Tyrconnell Shows Heart To Snap Losing Streak
Saturday, 25 Apr 2026
Several members of Team Lucky Fish and Team Hollywood Racing welcomed six-year-old Tyrconnell into the winner’s enclosure after his victory in Race 8 over 1600m on a rain-soaked evening at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Friday.
Among them was Hollywood Racing’s Dermot O’Connell, who named the son of The United States after a single malt Irish whiskey and, after 23 career starts and three prior wins, enjoyed his first opportunity to lead him into the Number One Box.
“I’ve been waiting a while for this!” said Dermot after Tyrconnell edged past Claw to score by a quarter of a length. It had been a long time between drinks – 460 days since his last victory – but the timing was just right, buoyed by spirited grandstand support that carried him over the line.
Jockey Sean Veale had put himself under a bit of pressure by promising Hollywood’s Racing Manager Anthony Delpech that he’d win the race. Veale said: “Tyrconnell came through to win, but Sundance Kid shifted across his line and from there I had to battle to get to JP (Van der Merwe) on Claw.
“But the De Kock team had Tyrconnell in a tremendous space tonight. He’s never had any luck with the draw, but I had him into a good position tonight and we got there.”
Mike de Kock said in his race preview that Tyrconnell was “more genuine” after his wind operation and it showed as he came back hard in the last 50m to get his head down on the line.
Mike said: “In fairness, Tyrconnell is a bit quirky and has been plagued with issues. It’s almost as if he found excuses not to win, but tonight was his night. When Sundance Kid ran across Tyrconnell tonight I thought he’d turn it up again, but he didn’t. He put his head down when it mattered.”
He added: “It was good to have the crew from Lucky Fish here with team Hollywood. It was a nice and popular win for everyone.”
Tyrconnell was bred by the Wilgerbosdrift/Mauritzfontein partnership, who are well clear in the 2025/2026 Breeders’ Championship with three months left of the season, and set to reclaim the title.
