It was all about Team Ireland in Week 5 of Racing League as they had four winners but Wales and The West continued their reign at the top of the leaderboard.
Perfect start for Ireland
Team Ireland and The East secured the top points in the opener as Road To Wembley and Churchella came first and third while the East’s contenders finished second and fourth.
The race appeared to be in the hands of the North and Show No Fear but this set up the race nicely for Road to Wembley. Team Ireland’s charge sat patiently until two furlongs out as he began to challenge the long-time leader. The East’s Almudena followed him through and began to give chase but was eventually no match for the Road To Wembley in the hands of Finley Marsh.
This began what would be a glittering evening for Team Ireland.
Double delight
Team Ireland’s domination extended into the second race as the front-running Cloud Seeker managed to fend off Parlando to get gold.
Again, it was another charge from the North and Hartswood, who shared the lead with Cloud Seeker in the early stages of the race.
After the final bend, Parlando joined Team Ireland’s charge and a battle ensued with Andrew Slattery’s three-year-old. This didn’t last long as Cloud Seeker powered on past the line.
This resulted in more vital points being secured for Team Ireland, again having the first and third in this contest, further closing the gap between them and Team East.
Hat-trick landed
The dream continued for Team Ireland as a well-timed gap allowed Bright to go wide and claim the maximum points. This brought up the double for Marsh in his first season involved in Racing League.
But it was true heartbreak for The North as they were denied despite a late run from far back by Northern Spirit. Tactically this race was important with The North claiming second and third and Yorkshire in fourth denying the other leading contenders like Wales and The West and London and the South even more points.
Bright brought up the hat-trick for Ireland
No stopping Ireland
It was a four-timer at Newcastle as former Derby hope Kamboo got the better of Night Breeze and La Pulga to secure another maximum points haul.
Cieren Fallon had the three-year-old dig deep and stick to task to fight off Wales and The West’s charge Night Breeze and Scotland’s five-year-old. Despite.
Despite struggling at Chepstow and Windsor, Team Ireland still sat in fourth place but everything was still to play for with less than 100 points between them and the leaders Wales and The West.
Home soil success
The North notched a win on home soil as Tolstoy chased down the London and the South duo, Storm Star and Al Rufaa. It really was a tremendous run from Tolstoy, showing off how well he can run coming through horses.
However, this second and third for London and the South enabled them to gain ground from Wales and the West. The team in red somewhat struggled up until race five at Newcastle.
Tolstoy ridden by jockey Ben Robinson on their way to winning
Worth the journey
Heathcliff made the journey worth it for Team East and James Fanshawe. He came from the clouds to land the first winner of the evening for the yellow team. It was a trio of Heathcliff, Thunder Blue and The Caltonian battling each other until Danny Muscutt got his charges head in front.
The second-placed Thunder Blue landed important points for the leaders Wales and the West and the well-timed joker from Lynda Perrat got Scotland double points for third.
Everything was changing in the jockeys standings as reigning champion Saffie Osborne went clear at the top. Yet Muscutt is breathing down her neck. The leader heading into this week, Billy Loughnane, was absent due to him riding at York. He has significant ground to make up at Southwell.
Wales and the West’s classy charge lands the last
The classy Ten Pounds landed the lucky last for Wales and the West to extend their lead in this year’s Racing League.
It was a strangely run feature with a slow race with Ireland’s Barbapapa going to the front. Ten Pounds easily picked the field off and comfortably secured the 25 points. Ireland’s great night continued with second place.
However, it’s all to play for ahead of the final week at Southwell where Wales and the West (689 ½) could be toppled by London and the South (648), The East (626) or Ireland (579).
Watch the final week of Racing League live on Sky Sports Racing