Image © Healy Racing
Declan Lavery continued his strong season with a notable weekend double across Portrush and Oldcastle last weekend, headlined by a particularly taking performance from Mourne Crystal on Saturday.
The Downpatrick rider partnered the Patrick Turley-trained four-year-old to a dominant success in the maiden at Portrush, before following up 24 hours later aboard Thehandsomecharmer at Oldcastle.
Mourne Crystal produced one of the standout displays of the weekend, travelling powerfully throughout before quickening clear to score by nine lengths, with the clock backing up the visual impression.
“He’s a fair horse,” Lavery said. “His homework was good and I was sort of half expecting him to win, to be honest.
“He’s probably a bit of a freak in a good way - there’s just something different about him. He’s got speed, stays, jumps and travels.”
The ease of the victory was matched by how well the Crystal Ocean-sired gelding came out of the race.
“He’s perfect. I actually rode him on the beach on Monday morning and he was bouncing. You wouldn’t think he had a race.”
There is already strong market interest in the gelding, with his future likely to lie in the sales ring.
“He’s hopefully sold already. I’m not 100% sure, but if not he’ll go to the field and then probably to the Aintree sales.”
The performance inevitably drew comparisons with former stablemate The Mourne Rambler, who finished second in a Portrush maiden in October before going on to land the Grade 1 Champion Bumper at Cheltenham.
Lavery had identified that horse’s ability from an early stage and sees clear similarities between the pair.
“I said before The Mourne Rambler even ran that he was the real deal. That’s what you want. You want to be selling horses that go on and do that.
“They’re very, very similar. I wouldn’t say he’s better than him, but he’s very like him. His performance the other day was very good. His time was well above average. He’s definitely one of the best horses I’ve sat on.”
Portrush continues to prove a happy hunting ground for Lavery and Turley, with the rider noting that conditions at the north coast venue played a key role in Saturday’s success.
“We’ve no problem sending a good horse there. I like it. I wouldn’t run one on proper quick ground, but it was perfect the other day.”
Lavery completed his double in the concluding race on the card at Oldcastle on Sunday, aboard the five-year-old Thehandsomecharmer for Billy Codd.
“Jamie [Codd] fancied him beforehand. It probably wasn’t the strongest race, but he won well and did it nicely.”
The double adds further momentum to what has already been a productive campaign for the 34-year-old, who has his sights firmly set on adding to his tally before the season concludes.
“I had 16 winners last year, which was my best season, and I’d like to get into double figures again this year. I’m on eight now, so hopefully I can get there.”
Earlier this season, Lavery reached a significant milestone when partnering the record-breaking Winged Leader to victory at Kirkistown, bringing up his 100th winner between the flags.
“I was delighted to do it on a horse like Winged Leader. It’s not many compared to the likes of Barry [O’Neill], Rob [James] or Derek [O’Connor], but it still takes something to get to 100.”
Lavery’s association with Turley has been a key factor in his recent success. The pair grew up together, pony racing and later working for former trainer Brian Hamilton, before going their separate ways. Turley went to Britain and Lavery to work in leading yards including Willie Mullins, where he rode as a conditional jockey.
They later reunited when Turley began training pointers, and Lavery has since become an integral part of the Kingsfield operation.
“I’m there every day. We were friends from years back, pony racing and working together, and when he came back from England to go into training, I was in Gordon Elliott’s, and I came home and started working with him.”
Alongside his point-to-point commitments, Lavery continues to maintain links with the track, where he has ridden close to 100 winners. He also regularly rides out and schools for Gavin Cromwell when opportunities allow.
“I try to get into Gavin’s maybe once a fortnight if I can, ride a bit of work and school. It’s good to keep that going as well.”
Despite his growing list of achievements, Lavery remains driven by the process of producing young horses, which he identifies as the most rewarding aspect of the job.
“It’s the young horses. You get a great kick out of it - breaking them, doing all the schooling and then seeing them go and win. There’s pressure with it, but you thrive off that.”
With a number of promising four-year-olds still to come from the Turley yard, Lavery is hopeful there is more to come before the campaign draws to a close.
“We’ve a couple of nice four-year-olds to come out in the next few weeks, so that’s probably the main aim, to try and get a few more of them and hopefully get into double figures.”
“We’ve a couple of nice four-year-olds to come out in the next few weeks, so that’s probably the main aim, to try and get a few more of them and hopefully get into double figures.”
