Cromwell lands four Bellewstown winners, Ole Ole and Fiver Friday impress

Gavin Cromwell did more than sweep Bellewstown’s card with four winners on Saturday. He used the meeting to underline the depth of his yard, landing three of the opening four races and then the concluding bumper with horses at different stages of development, each one making a case that the stable is moving through a dangerous patch of form.

The afternoon began with Ole Ole in the 2:05 Byrne Marquees Maiden Hurdle over 2m1f30y. Backed from 4-5 in the morning to 1-3, the 4-year-old French-bred gelding justified the confidence in a 15-runner race on yielding ground and earned €7,068 for owner Vasile Ionesi. By Cloth Of Stars out of Flute Bowl, Ole Ole had been runner-up in all three previous Irish starts before falling in the Fred Winter at Cheltenham, so the win mattered as much for confidence as for the margin. Cromwell was blunt about the level he expected, saying, “On ratings, he should be doing that,” and added that the gelding could be held back for the Lartigue Hurdle at Listowel.

Fiver Friday kept the momentum rolling in the mares’ handicap hurdle, where the market again spoke loudly. Sent off 10-11 favourite, she followed up her Curragh win over Ribee and looked every inch an improving mare. Keith Donoghue’s read was equally upbeat: “We thought she would win today” and “a very slick jumper.” He also felt there could be more to come if she is aimed at a stronger race with a light weight, which is exactly the kind of profile Cromwell has been exploiting so effectively this spring.

Take Stock then extended the sequence in the 2m1f handicap hurdle, giving Eoin Staples a first Bellewstown success and a milestone worth noting in a season that is already moving fast. Staples said, “The season has been unbelievable. It’s savage to have 32 winners now and hopefully we’re not done yet.” Gillane completed the four-timer in the bumper as the evens favourite, sealing a card that covered a maiden hurdle, two handicap hurdles and a bumper.

That breadth is what makes Bellewstown stand out. A track with racing recorded as far back as 1726, perched on the Hill of Crockafotha in County Meath about 35km north of Dublin, only stages five meetings a year. On a rare afternoon there, Cromwell made the most of the platform, and the result looked less like a tidy set of wins than a statement that his stable is entering one of its most potent runs yet.