Midlands National winner is crowned in sunny Kilbeggan
Sweltering heat and high temperatures greeted racing fans at Kilbeggan on July 11 for what was a wonderful evening of racing and a big crowd enjoyed plenty of thrilling entertainment on the track, while a party atmosphere prevailed throughout the venue.
In the feature race of the evening, the Henry de Bromhead-trained gelding Amirite made all of the running to capture the Midlands National, making up for last year’s second-place finish.
In what was an intriguing duel on the run-in, Amirite showed great resilience and refused to surrender the lead, claiming victory by just a head in the €100,000 event, sponsored by Kilmurray’s Hardware, Mullingar. It was a thrilling finish to the feature event.
Amirite went one better than last year, only just fending off the Willie Mullins-trained Mica Malpic, a late entry after a number of withdrawals due to the fast ground. Jockey Darragh O’Keeffe got a terrific spin out of the winner, who came in at odds of 6/1, giving supporters a boost at the well-attended event.
The winner was strong enough to survive an error at the second last, while he was less than fluent at the last when hard pressed by Mica Malpic.
Speaking afterwards, stable representative Robbie Power praised the performance of horse and jockey, noting how Darragh O’Keeffe got the tactics right on the evening and indicated the winner may well have a rattle at the Aintree Grand National in the future.
“He winged fences apart from the second last and the last, the two most important ones. Darragh gave him a brilliant ride. He said going out what he was going to do and that’s exactly what he did,” remarked Power.
“He knew the horse well and knew what he wanted to do. He was confident all the time if something came to him he was going to pick up and find and thankfully he did. He’s been up there on the pace the whole way and he stuck his head out after getting under the last. He put his head down and galloped all the way to the line.”
After coming close in previous events, it was a welcome victory for the Paddy Hale star.
“I’ve been saying for a long time that there is a big one in this lad but I didn’t think we’d have to wait a year for the same race again. I thought he would have had his day before now,” said Robbie Power.
“I’m delighted for Paddy (Hale), he’s been very patient with him. He ran a blinder in Aintree over the national fences in the Topham.
Paddy would like to go back for the Grand National if he gets high enough in the weights.
“I’m delighted for the horse but especially delighted for Paddy, he’s had a few ups and downs but he’s run some big races in those big handicaps and deserved to win one.”
It wasn't just about the racing - the Sustainable Style Winner in the ladies competition was Emma Hussey O’Gorman whose outfit was a perfect example of fashion with purpose and it wowed the judges, Eileen Loughlin and Jane Foster.
Sponsors of this event were Midland Veterinary, Kilmurray’s Homevalue Hardware, and The Annebrook House Hotel, Mullingar.
The winner scooped €3,000 cash, a two-night stay with dinner at Annebrook House Hotel and a beautifully curated bouquet from Mullingar florist Theresa Nixon.
*See more photos in this week's print edition.