It was a good night for two former stars and a shocker for Jimmy Wright as Ballymac Mossjoe and Pinpoint Ethan won semi finals of the Betfred Steel City Cup at Sheffield.
Wright’s Minglers Thunder (T2) went to boxes as the the 9-4 favourite in the first semi final but made no impression as Pinpoint Ethan (T4 4-1) finally showed British punters the sort of form that saw him take on the very best in Ireland under his old name of Ballymac Boxcar.
In his last race in Ireland – the final of the Race Of Champions at Tralee, Ethan had led the likes of Rural Hawaii, Leave At Dawn and Farloe Joey until the final stages. His English card showed two early defeats before a first round win at Sheffield. This was his fourth race and it was all over by the second bend. After clocking a 4.21 sectional, the Kelly Macari runner came home two and a half lengths clear of Light Foot Mata (T3 4-1) and Calco Flyer (T1 7-2) in 28.87 for the 500m.
The second semi saw a great return to form from Ballyamc Mossjoe (T4 9-4f). Barrie Draper’s brindle, who won the 2015 Summer Cup and Sussex Cup but missed out in the Steel City Cup showed every sign or righting that wrong this time out. Very fast into his stride (4.15), he held off Pinpoint Den (T5 4-1) before facing a determined late challenge from the impressive Tywald Baz (T2 7-2). The winner got home by three quarters of a length in 28.67. Wright’s Maum Legend was unable to defy the trap six handicap and finished last at 9-2.
Final draw: 1) Calco Flyer 2) Light Foot Mata, 3) Tynwald Baz, 4) Pinpoint Ethan, 5) Ballymac Mossjoe, 6) Pinpoint Den (Middle)
