'We've had a great couple of days' - The Banger Doyle rounds off memorable 24 hours for Queally and Nicholson

The Banger Doyle won the Ballykisteen Beginners Chase to make it two wins in two days for trainer John Queally and owner John Nicholson, who also teamed up to win at Tramore on Monday with Pat Coyne.

The Banger Doyle was up with the pace for the majority of the 2m1½f contest and recovered admirably after getting in a bit tight to the third-last before fending off Clifton Warrior by half a length.

This was his first completion over fences on his third start and his fearless style of jumping is not for the faint-hearted, but he tends to land with significant momentum when he meets one right and there could be plenty more to come.

Queally said: “He was a very promising bumper horse and fences are his game. He’s a bold and brave jumper and we’ll likely stick to novice company for the moment.”

Nicholson gave some background on the names attached to both horses. He said: “The Banger Doyle is named after a friend of mine, Johnny Doyle, who lived down the road. He passed away a couple of years ago – he was a great character.

“I asked his wife if I could call this horse The Banger Doyle. He was called The Banger, he was a great coursing man and used to slip the greyhounds at Clonmel. The dam had a colt foal last night, which is great.“

Pat Coyne was named after another character who I met in Galway when I bought the horse. 

“We’ve had a great couple of days. I don’t know what we’ll do tomorrow though!”

Solness a novice to follow

The feature novice chase went the way of Joseph O’Brien and JJ Slevin when Solness continued his bright start over fences with his second victory from three starts.

His task was made more straightforward given there were two non-runners and his main market rival All Those Years blundered badly and unseated Philip Byrnes at the first fence, but the five-year-old put in a professional performance, jumping well for the most part and quickening nicely before the last to beat Chameron by five lengths.

Slevin said: “He’s an uncomplicated horse. This was a nice opportunity and he might progress into a nice two-mile handicapper for the summer.”

Deserved victory

Castle Field Boy gained a deserved success for trainer Patrick Foley in division two of the 2m4f maiden hurdle. 

He has performed creditably since going over jumps at the beginning of this year, improving steadily with each start and displayed a determined attitude to get back up after being headed by Rule The Wind coming to the final flight.

He will have a break before returning next season to tackle fences.

Read more:

'I'm not going to start crying just yet' - Frankie Dettori back in Britain with a winner 

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