Tylicki hoping Elm Grove can bounce back to winning ways

1m2½f| Pyramid Bookmakers Handicap | ATR

If Madeleine Tylicki thought she’d found the keys to Elm Grove after the mare made a successful stable debut at Ballinrobe last month, she was very much left scrambling for them after the six-year-old bombed out on her next start at Sligo.

After winning that Ballinrobe handicap, Elm Grove finished last of the seven runners at Sligo off 7lb higher, but Tylicki is putting the defeat down to the ground and not the rise in the weights.

With that in mind, Tylicki is hoping Elm Grove can return to form in the penultimate 1m2f handicap at Roscommon on Monday with ground conditions to suit.

The trainer said: “She’s in good form and I just don’t think the ground was ideal for her the last day at Sligo as she never seemed to let herself down on it.

“It’s soft at Roscommon and that should be right up her street so I’m very hopeful that she can go close.

“It was great to get the win at Ballinrobe with her and I hope we can be successful again for John Malone. He’s a great owner to have in the yard.”

Monday night racing at the Irish trackCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Elm Grove is not the only horse Tylicki trains for Malone, with the owner’s second inmate, Peace Approved, set to make her handicap debut for the stable earlier on the card (6.50).

Speaking about the prospects of sending out her first double, Tylicki added: “We also have Peace Approved running for John in the seven-furlong handicap. It’s her first handicap but she’s in good order and it’s exciting to have the two fillies going there with a chance.

"I’d be delighted with one winner never mind a double, but hopefully it will happen one day!”

Fitzpatrick - 'Dandy's got a golden chance'

Success for Dandys Gold in the first division of the 7f handicap (6.20) would be bittersweet for trainer William Fitzpatrick as it would greatly increase the chances of the Dandy Man mare being sold. She has won three and placed eight times for the stable so far.

Dandys Gold was led out unsold at a recent horses-in-training sale after failing to meet her reserve but victory at Roscommon is likely to drive renewed interest in the four-year-old, who is still on the market, according to Fitzpatrick.

He said: “We're expecting a big run from her. She ran well at Cork off the back of an absence of over 80 days and we think she can improve on that effort, so hopefully she can run a big race.

“We brought her over to the Newmarket sales recently but she didn't quite reach her reserve. As far as I know, her owner [George Halford] is still planning on selling her and I wouldn't imagine we'll have her for too much longer if she runs well.”

He added of the mare’s regular rider, Dylan Hogan, a 7lb claimer making a big name for himself: “He knows her well. He’s a great young fella who's based in Kevin Prendergast's - who we train quite close to - and he always comes and rides her work.”

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