HAVING saddled the most winners in the northern region in each of the last three seasons, sharing that honour with Stuart Crawford last term, Ger Quinn launched the campaign with a dominant display at Toomebridge last Saturday.

Based at Philip McBurney’s Caherty Stables in Broughshane, Quinn was responsible for half of the six winners on last weekend’s season-opening card.

L’Alpagueur dominated the four-year-old geldings’ maiden; Doagh proved to be 21 lengths too good for his two rivals in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden, whilst Crazy Nancy made light work of a seven-month absence in the five-year-old and upwards mares’ maiden.

All three were guided to victory by Noel McParlan, who had himself been among the winners in Hexham 24 hours earlier.

The stable also came within a head of supplying Quinn and McParlan with a four-timer, with Katkoriko missing out on a second career success in the winners-of-one event by the narrow margin.

The French-bred gelding had been absent from competitive action for 18 months following his 16-length debut success in a four-year-old maiden at Kirkistown in March 2025, and it is in that younger age division that the Quinn-McBurney partnership has built a particularly strong reputation.

Rapid rise

Just nine years have passed since Quinn, a former conditional jockey in Britain, sent out his first runner as a point-to-point handler. With an initial success following quickly after, with just his second runner in that role, it is perhaps no surprise that his rapid ascent has been as swift as it has been significant, aided in no small part by his association with McBurney.

Their partnership began at the start of the 2021/22 season, and has blossomed since, with Quinn saddling 43 winners alone in McBurney’s now familiar red and blue silks.

That represents a significant winning strike rate of 27% for McBurney-owned horses saddled by Quinn across five seasons, with 60% of their runners finishing in the first three in that period.

In a relatively short space of time, the Caherty Stables team have established themselves as a leading force in the region, with Saturday’s results offering a glimpse of what may be to come at the northern region’s remaining autumn fixtures, beginning later today in Portrush.

THE small entries for the opening fixtures of the point-to-point season have underlined the difficulty of attracting competitive fields in the early weeks of the autumn campaign, particularly following a summer of challenging weather.

The issue is most pronounced in the older horse division, where limited numbers have been a recurring concern.

Last week, the winners-of-one contest at Toomebridge attracted just five entries, whilst only six horses were entered for the winners-of-two race at the rescheduled Castletown-Geoghegan fixture, with half of the entries for that race coming from horses that are still maidens.

Winners’ races play an important role in the programme, providing a route beyond maiden company and encouraging connections to keep their horses between the flags. That pathway, however, relies on enough horses being ready to take up the opportunities available.

The presence of three maidens among the six Castletown-Geoghegan entries illustrates the shortage. Whilst their involvement helps to support the field, it also highlights how few previous winners were entered.

Modest

Entries for older maidens have also been modest. Just 11 individual horses were entered across the two older maiden races at Portrush and Loughrea when entries for both fixtures closed earlier this week.

Rising costs remain a particular challenge for these less commercially-driven categories, but the smaller fields at present should also offer opportunities for connections seeking an alternative to the track.

Glendine Billy provided an example at Toomebridge last Saturday. A maiden after 17 starts on the track, the eight-year-old was beaten just half a length in the older geldings’ maiden on his first appearance between the flags.

He had earned only €500 across his last seven track outings since April 2025, a sum he came close to matching on his point-to-point debut last weekend.

Whilst prize money levels between the flags remain far from ideal, his performance illustrates the opportunities available to a particular cohort of track maidens that may be struggling to be competitive under rules.

These horses are eligible to compete between the flags, provided they have not raced under rules since September 1st.

For some connections, a switch to point-to-points, even if just temporary, could provide a worthwhile alternative at present, providing a much-needed boost in numbers within the point-to-point ranks.

A FIRST winner on home turf has brought further reward for Scott Kenny, who was drawn as the winner of last season’s €500 Dungar Quality Oats NextGen cash prize.

One of 29 young riders to enter the draw after getting off the mark in point-to-points last season, his breakthrough initial victory came at the season’s final fixture, when he partnered the Enda Bolger-trained In Excelsis Deo to success at Ballingarry.

With the Ormond Foxhounds staging the meeting just down the road from his home, it was a fitting place to realise a long-held ambition for the jockey who rides out full-time for Enda Bolger.

“Our local hunt, the Ormonds, run the point-to-point in Ballingarry, so it was great to get off the mark there in front of loads of people I knew,” Kenny admitted.

All jockeys who ride their first point-to-point winner are automatically entered into the €500 draw, which Dungar Quality Oats will once again be supporting this season.

For its managing director, Tadhg O’Leary, the number of riders reaching that milestone was another reason to celebrate.

“It was heartening for the sport to see the increase in numbers of young jockeys who qualified for this prize and particularly the increase in lady riders,” he acknowledged.

Point-to-point ratings

DESPITE nine runners facing the starter for the four-year-old mares’ maiden, the biggest on the card at Toomebridge, it did not translate into a strong tempo.

For the eventual winner, Sarah’s Sister (79++), that led to her over-racing, refusing to settle on the inside of runners in mid-division.

However, ultimately the slow pace set it up for her, as the superior speed of this naturally racey individual was soon evident from the third-last fence, and she ultimately had the race sewn up a long way out without having much of a test.

The placed horses are relatively exposed for the category, but the winning margin was further evidence of her being a class above.

The tempo of the geldings’ equivalent in that age group was much stronger, with L’Alpagueur (90++) keen to get on with things at the front of the field.

Aided by some swift leaps, that was a position he never relinquished to also win without having to come off the bridle.

He mastered this sharp, undulating venue, which typically favours experience, with notable ease.