tramore in the hands of Jody Townend. Picture: Healy Racing
Willie Mullins topped and tailed Tuesday’s Tramore card with odds-on stable debutants favourites Karniquet and Sortudo.
In a race which Mullins won with Gaelic Warrior in 2022, French import Karniquet, sent off the 4-5 favourite, made an impressive Irish debut in the opening 2025 Annual Badge At Tramore Maiden Hurdle, mastering market rival Downmemorylane on the long run-in (they jumped only four hurdles due to the low sun) to score by 11 lengths.
Paul Townend enthused: “He gave me a lovely feel throughout the race. His two runs in France helped him. It’s testing out there and we didn’t go quick, but he won well. He’s tall and still narrow, so he’s entitled to improve plenty and, hopefully, be a decent sort.”
The Closutton double was completed when Sortudo, runner-up to the well-regarded Ma Jacks Hill in his only point-to-point outing, justified 2-5 favouritism in the bumper, the Garrarus Beach Ladies Pro-Am Flat Race.
Keen early under Jody Townend, the Authorized gelding tanked into the lead in the dip and stayed on stoutly to beat longshot Pounds At The Time by five and a half lengths.
Patrick Mullins didn’t hide the regard in which Sortudo is held, commenting: “Jody did well to get him settled. Authorized is a brilliant sire and I think there’s a lot of improvement in him. This is an exciting horse going forward and could be at the top end of our bumper horses. He’ll stay in bumpers this season and we might look at Leopardstown at Christmas with him.”
But there was no luck for the Mullins team in the New Years Day Discount Tickets Online Mares Maiden Hurdle as 7-4 favourite Sainte Tartare was collared late by Colin Bowe’s point-to-point winner The Great Nudie (called after former Monaghan footballer Nudie Hughes), the first leg of a 53/1 double for jockey Sean Flanagan.
The winning rider explained: “She’s a fantastic jumper and it would have been better if all the hurdles were jumped. She was a good winner of a point but never looked a bumper mare. There’s plenty more to come from her.”
Flanagan completed his double when Roxhill Roise, a course and distance maiden winner last spring, dug deep to see off Lilian Bland by a half-length in the Book A Table For New Years Day Mares Handicap Hurdle, boosting the excellent Tramore record of trainer David O’Brien, who said: “She’s a mare that works well and is improving away. She handles that soft ground. And I’m delighted for her owners (the Cairde Gaoil Syndicate) – they’re having great fun with her.”
Keith Donoghue was also in double form, landing both chases on the card.
Unlucky on his last visit to this track, Gavin Cromwell’s Jouster sparked Donoghue’s 51-1 brace when outpointing favourite Pipers Boreen in the Eddie McDonald Beginners Chase.
And Donoghue followed up on board his brother Ian’s Portarlington, off the mark over hurdles on his second start for the stable at Fairyhouse recently, in the Ladies Cove Handicap Chase.
The five-year-old saw off the consistent but frustrating Bite That and will reappear at Clonmel next Tuesday.
