British-bred star Irene continues to delight Ferguson
Acomb-prefixed runner almost brings up century with victory
Consistent tracker praised by Sheffield's Mascarenhas
ACOMB IRENE continues to star for her owner and breeder Kevin Ferguson, despite just being denied in her 100th start at Sheffield’s Owlerton Stadium last weekend, writes Rob Crawford.
The March 21 daughter of Hiya Butt and Acomb Ruby finished second in a 480m invitation at the south Yorkshire venue, just a length and a quarter behind Sean Parker’s Wicky Hiker in a winning time of 28.00sec (+10).
Speaking after the race, owner, trainer and breeder Ferguson said: “We brought Irene back after season in August and she’s enjoying her racing again. She’s actually been improving race by race. We’ll see how things are when she comes into season next.
“She’s raced up and down the country and won at Kinsley, Sheffield, Perry Barr, Doncaster and Sunderland.
“Last year she reached the finals of the British Breeders Stakes at Nottingham, the Laurels at Perry Barr and the 3 Steps at Sheffield, and a personal highlight was her winning the British-bred at Sunderland which remembered Harry Williams, as Harry was someone who I knew and had tremendous respect for.”
Owlerton Stadium’s director of racing Andrew Mascarenhas said: “Acomb Irene is part of a phenomenal litter who’ve all performed at the highest level. They’ve been a credit to Kevin and all the team.”
Picture credit: Rob Crawford
