THERE was a glowing tribute for David Christie jnr, who was presented with an Irish thoroughbred industry award in the Keadeen Hotel, Kildare on Tuesday evening.

This latest awards ceremony came hot on the heels of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (Northern Region) awards lunch at Downpatrick racecourse on Friday, May 22nd and, later that day, the Down Royal Corporation of Horse Breeders’ Northern Region point-to-point awards ceremony.

The breeders’ awards presentation is covered left, on page 18, while here we concentrate on racing between the flags, where once again Winged Leader, a favourite way beyond the confines of the Christie yard in Derrylin, was crowned leading horse having recorded four wins and one second-place finish.

John Hegarty and Jenny O’Kane’s 12-year-old Winged Leader gelding was pressed all the way by his younger stable-companion West Of Idaho, as Ray Nicholas’s six-year-old Idaho gelding also won four times, but these successes were backed up with a fourth-place finish.

Leading owner

Largy Bloodstock, who finished runners-up in the breeders’ table, won the leading owner award with 10 wins to their credit, one more that Philip McBurney. Ten wins, plus 11 seconds, secured the leading handler award for Stuart Crawford, with Gerald Quinn having to settle for the runner-up spot with 10 wins and 10 seconds.

Leading handler Stuart Crawford along with leading owner Largy Bloodstock (Raymond Scullion and Martin McGrogan) and leading rider Steven Connor at the breeders' awards

Crawford’s stable amateur, Co Galway native Stephen Connor, partnered a dozen winners in the region during the 2025/26 season, just one more than Noel McParlan. Thanks to his two wins plus one second and one third-place finish, the 2020 Flemensfirth gelding Mackieshill won the leading breeder award for Katrina Mackie.

The bay, who is out of the Yeats mare Moll Magee, is trained by Mackie’s sister, Caroline McCaldin, for their father, Wilson Dennison.

The Magill brothers, Peter and Paul, were acknowledged for their contribution to the industry.

Sad passing of Jimmy McBride

TOO late for last week’s column, I learned on Friday last of the sad death of Jimmy McBride, who was one of the great characters on the northern point-to-point scene during his days as a rider in the 1970s and 1980s and when he had hung up his boots.

A lifelong supporter of hunting, Jimmy will be best remembered in recent times as an owner, through horses such as Ballyalla, Ebony Reef and Fan Two Step. In the summer, when there was no point-to-pointing, he travelled further afield to the Galway and Listowel festivals.

A Service of Thanksgiving for Jimmy’s life was held in Bairds Funeral Home, on Monday.

Kids’ attractions

IN addition to great racing, there will be live music, face painting, street performers and a kids’ corner at Downpatrick next weekend, June 13th and 14th.

There was just one day’s racing last year, on the Sunday, when the only locally-connected winner was the Elizabeth Carson Racing Syndicate-owned Bruant, who was also on the mark at the track last month.

WE’d like to say that Hugh Suffern bred three winners in the period under review - well, he did and he didn’t.

He was credited as a winning breeder three times, but it was all down to one horse, the seven-year-old Beorma (Doyen - Mourneseafood Lass, by Generous) who justified favouritism in a mares’ handicap chase at Worcester last Thursday week, in a novices’ handicap hurdle at Southwell on Tuesday and in a mares’ handicap hurdle at Warwick the following evening.

There was a win over fences at Fakenham on Sunday for the Neville Reid-bred seven-year-old gelding Nickelforce (Workforce - Nickel, by Presenting), while on the flat the Hardys Of Kilkeel-bred four-year-old gelding Faoladh (Kodi Bear - Lumiere Astrale, by Trempolino) won at the Boyle Sport meeting at Down Royal on Friday, a few hours after the Pat Turley-bred four-year-old filly Glorious Kitty (Cotai Glory - Destiny’s Kitten, by Naaqoos) won at Carlisle.

Staying on the level, but from a jockeys’ angle, there were single wins for Darragh Keenan at Brighton on Friday, for Oisin Orr at Beverley on Saturday and at Pontefract on Tuesday, for Kyle McHugh at Wolverhampton on Monday and for Dylan Browne McMonagle at The Curragh on Wednesday.

On the training front, Ross Crawford saddled Dinoland to win the Racing TV Handicap Chase at Tramore on Saturday for owners O’Hare, Mackle, Devlin and Smith.

The 5/2 favourite was ridden by Sam Ewing, who had initiated a double in the opening mares’ beginners chase and was on the mark again at Listowel on Monday.

Anna McGuinness also rode back to the winner’s enclosure at Tramore on Friday, while Danny McMenamin did so at Southwell on Tuesday.

Randox’s Peter FitzGerald owned two Henry de Bromhead-trained winners in the same time frame. His colours were first carried to success last Thursday week at Limerick on La Cote Fleurie and then on Monday at Listowel on Salsinha; both are five-year-old French-bred mares.