ONE can only hope that the winners of the younger maidens at Portrush last Saturday will still be showing as much enthusiasm for the game at the age of 11 as Winged Leader did when recording his record-breaking 34th point-to-point success in the open at the Route meeting.
The win will have been covered in detail elsewhere in this issue (P47) but I would just like to pay tribute to David Christie who has trained the son of Winged Leader since the end of 2018, to Barry O’Neill who has partnered the bay to most of those wins and to John Hegarty and Jenny O’Kane who get so much obvious pleasure out of owning an older horse.
Christie and O’Neill doubled up in the Drenagh Sawmills winners of three with Shane Wilson and Jamesy Hagan’s five-year-old Getaway gelding My Life Be Like, who has now notched up four wins.
The Christie winners were both bred in Ireland as were three of the other four winners on the day and two of these were for local handlers.
Caroline McCaldin sent out the Oran McGill-partnered Tobyshill to win the Dennison JCB five-year-old geldings’ maiden in the colours of her father Wilson Dennison. The Califet bay was bred in Co Tyrone by Raymond Gilmore out of the Zaffaran mare Letitia’s Gain.
The Philip McBurney-owned, Gerald Quinn-trained Dunaird landed the Coleraine Plant Hire older geldings’ maiden under Noel McParlan. The six-year-old Affinisea was bred by Fiona McStay out of the Bob Back mare Ceol Rua.
THE curtain came down on the 2025 season at Downpatrick last Friday when the former Co Down Staghounds huntsman Ian Donoghue trained two of the last three winners and where Oh Janey justified favouritism in the Northern Ireland On Course Bookmakers Association Novice Handicap Hurdle for the Stuart Crawford yard.
The five-year-old Free Eagle mare is also owned by Crawford whose former charge Masked Man won a novices’ hurdle at Chepstow on Friday on his first outing for Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies.
The Masked Marvel gelding is still owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede whose colours he carried to victory in a four-year-old maiden at Stowlin in early May on his only start for Crawford.
Oh Janey was ridden to victory at Downpatrick by Sam Ewing who was also on the mark at Cork on Sunday and at Punchestown on Wednesday. Also over jumps, but across the water, Brian Hughes partnered a winner at Hexham on Saturday as did Derek Fox and Danny McMenamin who both visited the winner’s enclosure at Wetherby on Wednesday.
Downpatrick native Caoilin Quinn bridged the divide between both codes of racing when landing the Alderbrook Handicap (For Professional Jump Jockeys) over two miles at Goodwood on Sunday on the Gary and Josh Moore-trained Poncho.
Flat winners
Also on the flat in Britain, Patsy Cosgrave recorded a treble at Yarmouth on Monday while there were single wins for Darragh Keenan at Wolverhampton on Saturday and for Oisin Orr at Newcastle on Tuesday.
Oisin’s cousin, 18-year-old Jamie Orr, partnered his first winner on the racecourse last Friday evening at Dundalk when the Bill Durcan-trained Cherry Pink landed the extended 10-furlong apprentice handicap by a length. Oisin’s parents, Teresa and Michael, were on hand to see their son register this important success (P29).
No doubt they also celebrated the treble recorded by fellow Co Donegal native Dylan Browne McMonagle who, with his sole victory at the meeting, posted his 91st win of the year in Ireland at Roscommon on Monday.
Luke McAteer struck once at Dundalk on Tuesday when Natalia Lupini sent out the Wayne Lordan-ridden, British-bred A’Ali colt Whistling Jamesie to win the six-furlong nursery on his fourth start.
Trained in Co Donegal by Hugh McGuigan, the six-year-old Muhaarar gelding Capital Theory won the extended 10-furlong handicap at Naas on Sunday while, the following day at Roscommon, Andy Oliver’s charge Millraceflow, a three-year-old Earthlight gelding, landed the opening colts and geldings’ maiden over just short of a mile for owner David Brazil.
On the breeding front, there were wins for the Richard Irwin-bred six-year-old gelding Juke Box Rocks (Jukebox Jury - Rock On The Moor, by Flemensfirth) at Tramore last Thursday week, for the Neville Reid-bred six-year-old gelding Minella Emperor (Shantou - Cloughmile, by Oscar) at Cork on Sunday and, on the flat, for the McCracken Farms-bred two-year-old filly Assaranca (Ghaiyyath - Hansiya, by Dark Angel) at Nottingham on Wednesday.
WINGED Leader’s record-breaking victory in the open at Portrush on Saturday was celebrated at Tullyraine where the gelding’s sire Winged Love stood from 2003 until his death in 2015.
Thanks to his exploits on the point-to-point scene, David Christie’s charge could well be described as an ironman, an accolade bestowed on Tullyraine’s Hugh Suffern following his exploits earlier this month in a sea swim, over a fast bike course and a flat run course in Barcelona, where he competed alongside Leslie Mulholland.
Another Co Down veterinary surgeon, Esther Skelly Smith, features twice in the Irish Horse World pages this week as she is the very proud breeder of Shanaghan Velvet who, having won the morning’s lightweight class, was crowned champion hunter at the Horse Of the Year Show in Birmingham last Friday evening.
The six-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding is by another ISH in Lagans OBOS Quality out of the ISH mare Shanaghan Charlotte whose sire, Clerkenwell, would have been well-known to Suffern when he stood at Scarvagh. The 1993 Sadler’s Wells stallion then moved on to stand with Eric Smith in Seskinore where he could have been better supported by sport horse breeders.
Berry Farms
Through Berry Farms, Dromore veterinary surgeon Callie Berry bred the six-year-old gelding Aurea Fortuna (Mount Nelson - Battle Over, by Sillery) who, trained by Tony Martin and partnered by Derek O’Connor, won the two-mile, seven-furlong (Q.R.) handicap chase at Punchestown on Wednesday.
Hugh, Esther and Callie were among those recognised at last Wednesday week’s Northern Ireland Horse Board’s anniversary celebration, for their contribution to the equine industry in the region over the past 30 years.
There were many others listed who cross the divide between racing and equestrianism including owners, riders, trainers, breeders, landowners, other veterinary surgeons, bloodstock agents, sponsors and officials.
THE East Antrims hold their autumn fixture this afternoon at Loughanmore where on Saturday, October 22nd, 2005 Derek O’Connor won three of the seven races.
He initiated his treble in the opening winners of two on Stormy Tribunal then won the two mares’ maidens which concluded the meeting on Madformakeup and Conor’s Won.
In landing the older geldings’ maiden on French Thyne, Mark O’Hare became the only local rider to strike on the day as the other races went the way of Clare MacMahon, Chris Cully and Johnny Farrelly.
On Saturday, October 24th, 2015, the best O’Connor could manage was three second-place finishes as Deckie Lavery claimed the riding honours with a double in the first two races on the Brian Hamilton-trained pair Bach de Clermont and Monlough Girl.
On a good day for local interests, Mark O’Hare scored on the Graham McKeever-trained Ticinese, Noel McParlan won on the open on Marito for the Colin McBratney yard and Michael Millar sent out American Image to land the concluding older horses’ maiden. Wexford’s Donnchadh Doyle and Rob James upset the applecart when claiming the winners of one with A Bold Move.