THIS weekend, the north-west of Ireland is being represented in two major events on the world stage.
Co Donegal’s Dylan Browne McMonagle rides the Joseph O’Brien-trained Al Riffa in the Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin tomorrow while Derry’s Daniel Coyle is one of 10 riders competing in the final leg of the Rolex Grand Slam of show jumping in Geneva.
En route to that 5* show, Coyle appeared via a video link at Tuesday’s Irish Horse World awards lunch at The K Club where he was once again announced as The Irish Field senior show jumper of the year.
Flat Award
The previous evening, Browne McMonagle attended the Horse Racing Ireland Awards in Dublin where he was presented with the 2025 Flat Award following a brilliant season which saw him win the flat jockeys’ championship for the first time.
Riding the O’Brien-trained Seola in the extended 10-furlong maiden for three-year-olds and upwards, Dylan brought his total number of wins in Ireland for the year to 97 last Friday evening in Dundalk.
There, Paddy McGettigan moved on to the 22-win mark following his success in division two of the mile handicap on board the 10-year-old Bucky Larson who is trained in Donegal by Paul Sweeney.
First win
Coleraine’s Zoe McMullan, a former champion lady rider on the pony racing circuit who has had three rides in point-to-points, recorded her first win on the track at Dundalk on Wednesday when the 50/1 shot Kartayaz landed division one of the 10-furlong handicap. The eight-year-old Iffraaj gelding is trained in Co Louth by George Kingston with whom the very light 27-year-old jockey works full-time. “Oh my God, I’m buzzing, I’m on cloud nine!” said Zoe in her post-race interview with Donn McClean on Racing TV which is well worth watching.
Between last Thursday week and Wednesday just gone, Darragh Keenan rode winners at Chelmsford, Lingfield, Newcastle and Kempton and Barry McHugh struck at Newcastle last Friday and at the same track on Tuesday.
BRIAN Hughes, Danny McMenamin and Caoilin Quinn have all paid multiple visits to the winner’s enclosure recently led by Newtownhamilton native Hughes.
The former three-time British champion jump jockey partnered nine winners for seven different trainers between last Thursday week and Wednesday just past including trebles at Sedgefield on Friday and at Hexham on Wednesday.
From Friday to Sunday, Quinn visited the winner’s enclosure five times on horses trained by Gary and Josh Moore, recording a treble at Sandown on Friday, highlighted by his 12-length success in the Grade 2 Betfair Esher Novices’ Chase on the 6/4 favourite Salvo who started his career in Italy.
On Saturday at Sandown, Quinn landed the opening Listed Betfair Exchange Claremont Novices’ Hurdle on the five-year-old Kalanisi gelding Hurricane Pat.
Fellow Downpatrick-born jockey McMenamin, who, too, is sponsored by CosyRoof, rode four winners for four different trainers between last Thursday week and Monday, including a double at Musselburgh. This was completed in the near three-mile handicap chase by the Patrick Murphy-bred seven-year-old gelding Benefit Ben (Ocovango – Benefit Scheme, by Beneficial.
Breeding
One of Brian Hughes’s three winners at Sedgefield last Friday week was the Gail Kidd-bred six-year-old gelding Upfordebate (Mount Nelson – Mrs Peachey, by Brian Boru) while, at Aintree on Saturday, the opening two-mile, one-furlong novices’ hurdle was won by the Callie Berry-bred four-year-old gelding Taurus Bay (Poet’s Word – Tea Time Tilly, by Shadtou).
On the same afternoon at Sandown, the two-and-a-half-mile mares’ handicap hurdle went the way of the Ivor McGrath-bred Sunset Marquesa (Walk In The Park – Be My Sunset, by Bob Back).
The six-year-old mare was consigned to the 2022 Derby Sale at Tattersalls Ireland by the Newry-based Stone Lodge Stud.
GEORGIA Stubington, who accompanied her daughter Lucca to a wet couple of days’ show jumping at Cavan over the weekend and to the Treo Eile show in Emerald on Thursday, between times was saddened to share the news of the death of the 2013 Nakayama Grand Jump winner Blackstairmountain.
The 2005 Imperial Ballet gelding was bred by Jackie Mullins whose husband Willie trained the bay to win two bumpers, three flat races, four hurdles and two chases, mainly in the colours of Susannah Ricci.
Blackstairmountain was retired following his Japanese success and spent the rest of his days with the Stubingtons at their Sweet Wall Stud and livery yard near Antrim.
“We had planned to go eventing with him but he had issues with his back so we ended up just doing dressage and other bits and pieces,” Georgia revealed to The Irish Field.
“We retired him to the field where he was ‘adopted’ by Lucca’s old eventing mare Kilminchy Condor (CCI2*-S) who wouldn’t let anyone or anything else near him. He was the love of her life and I think he got a bit of peace when she passed away! He had been very well up to now and wanted for nothing.”
Incidentally, Mullins had turned down many invitations to the Grand Jump for Florida Pearl who, in contrast, was bred by Georgia’s mother, the late Patricia Mackean at Sweet Wall Stud where they stood his sire, Florida Son.
ON the flat training front, Natalia Lupini sent out the Wayne Lordan-ridden 11/4 favourite Golden Trigger to land the seven-furlong Irish Stallion Farms EBF maiden for two-year-olds at Dundalk on Wednesday on his third start.
Third over course and distance in October and over a mile at the same track last month, the EKM Syndicate-owned Ghaiyyarth colt is the seventh of eight foals, and the fourth winner, out of the Exceed And Excell mare Piccadilly Filly who won two races as a juvenile, including one at listed level, and was Group 1-placed.
The good run of owners Mark Devlin, Mark McGuckin and Claire Wylie continued at Dundalk last Friday week when their Ado McGuinness-trained, Adam Caffrey-ridden four-year-old Mehmas filly Una Matata justified 9/4 favouritism in division one of the mile handicap.
In the concluding mile and a half handicap, the Willie Mullins-trained, Colin Keane-ridden Gaucher (11/4) saw off the 5/2 favourite Quatre Bras by six lengths.
The winner, a six-year-old Frankel gelding with two turf flat wins and four hurdle race victories to his credit, runs for the partnership of Rose Boyd and Marie Armstrong.