'I'll have to keep my name in the hat for the ride!' - Patrick Mullins thinks Helvic Dream could be a Supreme horse

Noel Meade's race planner deserves a bonus after Group 1 winner Helvic Dream took full advantage of the race conditions of the Amateur Riders Derby.

Patrick Mullins was given the responsibility in the saddle, and while the horse is not at the same level as when winning the 2021 Tattersalls Gold Cup, he was good enough as he had a bit in hand when holding off high-class jumper Coeur Sublime by three-quarters of a length in a race confined to those who had not won a weight-for-age race worth more than €12,000 since September 2022.

It even had Mullins contemplating the prospect of Helvic Dream tackling a different discipline.

He said: "He could be a Supreme Novices' Horse and it was a pleasure to ride him. It was a messy race but he enjoyed it. He travelled away through them but he doesn't do a lot in front. I was very respectful of Coeur Sublime, but we've won comfortably enough.

"It was lovely for the owners to be here. When he won the Group 1 the owners couldn't be here as it was during Covid. 

"He used to be very keen, he was very settled there in a messy race. If they wanted to try the hurdles avenue I'm sure they could. I'll have to keep my name in the hat for the ride!"

Alfalfa thrown out

It looked as though Tim Doyle and apprentice Wayne Hassett had struck again when favourite Alfalfa came from off the pace to hit the front in the 1m2f handicap, but he hung left, causing interference to his main rival Kermiya.

It was almost a carbon copy of the finish to the handicap at Galway the previous day, when the trainer-jockey combination were successful with Kinda Tiny, but this time the decision of the stewards did not go their way. The placings of the first two were reversed, with Kermiya promoted to first place for Johnny Murtagh and Ben Coen.

For the second day in a row Hassett was found guilty of careless riding, his fourth offence this season. He received a 12-day ban to add to the eight days he got at Galway on Monday.

Colt a straight shooter

Aidan O'Brien's two-year-olds have proved adaptable to ground over the past few weeks and he introduced another smart-looking type in Samuel Colt in the opening maiden.

The son of No Nay Never did not pick up immediately for Seamie Heffernan, but when he did inside the final furlong he impressively went clear from two Fozzy Stack newcomers Eclipse Emerald and Shandy to score by four and a half lengths.

"He's a lovely colt. He wasn't in love with the ground but his class got him through it. He could be an exciting colt for next year," said assistant trainer Chris Armstrong.

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