ON the riding front, Sam Ewing was definitely the main man over the post-Christmas period with his 12,662/1 treble at Leopardstown on the Saturday being preceded by one win at Down Royal’s Boxing Day fixture and followed by another at the Dublin track on the Sunday.

Two of his three winners on the Saturday were trained by Gordon Elliott. On his third career start, which have all been over hurdles, the Churchill gelding Hardy Stuff won the opening, fairly appropriately-named Paddy Power I Have No Idea What Day It Is 3-Y-O Maiden Hurdle at odds of 20/1.

On what was the fourth winner at the meeting for Elliott, Ewing landed the lucrative Paddy Power Handicap Chase on Gigginstown House Stud’s Favori De Champdou (66/1).

This French-bred son of Saddler Maker began his career with a second-place finish in a four-year-old maiden at Kirkistown in February 2019 when trained by the jockey’s father Warren Ewing. Between times, when standing in for J.J. Slevin, Sam recorded a hard-fought, half-length success in the Grade 1 Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase on the Joseph O’Brien-trained Solness.

Local owner

While Elliott supplied the Co Antrim jockey with his winner of the opening Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden Hurdle at Down Royal, Sept Etoiles who scored on his second start in the colours of local owner Pat Sloan, it was another Co Meath trainer, Noel Meade, who saddled his fifth and final festive winner, Affordale Fury, in Sunday’s Grade 1 Savills Chase.

The 2018 Affinisea gelding is owned by the delighted and effusive Philip Polly who was interviewed at length post-race on RTÉ by Brian Gleeson.

This was a second win at Leopardstown for the Downpatrick owner and Meade who had combined to land the bumper on St Stephen’s Day with the Dara McGill-partnered track newcomer The Mourne Rambler.

The Well Chosen gelding had just the one point-to-point start for Paddy Turley when finishing second in a four-year-old maiden at Portrush in October under Deckie Lavery.

Champagne for Collins

On the mark on the final day of the Leopardstown Festival was the Eoghan Finegan-ridden Champagne Kid who landed the Neville Hotels Premier Handicap Hurdle (Listed) by three and a half lengths. The 2019 Vadamos gelding is trained for Gary Rushe by Bessbrook’s Pat Collins.

Also on the Monday, but at Doncaster, Danny Mullins won the Listed Sky Sports Racing Yorkshire Silver Vase Mares’ Chase on the 6/5 favourite Spindleberry who is trained by Willie Mullins for Fearghal and Bronagh Eastwood. This was a fifth straight win over fences for the 2018 Policy Maker mare.

Other local jockeys who partnered multiple winners post Christmas period were the north of England-based duo of Brian Hughes (five) and Danny McMenamin (three, including the Pat Sloan-owned Japetus at Market Rasen on St Stephen’s Day). There were single wins on Sunday for Caoilin Quinn at Leicester and for Simon Torrens at Limerick.

IN the quiet run-up to Christmas, Danny McMenamin gave the six-year-old Cloudings gelding Grand Geste (15/8 favourite) a brilliant front-running ride to land the Betfred Tommy Whittle Chase at Haydock on Saturday, December 20th.

At the same meeting, the preceding extended Betfred Hat Trick Heaven Handicap Chase was won by the nine-year-old Westerner gelding Escapeandevade (5/4 favourite) who was bred in Mayobridge by Leah McCoy out of the Daliapour mare Sandrinechoix.

The following afternoon at Lingfield, the opening Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 Open National Hunt Flat Race went the way of the 11/8 favourite Wilde’s Legacy. This four-year-old newcomer by Poet’s Word was bred by Fiona McStay out of the unraced Zoffany mare Little Legacy.

On the preceding Friday, Brian Hughes rode a winner over hurdles at Uttoxeter. He was out of luck altogether from five rides at Haydock on the Saturday, had no rides on the Sunday but was placed on all three of his mounts at Musselburgh on Monday afternoon.

London Horse Show

Hughes was also in action on the Monday evening but that was in the Tuffa Boots Jockeys Challenge Cup in aid of the Injured Jockeys’ Fund at the London International Horse Show in the Excel Arena.

The Co Armagh native was on the winning male riders’ team along with fellow Irish jockeys Oisin Murphy and Richie McLernon, Britain’s Tristan Durrell and Scotland’s Jason Hart. Hughes jumped clear and recorded the fastest round on Beth Stock’s Me Time who he also rode here last year.

PAT Sloan wasn’t the only local to have a winner in their colours at Down Royal’s Boxing Day meeting as the Bar 1 Betting Handicap Chase was won by I A Connect whose four-and-a-half-length success not only delighted his owner, Brian Quail, but also those who had supported the 2015 Jeremy gelding into 3/1 favouritism.

Ridden by 7lb claimer Caragh Monaghan and trained in Co Meath by former Co Down huntsman Ian Donoghue, for whom the bay was having his third start, I A Connect was welcomed back at the winner’s enclosure by his delighted owner and many male supporters.

Brian’s wife Donna missed the fixture as she was in the saddle herself at the Boxing Day meet of the East Down Hunt, of which she is a joint-master, while his daughter Toni, the current champion lady point-to-point rider, had to stay at home having been knocked for six by a bout of flu.

She did tell us however, that her recovery from the bad injuries she sustained in a fall at the Punchestown Festival, is going well if somewhat slowly.

YOU’LL have to drop down into Co Meath if you want to visit the closest farms on this year’s Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Irish Stallion Trail which takes place on Friday and Saturday, January 16th and 17th.

The Flood family of Boardsmill Stud, who are great supporters of racing in Northern Ireland, will be showing three stallions at their Trim farm – Arrest, whose first crop of foals are due this year, and the established pair of Poet’s Word and Sumbal.

The chesnut sire Kool Kompany, the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin and Railway Stakes winner by Jeremy, will also be on show next week at the Clongiffen Stud in Longwood.

Marie’s Diamond, whose first crop of foals are now yearlings, will be open to inspection at the Diamond Stud, Bellewstown.

OVER the past couple of weeks, there was little to report on the flat.

Prior to Christmas, there were wins for Patsy Cosgrave and Darragh Keenan at Southwell on both December 18th and 19th; for Luke McAteer (Dundalk) and Barry McHugh (Newcastle) on the second of those dates; for McHugh back at Newcastle on the Saturday when Cosgrave was on the mark at Wolverhampton.

Keenan also rode a winner at Newcastle on Monday this week, a few days after which we did like Andy Oliver’s sign-off of the 2025 season on social media.