THE reach of point-to-pointers has grown and diversified in recent years. Faugheen, Honeysuckle and Constitution Hill have all emerged from within the pointing nursery to be crowned champion hurdlers.
This varied and rich source of leading equine talent was once again evident over the busy Christmas racing period.
However, it was in the staying chase realm, the division that pointing graduates have traditionally been most closely associated with, that supplied the latest of big-race spoils.
For the fourth year in succession, the King George went the way of a former Irish pointer, with The Jukebox Man showing great tenacity to follow in the footsteps of Bravemansgame, Hewick, and Banbridge, and come out on top in a thrilling four-way finish, defeating last year’s champion, Banbridge, by a nose.
The victory was a second at the highest level for the son of Ask, just over three years after he had started his career by winning a four-year-old geldings’ maiden at Turtulla for the Wexford siblings of James and Ellen Doyle.
Well bought
Having made a winning start to his career by eight lengths at that Tipperary venue in November 2022, he was particularly well bought by Highflyer Bloodstock, who acquired him for just £70,000 at the Goffs UK Tingle Creek sale in Sandown a fortnight later, a purchase price which looks particularly shrewd now that his earnings have surpassed the £340,000 mark.
Both Grade 1 prizes in the three-mile chasing division on either side of the Irish Sea were claimed by former Irish pointers, with the Leopardstown feature proving to be the platform that saw Affordale Fury announce himself at the top table.
Like the King George victor, he too started his racing career in a Wexford stable. The son of Affinisea also made a winning debut, having been sent out by Gary Murphy to win a four-year-old geldings’ maiden at Ballycahane in March 2022.
Having been bought for just €8,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland May Store sale, he failed to sell for £95,000 at the Cheltenham Festival sale following his point victory, which notably, was the very first for Murphy as a handler.
The Wexford handler has since gone on to saddle a further 14 winners, nine of whom have come in 2025, with the latest of them, Rattlin Home, also receiving a Leopardstown form boost.
That son of El Salvador had defeated The Mourne Rambler, the St. Stephen’s Day bumper winner at the Dublin venue, when they both made their respective debuts at Portrush in October - a boost which will no doubt have also pleased Rattlin Home’s new trainer, Dan Skelton.
Pricier stores
The novice ranks supplied the other three festive Grade 1 winners, and in contrast to The Jukebox Man and Affordale Fury, who were sourced for a combined €11,000 prior to running in point-to-points, these were examples of the growing number of the pricier store purchases that now often populate four-year-old maiden races.
Romeo Coolio was a €92,000 purchase at the 2022 Derby Sale, before Donnchadh Doyle saddled him to make a winning debut in a four-year-old maiden at Belclare, after which he was sold for £420,000 to go in training with Gordon Elliott.
The Meath trainer added to his Grade 1 haul over the festive period with Skylight Hustle. That son of Jukebox Jury had been bought by Colin Bowe for €100,000 at the 2023 Derby Sale prior to making an impressive winning debut in a four-year-old geldings’ maiden at Umma House in October 2024.
It was after this that he was sold privately to current connections, for whom his five-length success in the Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle was a first at the highest level.
Final Demand’s success in the Guinness 00 Faugheen Novice Chase brought his tally of Grade 1 victories to three in the years since he too had made a winning debut in the pointing arena.
The Walk In The Park gelding had won his maiden in Lingstown at the age of five for Matty Flynn O’Connor, having been purchased for €230,000 by the Wexford handler and Joey Logan. Like Skylight Hustle, he was sold privately following his point success.
Significant performances
Those five top-level victories featured as part of 57 race victories for former Irish pointers across the four days of the peak Christmas racing period from December 26th to 29th.
Even outside of the Grade 1 successes, there were several significant performances. None more so than the weight-carrying victory of Haiti Couleurs in the Welsh National.
A graduate of Harley Dunne’s Wexford stable, his Chepstow victory ensured that all four nationals in 2025 were won by point-to-point graduates, coming as it did after his own Irish National success in the spring, alongside the triumphs of Nick Rockett at Aintree and Captain Cody in Ayr.
When you add in the successes of Favori De Champdou, The Big Westerner, Kazansky, and Thistle Ask, you get yet another bumper haul of festive successes for pointing exports.
Its On The Line and Derek O'Connor land the Down Royal hunter chase \ Healy Racing
THE St. Stephen’s Day hunter chase at Down Royal has long held the position as the first significant race of the season in the division, and that was once again the case when three of the top four horses in the ante-post market for the blue-ribboned contest at the Cheltenham Festival featured among a capacity 16-strong line-up.
Amongst a host of new pretenders, it was the proven force of Its On The Line who once again came to the fore, winning this particular race for a second time, having crucially warmed up for it in an open, as had been the case with his 2023 triumph.
His connections will now plot a route back to Cheltenham as they bid to break a commendable, yet undoubtedly frustrating run of having finished second at the Festival in each of the past three seasons. The recently turned nine-year-old has consistently remained among the very top hunter chasers on these shores throughout the past three seasons, having announced himself at this level by finish second in Cheltenham at the age of six.
The continued trend of younger, unexposed horses rising to the fore in top hunter chases, looks set to continue with the average age of the first 10 finishers at Down Royal coming in at just seven.
Point-to-point ratings
THE five-length success of Limestone Liberty (83+) supplied Robert Tyner with his first four-year-old winner since the victory of Not A Loss in the corresponding mares’ maiden six years earlier.
Unlike that previous winner, this daughter of Order Of St George was making her debut, and in a relatively steadily-run contest, she showed a good turn of foot to quicken from three out in a very polished introduction.
The gallop was considerably stronger in the first division of the four-year-old geldings’ maiden as Golden Current (92++) produced a winning performance that mirrored that of his stablemate Super Junior at the same venue three weeks earlier.
He had too many gears for his rivals, winning as he pleased by 12 lengths to end the year with a 12th winner in the age category for Jonathan Fogarty.
The second split was more steadily run which played a part in the first five finishers being separated by just five lengths, which restricted the rating that Global Tariffs (87+) received for his battling success.