THE prolonged dry spell has not made life easy for either handlers or the voluntary committees that have been running point-to-point fixtures in recent weeks.

Right around the country, below-average rainfall was reported throughout the month of March, and that trend has continued into the opening two weeks of April.

For handlers, that has in many cases, resulted in the planned debuts of their horses having to be delayed. As an example of that, 43 horses took to the track at Tattersalls last Sunday out of an entry of 152.

Over the past fortnight, most venues that have staged a point-to-point fixture have had to be watered, which often comes at a notable additional expense to the organisers.

However, their efforts have not gone unnoticed, with many handlers praising the ground that has been produced.

Handler Jonathan Fogarty’s Gaynestown Stud posted on X: ‘Big thank you to the Duhallow Foxhounds hunt for producing lovely, safe racing ground at Dromahane for today’s point-to-point’ following the April 6th fixture at the Mallow venue.

Meanwhile, Gearoid Doyle, who was representing his brother Donnchadh at Stradbally, made the point of praising the efforts of the Laois Foxhounds committee when speaking to reporter James English after Endless Talking had won the four-year-old maiden at Stradbally.

“Fair play to the committee, as that ground is perfect,” Doyle stated. “You would run any horse on that today, and they’ve done a great job watering it.”

The rollover of horses from recent weeks has led to a bumper set of entries for this weekend, for what is a slightly smaller programme of fixtures than is usual for the Easter weekend, with no point-to-point scheduled in Leinster.

After last Wednesday’s fixture in Ballyknock attracted 194 entries, tomorrow’s card in Curraghmore is the first point-to-point of the season to attract over 200 entries, with a total of 239 entries, whilst today’s fixture at Loughanmore received 175 entries, a total matched by tomorrow’s card at Quakerstown.

Unsurprisingly, given the uncertainty with the weather forecast of late, handlers were keen to give themselves plenty of options.

Over two-thirds of the 431 entries within this weekend’s four-year-old maiden and five-year-old geldings’ maiden races are double entries, with close to €50,000 being spent in entry fees this weekend alone.

Luckily, the rain has arrived which will hopefully begin to make an impact on the ground conditions, and it should ensure there are some red-hot maiden races this weekend.

THE ladies’ open in Quakerstown is the first of three such races taking place over the closing six weeks of the season. That trio of races could have added significance this year, with that particular title likely to be particularly closely run.

A total of eight female riders have registered at least one win this season, but no fewer than five of those riders are separated by just two winners.

Pandora Briselden and Maxine O’Sullivan lead the way with four winners each. Briselden has enjoyed a particularly fruitful season aboard her own horse, I Masked Du Potier, with the pair winning four races together, and that Pat Doyle-trained seven-year-old is among 10 entries for tomorrow’s race.

Should O’Sullivan clinch yet another title by the season’s end, it would bring her haul of titles to eight, and level with the current record holder Liz Doyle.

However, the pair are unlikely to have the title race between them, with Toni Quail moving to within one winner of them following the success of Cosmic Blizzard.

After that success, his trainer Sam Curling pledged to support Quail’s title bid over the coming weeks, which is sure to make her a big player, while Jody Townend and Laura Costello are just one further win behind.

THE organisers of the Welsh International point-to-point are once again inviting Irish handlers to attend their fixture next month.

In its first year under the ‘international’ banner in 2024, a number of Wexford-based handlers, in particular, took full advantage of their relative proximity to the course, thanks to the sea link between Rosslare and Fishguard.

Handlers Susan James, Harley Dunne, and Denis Murphy were all represented at the fixture last year, with Camolin handler John Paul Brennan getting among the winners.

His Seymour John had failed to finish three outings in five-year-old geldings’ maiden races on these shores before taking advantage of the two-and-a-half-mile opportunity at Trecoed to win by six lengths, after which he was sold to David Pipe.

The 2025 edition of the Welsh International will take place a week later on Saturday, May 24th, whilst it also has a new location of Ffynnon Druidion.

Overlooking the Irish Sea, the brand new course is even closer to Fishguard, just a five-minute drive from the port, and the new venue is described as a flat, left-handed track, with six fences on a circuit.

Running alongside a countryside game fair, Irish handlers can enter for five of the six races on the card. The four and a five-year-old maiden, and a restricted race will both be run over two and a half miles.

The maiden and open will be run over three miles, and a point-to-point flat race for horses aged for our five will take place over two miles, whilst Irish qualified riders are also permitted to ride.

Point-to-point ratings

THERE was no disguising the superiority of Nova Nako (94+) over his nine rivals at Dromahane, as he backed up what visually was a very impressive effort from the front by clocking a time that was 10 seconds quicker than any other race on the card.

That gives an indication of the gallop that he went once taking over the pace-setting role after the opening half-mile, and from there he had the field well strung out by the home straight, such that close to 40 lengths covered the first four home. That high cruising speed will be a real asset over shorter trips.

The equivalent race in Tattersalls was run in complete contrast, with the slow pace that the race was run at putting a premium on finishing speed, as six horses were closely matched jumping the penultimate fence. The Colin Bowe-trained newcomer Red Rubio (88++) had the superior turn of foot which allowed him to quicken four lengths clear by the line.

Both four-year-old mares’ maiden races last weekend were won easily by a pair of horses that were a class apart from their rivals.

At Tattersalls, Magic Gloves (83++) had the form in the book from Durrow, and did nothing less than was expected of her with a foot-perfect performance.

At Dromahane meanwhile, Storm Queen (84+) was the last horse to come off the bridle having dictated from the front.

The four-year-old maiden in Stradbally developed into a one-horse race once Endless Talking (88++) kicked on off the home bend, and his electric jumping proved to be a real asset.