THERE were 13 Irish-bred winners of the 14 races at the popular East Antrim two-day Easter meeting at Loughanmore but, disappointingly, none were foaled locally, though am happy to be corrected. On the human front however, the results were better.

On the Saturday, there was a double for the owner/trainer/rider trio of Philip McBurney, Gerald Quinn and Noel McParlan through the French-bred newcomer Love Sign d’Aunou in the first division of the Dennison Commercials four-year-old geldings’ maiden.

Rathkenny who was having his second start in division one of the Connollys Red Mills five-year-old geldings’ maiden, completed the double for the trio.

Also on the mark twice was trainer David Christie who sent out Ray Nicholas’s Hathaways Cottage to land the Peggy Hagan Memorial Mares’ Open and took the following PMG Specialist Cars winners of two with Shane Wilson and Jamesy Hagan’s My Life Be Like.

Sean McElroy’s colours were carried to victory in division two of the five-year-old geldings’ maiden by the Stuart Crawford-trained newcomer Dubhain.

32nd victory

On the Monday, when the David Christie-trained Winged Leader recorded his 32nd point-to-point victory in the John Thompson & Sons open, the McBurney/Quinn/McParlan triumvirate struck with Tamlaght Eyes in the Wilsons Auctions mares’ winners of two.

In the Topping Meats adjacent hunts’ winners of two, landowner Wilson Dennison also owned the Cormac Abernethy-trained winner Connorhill and the second-placed Carrhill who is trained by his daughter Caroline McCaldin.

Back in the day, Derek O’Connor wouldn’t have missed a Loughanmore meeting but on Monday he was the star of the show at Quakerstown where he rode six of the eight winners.

He had little choice in missing out on the winning ride in the Connollys Red Mills ladies’ open that race going to Downpatrick’s Toni Quail on the Sam Curling-trained gelding The Great Unknown.

We didn’t have time to look at all the point-to-point results in Britain over Easter as there were so many meetings but did notice that the Barney O’Hare-bred Buzzaard Trix and the Ray McArdle-bred St Patricks Bridge both won at Sandon on Saturday.

STUART Crawford’s horses have shown themselves to be in fine fettle recently, both between the flags and on the racecourse, and he sent out two track winners over Easter, the first being Bleu d’Enfer who landed the two-and-a-half-mile handicap chase at Carlisle on Saturday.

That seven-year-old Turgeon gelding ran in the colours of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede as did the five-year-old Muhtathir gelding Krak who landed the two-mile, three-furlong Bar One Racing Handicap Hurdle at Cork the following afternoon. The chesnut had finished third on his three previous starts which were likewise over hurdles.

David Christie’s good run in point-to-points spilled over on to the racecourse when he saddled Ray Nicholas’s Big Interest to land the Race Displays Joseph O’Reilly Hunters’ Chase at Fairyhouse’s re-scheduled meeting on Tuesday.

The Listed RYBO Handicap Hurdle that afternoon was won by the Northern Bloodstock-bred 12-year-old gelding Lord Erskine (Fast Company – Lindoras Grace, by Galileo).

Local winners

Other locally-bred racecourse winners over Easter included the Gail Kidd-bred eight-year-old gelding Duke Of Deception (September Storm – Mrs Peachey, by Brian Boru) who landed the extended three-mile, one-furlong handicap chase at Haydock on Saturday and the Callie Berry-bred five-year-old Miss Doyenne (Doyen – Miss Generosity, by Generous) who won the Cork & Waterford Mares’ Point-to-Point Flat Race at Cork on Monday.

The colours of Fearghal and Bronagh Eastwood were carried to victory in the WillowWarm Gold Cup (Grade 1) at Fairyhouse on Sunday by the Willie Mullins-trained Spindleberry.

This was third over fences to go with one over hurdles for the seven-year-old Policy Maker who was in the care of Mark O’Hare when landing her point-to-point maiden on her only start between the flags. That was at Dromahane in late December 2022 when the bay was then owned by Sara O’Hare and scored by a short-head as the 2/1 favourite under Noel McParlan.

DOWNPATRICK native Danny McMenamin comfortably takes the riding honours this week as the CosyRoof-sponsored jockey recorded a career-first treble on Tuesday at Kelso having also been on the mark at Haydock on Saturday.

Also under National Hunt rules across the water, Brian Hughes rode a winner at Cheltenham on the Thursday week last, before then taking his seasonal tally to 80 at Carlisle on last Saturday.

The first of those wins came in a mares’ bumper on the Tony Buglin-trained newcomer Poetisa.

This four-year-old Poet’s Word bay was bred by Reamonn and Shauna Rice out of their unraced Old Vic mare Chars, a half-sister to the multiple graded-winning hurdler Macs Joy (by Religiously).

She was dam previously of the five-time winner Queenofhearts (by Flemensfirth).

Caoilin Quinn also struck twice in the period under review – at Huntingdon on Saturday and at Plumpton on Monday – while at home it was good to see Sam Ewing partner winners at Clonmel on Thursday week last and on Monday at Fairyhouse.

There were wins also for Simon Torrens, at that same Clonmel meeting, and for Jody McGarvey at Cork on Sunday.

It was looking like being a winless week on the flat until Dylan Browne McMonagle popped up and landed the seven-furlong fillies’ handicap at Gowran Park’s Wednesday meeting on the Joseph O’Brien-trained Mataariki.

Also on the level, but on the training front, Andy Oliver’s charge Apercu won the extended 10-furlong handicap at Cork on Saturday for Team Valor.

BARCLAY Communications sponsored the five-year-old mares’ maiden at the East Antrim Hunt point-to-point on Saturday but the company’s founder and managing director, Britt Megahey, didn’t attend his local meeting at Loughanmore but headed instead to the Northern Region’s fourth one-day event of the season at Tyrella.

There, he recorded his second EI110 (Amateur) win from three starts this year on his Irish Sport Horse gelding, R Showman, a 10-year-old by the Anglo European Studbook-registered Centre Stage.

The combination don’t appear among the entries for next Saturday’s event at Vesey Lodge but chances are that Britt and Wilson Dennison, who wore a number of hats at Loughanmore over Easter, will be there to support the venue’s owner, Ian Wilson of Wilsons Auctions, sponsors of the mares’ winners of two on Monday.