Roscommon Races two-day meeting

The racing season continues unabated at Roscommon on Monday 3rd September (and Tuesday) with a two-day meeting that is sure to capture the imagination of local racegoers. The action on Monday will commence at 4.35 pm with the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Median Auction Fillies Maiden over 7f which, as always, can be expected to be well supported by the country’s top trainers. The most valuable event on the card is the €25,000 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Handicap over 1m 2f and it can be expected to attract a competitive field. The Flat action on the card will be wrapped up by two contests over 1m 4f, the Castlerea Claiming Race and the Elphin Handicap. Following the conclusion of the latter contest, the focus will switch to the jumping game and the highlight of the National Hunt action is sure to be the Jim Connaughton Memorial Novice Hurdle over two miles in which the Dessie Hughes-trained Well Oiled is likely to bid to win his second race in succession over hurdles. Owned by Benny Connaughton, who is based in America but originates from the locality, the six-year-old won a bumper at Roscommon in July before winning a maiden hurdle at the Galway Festival and he is sure to take all the beating. The remainder of the jumps action on Monday will consist of the Frenchpark Mares Maiden Hurdle over 2m 4f and the concluding final meeting of 2007 on October 1st Flat Race. Tuesday 4th September: The second day of Roscommon’s September meeting will see another exciting mixed card that will cater to the taste of a wide variety of racegoers. The meeting will get underway at 5.10 pm with the Four Roads Median Auction Maiden over 7f for two-year-olds, before the Kiltoom Handicap over 1m 4f takes centre stage. The €17,500 Boyle Handicap Steeplechase over 2m is the most valuable race on the card and it is sure to provide an exciting spectacle, while the Curraghboy Maiden Hurdle and the Lecarrow Handicap Hurdle are also sure to attract competitive fields. The card will be wrapped up by the Ballyleague Flat Race which invariably attracts a field full of promising young sorts and is very much a race to pay close attention to. Don’t forget, the party doesn’t stop at the conclusion of the last race as the craic is sure to be good in Roscommon town on both Monday and Tuesday evenings after the racing.