EMILY Costello has undoubtedly been one of the success stories from the opening seven weekends of the season.
In that time, the Clare native, who hails from a family of point-to-point royalty, has ridden four winners, with only previous champions Barry O’Neill, Derek O’Connor and Rob James able to lay claim to having ridden more winners than her this term.
That is a notable fact in itself. However, perhaps what is more noteworthy is the fact that those four winners have come from just five rides, with her sole defeat this term coming by the narrowest of margins possible, when Magic Sadler was denied by a short head in Castletown-Geoghegan on the opening weekend of the campaign.
Since then, that progressive seven-year-old delivered victories for Costello at Tattersalls and Quakerstown, whilst his trainer Pat Doyle supplied her with another victory last weekend when Lifetime Ambition dominated in Turtulla on Sunday to take her strike rate for the season to 80%.
That partnership with the Suirview Stables handler is only a new one this season, but it was further cemented during the week when they combined to win a ladies’ bumper at Limerick on Tuesday with Mossy Way.
The pair could again combine in Moig South tomorrow afternoon, as Doyle has entered the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned Hunters Yarn for the ladies’ open on that card.
The Rachael Blackmore effect
Surprisingly, after tomorrow’s race, there are just five other ladies’ open races programmed until the end of the season, with the number of spring contests set to be reduced in 2026. This is at a time when the number of female riders in point-to-pointing is rising significantly.
Last season, 51 individual female riders competed between the flags, compared with just 29 10 years earlier during the 2014/15 campaign.
So much of that undoubtedly has to go down to the ‘Rachael Blackmore effect’, following her ground-breaking achievements on the biggest of stages at both Cheltenham and Aintree.
Even with that 55% increase across a decade, the sport here is some way adrift of the British point-to-point scene in this regard, where 46.9% of the point-to-point jockeys last season were female.
If the overall number of female riders within the sport on these shores has belatedly begun to play catch-up, the number of female jockeys riding winners has remained stubbornly stagnant.
During the 2014/15 campaign, 12 female riders rode a combined 30 winners, almost mirroring last season’s figures of 30 winners, which were registered by 11 different female riders.
The most obvious reason for this appears to lie within the number of opportunities available.
Despite a 55% increase in the number of female riders, the number of ladies’ open races in the spring will this season fall to a figure that is just half of what it was in 2015.
Alongside this, where previously these races in the spring incorporated each of the four provinces, in 2026, four of the five ladies’ open races will take place in one county, that being Tipperary, with Clare staging the only other race outside of that county. This would all seem to be a step in the wrong direction.
Mullins turning his attention to pointing
GRADE 1 targets over both hurdles and fences may be at the centre of Willie Mullins’ attentions this weekend with Punchestown’s Premiere Weekend; however, the reigning Irish and British champion trainer could also be represented by a rare runner between the flags.
I Walked The Line, a four-year-old son of Walk In The Park, could represent Mullins’ Closutton stable in the winners-of-one contest at Boulta this afternoon in what would be a first runner for him since Good Bye Sam finished second in an older geldings’ maiden at Aghabullogue close to four years ago.
This close relation of Grade 1 winner The Tullow Tank and 2015 Aintree Grand National hero Many Clouds had won his four-year-old maiden at the fourth attempt for Cormac Doyle at Ballingarry on the final day of last season, and he is now one of five horses to have a hunter certificate for Mullins, all of whom are in the ownership of his son Patrick.
The quintet have each previously run in point-to-points but all for other handlers, with all bar one boasting a previous maiden success on their CV, this suggesting they too could appear in upcoming winners’ contests, alongside I Walked The Line.
Notably, I Walked The Line is entered for this particular winners of one race in Boulta today, as coincidentally, that is the last winners’ race that the Mullins team had a runner in, when Bowfinger claimed the 2011 edition 14 years ago.
Ratings of the week
JONATHAN Fogarty brought his tally of four-year-old maiden winners in 2025 to 10 when Tendoo (93+) impressed at Turtulla last Sunday.
The French-bred had made a promising start to his career at Curraghmore in the spring, falling two out whilst sitting second to the exciting Grangeclare Park.
He more than made amends by getting the better of a protracted battle up the straight with Sean Doyle’s newcomer Order On Time.
The pair swiftly pulled clear off the home bend and, although strongly challenged to the last, Tendoo was quicker away from that obstacle, which allowed him to win going away, as they pulled 35 lengths clear of the remainder in quick time to suggest they are a smart pair. The mares’ equivalent on the card was a much more steadily-run affair, yet produced a decisive winner in Snow Is In The Sky (81++).
She was left challenging when the pacesetter ran off the home bend, but was able to immediately pull clear of her rivals to win by 10 lengths.
At Tinahely, Make Me Smile (92+) was the sole newcomer to claim a four-year-old victory across the weekend. His debut victory came in tough fashion, with this race being run to a good gallop, which left the strides of a number of his rivals shortening on the climb to the line.
Yet, he still had plenty left in reserve to pull 10 lengths clear by the post.