THERE wasn’t any obvious local connection to the winners at Cheltenham last Thursday and Friday but the Henry de Bromhead-trained, Darragh O’Keeffe-ridden Heart Wood, winner of the Grade 1 Ryanair Chase on the Thursday, was sent to Northern Ireland as a foal.
Runner-up in the same race last year, the Choeur Du Nord bay was born in France and returned there as a yearling but spent much of the intervening time in Co Antrim being cared for by Graham McKeever whose Tildarg Stables consigned the then yearling colt to the 2019 November National Hunt Sale at Tattersalls Ireland.
There was no locally-trained or ridden winner at Down Royal on St Patrick’s Day but at least Barley Lane, who won the opening Bluegrass Relite Maiden Hurdle did so in the colours of Fearghal and Bronagh Eastwood while the six-year-old gelding Pat’s Legacy (Walk In The Park - Shuil Mo Ghra, by Presenting), who landed the following Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series At Punchestown Festival 2026 Qualifier Novice Handicap Hurdle was bred in Mayobridge by P.J. Murphy.
WHEN it comes to jockey news this week the only place to start is with Brian Hughes who rode a winner at Doncaster on Friday and landed the fourth race at Newcastle the following afternoon on the 7/4 favourite Young Jack to give him his 99th win of the British season.
Unfortunately, two races later, he suffered a fall at the eighth fence in a near three-mile handicap chase with the 9/4 favourite Hawkseye View, fracturing his right tibia.
The 40-year-old Co Armagh native never broke a limb before so has no idea when he will be back to continue his quest to become the fourth jump jockey in history to ride 2,000 winners after Tony McCoy, Richard Johnson and Ruby Walsh. He is currently on the 1,994-win mark.
Danny McMenamin recorded a treble at that Doncaster meeting while there was a single win that Friday afternoon at Fakenham for Caoilin Quinn.
On the flat, Luke McAteer won the first race of the home turf season, the Topgear at Capital Stud Irish EBF Maiden for two-year-olds at the Curragh on Sunday, on the Jack Foley-trained Ruler’s Control.
THE North Downs hold their second spring point-to-point today at Kirkistown where, 10 years ago, Mark O’Hare recorded a treble on the six-race card which was run on soft to heavy going.
Two of his winners were owned and trained by George Stewart who saddled the six-year-old Robin Des Champs gelding Slemish to land the nine-runner winners of one and the Indian River six-year-old Step Back to claim the following, and concluding, 12-strong older geldings’ maiden by a distance.
O’Hare had initiated his treble in the eight-runner five-year-old and upwards mares’ maiden on the Jerry Cosgrave-trained Hayley Belle.
This five-year-old daughter of Flemensfirth justified her position as 2/1 favourite by a hard-fought three-parts of a length in the colours of Ian Moore.
Barry O’Neill landed a double which kicked off in the opening six-runner four-year-old maiden on the Colin Bowe-trained 2/1 favourite Oscar Mor who was making his debut.
O’Neill then combined with David Christie to win the open with the 6/4 favourite The Hard Hat. There were only three runners who were separated at the finish by one length and a short-head.
Seven runners lined up at the start of the five-year-old geldings’ maiden with the four finishers being led home by the 9/4 favourite, the Alfred Buller-bred Generous chesnut First Drift who ran in the colours of his trainer Stuart Crawford whose brother Ben was in the saddle.
The hunt ran just one meeting at Kirkistown in 2006 and that was on Saturday, May 27th when the going was given as good.
There were nine races following the divide of the opening four and five-year-old maiden, the following maiden for similarly-aged geldings and the concluding six and seven-year-old geldings’ maiden.
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No rider managed to complete a double. Neil McKnight landed division one of the younger mares’ maiden on the family’s Lady Ruffit while Eamon Magee claimed the second half in the colours of the late Neil McCluskey on Kicking Queen.
Johnny Farrelly won the first division of the younger geldings’ maiden on Wilson Dennison’s Crank Hill with the Jamie Codd-ridden Team Chaser being left clear at the last to win division two by 25 lengths.
The 11-runner confined hunt race went the way of the John Turner-owned, Mark O’Hare-ridden Bijou Blue. James Smyth won the 13-runner open on the youngest horse in the race, the six-year-old Groom Dancer gelding The Varlet. They scored by 12 lengths from Beachcomber Bay whose rider, Jim Keeling, landed the following 13-runner six and seven-year-old mares’ maiden on Roscar.
There were 13 runners in both divides of the six and seven-year-old geldings’ maiden, the first half going to J.D. Moore and the even-money favourite Cul La Balla with James Gault partnering Playboy Prince to win division two by a distance from the only other finisher.
I WAS very saddened to learn of the death on Monday of former trainer Eyssen Ross (nee Rooney).
Although she started other good horses over the years, Eyssen will be best remembered in racing for sending out the Jimmy Henry-ridden Imperial Commander to win the four-year-old winners’ of one at Summerhill on his only run for the yard. Eyssen, who was predeceased by her husband Jackie, is survived by her sons Gerry, Kevin and John, daughters-in-law Gwen and Anna, grandchildren Tom, Kate, Holly, Mark and Harvey and her sister Carol. A Service will be held in Antrim and Newtownabbey Crematorium at 12 noon on Monday.
ANOTHER death we heard of this week was that on St Patrick’s Day of Desi Graham who readers of this column would most closely associate with the Fermanagh Hunt’s point-to-points.
He was also much involved with Balmoral show, the Northern Region of Eventing Ireland and the much-missed international event that took place at Necarne.
The Northen Region’s Dora Beacon paid him a lovely tribute which you can read in page 71 in the Irish Horse section.