Seasoned campaigner Conor O’Ceirin will head to the South Island in preparation for a feature target after a fighting victory in the UBP Te Awamutu Cup (1600m) at Te Rapa on Saturday.

Conor O’Ceirin entered Robbie Patterson’s stable in late 2022 after recording four wins for the late Kevin Rohloff, and has continued to perform under the Taranaki horseman recording placings in the Gr.3 Anniversary Handicap (1600m) and Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m) during 2023.

Patterson earmarked another shot at the Winter Cup with Conor O’Ceirin this August at Riccarton Park, and the gelding stripped a fit horse after a pair of conditioning runs set him up nicely for his first run at the Waikato venue.

In a market dominated by Turn The Ace ($2.10) and Freeze Frame ($2.50), the son of Dial A Prayer closed to $9.10 and looked very comfortable tracking the favourite and topweight through the running under Courtney Barnes. When a gap opened up at the top of the straight, Barnes sent Conor O’Ceirin into contention and when Freeze Frame levelled up at the 50 metre mark, he kept finding to come out on top by a short head.

Away in England, Patterson watched the victory from afar and was thrilled to see the rising eight-year-old performing at his best.

“I watched from the hotel room, I’ve been up all night watching the races and it was a beautiful ride by Courtney,” he said.

“He’s taken another run to hit his straps this year, but he’s there now and we’ve just got to keep him happy.”

Patterson indicated Conor O’Ceirin will be off to Canterbury at short notice with the Oamaru Cup (1600m) set to be his final lead-in to the Winter Cup.

“I think we’ll keep him away from the Opunake Cup (Listed, 1400m), we’ll probably go down for the Oamaru Cup instead the day after on the 21^st and on to the Winter Cup,” he said.

“It’s getting a bit sticky this time of the year and it doesn’t suit him, so hopefully he can get a good track down there.

“He’s probably getting back up in the weights a little bit now so we’ve got to be a bit careful, but we’ll take any win we can because he’s nearly an eight-year-old now.

“We’ll get him down there and settled in, he’s travelled a bit and is used to it all.”

A winner of seven races from 35 starts and $165,944 in stakes, Conor O’Ceirin was bred and owned by The Keenan Family Trust, out of their four-win mare Plaything.

“I’ve been training for Wayne Keenan for two or three years now and this was the first one he sent me, he’s a real character and everyone in the Central Districts knows him,” Patterson said.  

“He loves his racing and his horses and puts plenty of money in, so he deserves the success.”

The victory also marked Patterson’s 50^th winner for this term, matching his career-best figure from 2022/23 highlighted by Puntura’s victory in the Gr.1 Thorndon Mile (1600m) in January at Trentham.

“It was super to get the 50 with this horse, he’s an old warrior and really deserved it,” he said.

“I’d like to thank my staff for everything they have done, I wouldn’t be able to do it without them.”

Patterson also recognised the role of his main owner Eddie Bourke, who placed the likes of Gr.3 Counties Cup (2100m) winner One Bold Cat, Gr.3 Wellington Cup (3200m) winner Mary Louise, and top performers The Hottie and The Underbelly in his care.

“Eddie has been a massive influence in my training career of late and if it wasn’t for his support, we wouldn’t be getting 50 winners for the season,” he said.