By Tom Frary
It was about time for another Jim Bolger star to come forward and Saturday saw his outsider Mac Swiney (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) duly prevail to put Coolcullen back in the headlines in The Curragh's G2 Galileo Irish EBF Futurity S. Hardly advertising his claims when ninth in Leopardstown's G3 Tyros S. over this seven-furlong trip Aug. 6, the 28-1 shot was the subject of a no-nonsense ride from Kevin Manning tracking Ballydoyle's pacemaker Ontario (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) throughout. With that 20-1 shot refusing to give up on the lead, the homebred had to get down to bare knuckles late on and only managed to subdue that front-runner in the final yards along with the 4-5 favourite Cadillac (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}). Approaching the line, it was Mac Swiney who had more to give and he forged a half-length verdict over the market-leader, with the same margin back to the game Ontario in third. “He did it well on ground he wouldn't really appreciate,” Una Manning commented. “The plan now is to go for the [G1] National Stakes. When he won here the last time he said he was his Derby horse. It seemed to be a strong race. Hopefully we can get a good result in the National Stakes now and go from there.”
Mac Swiney, who had finished fifth behind TDN Rising Star Hudson River (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in a course-and-distance maiden June 28 before breaking his maiden again over this track and trip July 18 prior to his Tyros reversal, is inbred 2×3 to Galileo. His unraced dam Halla Na Saoire (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) is a full-sister to the G2 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial winner and G1 Irish Derby third Light Heavy (Ire) and a half to Halla Siamsa (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) who produced the G1 Dewhurst S. hero Parish Hall (Ire) from a mating with Teofilo and his full-brother Hall of Fame (Ire) who was third in this. The third dam Amoura (Northfields) is also the ancestress of the Listed Curragh S. winner An Ghalanta (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), who is in turn the dam of this year's Listed Empress S. winner Time Scale (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) and Bletchley (GB) (Makfi {GB}) who was runner-up in the GII Nassau S. and G3 Albany S. Halla Na Saoire also has a yearling colt by Vocalised.
Saturday, Curragh, Ireland
GALILEO IRISH EBF FUTURITY S.-G2, €95,000, Curragh, 8-22, 2yo, 7fT, 1:29.68, sf.
1–MAC SWINEY (IRE), 131, c, 2, by New Approach (Ire)
1st Dam: Halla Na Saoire (Ire), by Teofilo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Siamsa, by Quest for Fame (GB)
3rd Dam: Amoura, by Northfields
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Mrs J S Bolger; B/T-Jim Bolger (IRE); J-Kevin Manning. €57,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-0-0, $79,070. Werk Nick Rating: First SW from this cross. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Cadillac (Ire), 131, c, 2, Lope de Vega (Ire)–Seas of Wells (Ire), by Dansili (GB). (€40,000 Ylg '19 GOFOR). O-Alpha Racing 2020; B-Sunderland Holdings Inc (IRE); T-Jessica Harrington. €19,000.
3–Ontario (Ire), 131, c, 2, Galileo (Ire)–Timbuktu (Ire), by Fastnet Rock (Aus). O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €9,500.
Margins: HF, HF, 1HF. Odds: 28.00, 0.80, 20.00.
Also Ran: Snapraeterea (Ire), Trusted Ally (GB), Van Gogh, To Glory (GB), Southern Cape (Ire). Scratched: Military Style. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
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