BARRY O’Neill required back-to-back doubles last weekend in order to successfully defend his title in the northern region. The 36-year-old had entered the two-day season-ending fixtures in the region at Necarne, trailing both Stephen Connor and Noel McParlan, however winners aboard horses trained by David Christie, Ian McCarthy, and a first time to ride a winner for his brother Jim, saw him leapfrog his way back to the top of the standings, pipping Connor to a first title by one winner.

Notably, the second of two winners aboard Christie’s West Of Idaho within the space of 24 hours also proved to be a 900th winner in the sphere for the Wexford native, as he joined a select group of just three riders to have reached such a milestone figure, following on from Derek O’Connor and Jamie Codd.

This latest milestone for O’Neill was coincidentally recorded two years after his great ally, David Christie, had also supplied him with his 800th winner at the same Fermanagh venue.

Despite that upturn in his fortunes this season, the Wexford rider has been unable to eat into the advantage that Derek O’Connor has been able to maintain following last weekend’s action, after he matched O’Neill’s four winners courtesy of back-to-back doubles of his own at Necarne on Saturday, and 24 hours later in Bartlemy. That currently leaves O’Connor six clear heading into the final three days of the campaign.

Western winner

More immediately, O’Connor will seal his latest title tomorrow when the western season is wrapped up at Loughrea. With 12 winners to his name in his home region, he has an unassailable advantage over Nicole Lockhead Anderson, Eoin Mahon and Rob James, who sit tied eight winners adrift, and it will mark the 15th time that O’Connor has secured this regional crown.

There is a similar look to the southern title, as O’Connor leads John Barry by seven winners there, ensuring the strong possibility of this season’s two title contenders also sharing the four regional titles equally between them.

Last weekend’s results had a more influential impact on several other titles, which look set to go down to the wire. The 2024 under-21 champion, Shane Cotter, has jumped ahead of the defending champion, David Doyle, as the pair both seek to win that title for a second time.

They have had the same number of rides this season, however Cotter has outscored Doyle six winners to one across the last three weekends of action, which leaves him with a slender one-winner advantage.

Nicole Lockhead Anderson remains two winners in front of Emily Costello in the ladies division, whilst Hearts And Spades moved back alongside The Great Unknown at the top of the champion point-to-point horse category after he returned to winning ways at Necarne on Saturday.

Ian McCarthy’s seven-year-old presently would be crowned champion on countback owing to his second at Portrush in March, although both are entered in the novice rider’s open at Loughrea tomorrow, ensuring that this is just one of several title battles with many more twists and turns to come before the season reaches its imminent conclusion.

ROBERT Tector has enjoyed a fine end to the current point-to-point campaign.

On Monday, Airds Moss became the latest track winner to emerge from his band of point-to-pointers when winning the Killarney bumper for Harry Kelly, having finished a close third in a four-year-old maiden at Umma House back in October.

Meanwhile, his current string of point-to-pointers has certainly been doing him proud, with his Coolbawn Stables having been responsible for four winners across the past three weekends of action, ensuring that this has been his most successful campaign to date.

The latest of those 13 winners was Ballinclay Court in the six-year-old and upwards mares’ maiden at Necarne on Friday. This would not ordinarily be one of the more notable races of the weekend, but the narrow victory for the nine-year-old proved to be particularly noteworthy, as the daughter of Court Cave was returning from a 1,073-day absence, having not been seen in competitive action since finishing tenth in a three-mile hurdle at Wexford almost three years earlier.

In the intervening period away from the track, Ballinclay Court has had a colt foal by Workforce last year, and is reported to have been covered by Dee Ex Bee.

That is not a unique event, with the Toomebridge confined maiden when Knockans Bridge competed in the same race as his dam, Knockans Breeze, still standing out in that regard.

FUNRAISING efforts are continuing to commemorate the first-ever recorded steeplechase from 1752.

Edmund Blake and Cornelius O’Callaghan raced along the banks of the Awbeg River for four and a half miles, clearing stone walls, ditches and hedges between the church steeples in Buttevant and Doneraile, and this historically important event is set to be remembered by a monument at Mill Green, Doneraile, where the race concluded.

The organising committee will be hosting a golf classic in Doneraile Golf Club on Friday, June 12th and Saturday, June 13th as part of their fundraising efforts. Teams of three can enter for €150, and to book a slot, please phone 086-3542814 or 086-1701351.

Point-to-point ratings

WITH all four-year-old races dividing last weekend, there were no fewer than ten races in the age group across the three fixtures, with Certain Escape (92+) making amends for his third-last fence departure at Monksgrange on debut by clocking a quick time at Necarne on Saturday.

Taking control of this race from the home bend, there certainly looks to be more to come from him, as he is still a work in progress, despite the front pair pulling 20 lengths clear.

There was drama aplenty in the first division, as Asamahleroffact (89x) looked to have a debut success in the bag when falling at the last, with the pursuing Cool Companion (87x) then unseating whilst trying to avoid the faller, handing a fortunate success to Frompillartopost (80+).

The final fence also played a part in the outcome of the first division of the auction maiden, with Mon Missel (88x) holding a share of the lead when falling, before Ballywillin (87+) came from off the pace to win a shade snugly at the line.

The pace was particularly slow in the second division of that contest, with Hollywood Nights (86+) quickening best in the sprint-finish that developed.

Twenty-four hours earlier, Tanga Mugi (82++) backed up a promising debut by only requiring a hands and heels drive to win snugly, whilst Moral Compass (82+) had her rivals on the stretch from three-out in a game effort from the front.

At Bartlemy, Jasper Crystal (91+) had seemed destined for second approaching the penultimate fence, but he stayed on to particularly good effect to win going away in a race where the five finishers returned at quite long intervals for the underfoot conditions.

Racing from a prominent position proved to be the tactic to follow throughout the afternoon, with Riptide (88+) one such winner to successfully employ these tactics as he prevailed in a three-way finish.

His rider Derek O’Connor had employed a near-identical ride aboard By The Order (80+) in the second division of the four-year-old mares’ maiden, whilst Crystal Bee (78+) made much of the running in a steadily-run opening split to that contest.