‘He could turn into a St Leger horse’ – Tower Of London storms to an authoritative victory in the Ulster Derby

Tower Of London justified favouritism in the €100,000 Ulster Derby when charging clear to an impressive victory in the prestigious handicap under Killian Hennessy.

A son of the late Galileo, he backed up his win in the King George V Cup at Leopardstown last month with a dominant four and a quarter-length success to give the jockey his first winner since July 2020.

Michael Bell made the journey from Britain with Ibrahimovic and it looked like it would prove a fruitful trip when he swept to the front two furlongs out under Dylan Browne McMonagle, but the eye was soon drawn to Hennessy who oozed confidence on board the 5-2 favourite.

Hennessy retained his composure and eased the winner to the front with the minimal of urging before his mount cleared away from Ibrahimovic, with stablemate Hippodrome a further length and a half back in third.

The winner is 16-1 with Paddy Power for the St Leger at Doncaster. He would emulate his full brother Capri if he was to land the Classic in September.

Trainer Aidan O’Brien’s stable representative Chris Armstrong said: “Killian gave him a lovely ride and Colin set a nice tempo on the other horse in front who was having his first run back. We thought he was nicely treated and it’s brilliant for Killian as he is a massive part of the team at home. It’s great this time of year as Aidan can spread the rides around.

“He probably appreciates that nicer ground and the team up here have the track in beautiful condition. He could possibly turn into a St Leger horse but there will be plenty of races for him at this distance.”

Enfranchise snares Oaks

Enfranchise dug deep to land a brave victory in the Ulster Oaks when denying the Joseph O’Brien-trained Grecian Slipper in a thrilling finish.

Previously very useful on the Flat for Mark and Charlie Johnston, Enfranchise began life for new handler Shark Hanlon with three runs over hurdles earlier this year, but defied a mark of 91 on her return to the Flat.

Winning jockey Gavin Ryan said: “She has a lovely pedigree and Shark was very sweet on her today. She will stay all day and Shark said to make plenty of use of her as this would be her minimum trip. She probably got a little lonely, but I just love how hard she fought.”

McMonagle riding out of his skin

Jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle’s full talents were on display as he landed a rapid handicap double.

McMonagle first struck in the 1m2½f handicap on Picture Of A City before he scored in the other 1m2½f handicap 35 minutes later on Pinot Gris.