FECK this bad weather is all I can say - well, I could say more but better not - as the fewer opportunities there are for local owners, trainers, riders and breeders to have winners, the fewer opportunities there are for me to write about them.
Some jockeys did well such as Danny McMenamin who notched up single victories at Kelso on Friday, Haydock on Saturday, Carlisle on Monday and at Market Rasen on Tuesday. Brian Hughes visited the winner’s enclosure at those same meetings in Haydock and Carlisle and also at Musselburgh on Sunday, while Derek Fox recorded a treble at Kelso on Friday.
On the flat, Luke McAteer rode another winner at Dundalk for the owner/trainer combination of Donnchadh Doyle and Jack Foley when Incredible Army, the outsider of the three runners, landed the six-furlong Bar 1 Betting & Casino Rated Race by one and a half lengths.
Saudi Arabia
Further afield, fellow Donegal native Dylan Browne McMonagle, who is currently based in Hong Kong, met up with his home boss Joseph O’Brien on Saturday in Saudi Arabia where they won the valuable one-mile, seven-furlong Group 2 handicap on turf with the HOS Syndicate’s Sons And Lovers. (He was back in Sha Tin for another winner on Thursday).
On the breeding front, there were two winners on Wednesday I can write about here.
First up, the two-and-a-half-mile Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden Hurdle at Punchestown was won by the six-year-old Court Cave gelding Court Complianc, who was bred at the Candlefort Stud near Dundalk by Pascal Keenan.
The bay is out of the unraced Beneficial mare Bellingham Rose, a half-sister to the Old Vic geldings In Compliance and One Cool Cookie, also to the King’s Theatre mare Billy’s Hope.
Later at Southwell, where he was making his racecourse debut, the two-mile bumper was won by the J.P. King-bred five-year-old gelding Midnight Jukebox (Jukebox Jury - Midnight Streaker, by Midnight Legend).
The chesnut made €21,000 when consigned by Danny Doran junior to Tattersalls Ireland’s 2021 November National Hunt sale as a foal and £135,000 roughly this time last year at Tattersalls Cheltenham having landed a four-year-old geldings’ maiden at Castlelands just days previously on his only start for Sean ‘Farmer’ Doyle.
IT was fairly quiet on the point-to-point front last weekend with no meetings taking place at all in Britain, while out of the two Irish fixtures which went ahead on Sunday, there were no locally-bred winners. Thankfully, however, the in-form Stuart Crawford saddled his own Loughmourne to win the five-year-old geldings’ maiden at Nenagh, where the Maxios bay was partnered by Eoin Mahon and led up by Philippa Baird.
Aptly, the race was sponsored by the Tattersalls Cheltenham February Sale, where the winner came under the hammer as the final lot of 30 yesterday afternoon where he sold for £125,000 to Kevin Ross.
Crawford is fairly busy at the moment, but things should quieten down in May - which probably influenced his decision to accept an invitation to judge the racehorse to riding horse class at Balmoral Show (May 13th to 16th), alongside Co Meath trainer Gavin Cromwell.
THE Eglish-based company Bluegrass Horse Feed is to continue the ‘Best Turned Out League’ at Down Royal Racecourse, which it launched last year when it was won by the Gordon Elliott yard.
Representatives of the Co Tyrone feed company and the racecourse recently visited Elliott’s Cullentra Stables in Co Meath to present the £2,000 prize cheque to the team, who are noted for the turn-out of the yard’s horses.
Craig Kileff from Bluegrass stated, “At Bluegrass, we focus on enhancing the well-being, nutrition and performance of every horse. Behind every great racehorse is a dedicated team of grooms who ensure they look and feel their best. The ‘Best Turned Out League’ is our way of recognising and rewarding their hard work - congratulations to all at Cullentra!”
Craig knows the way down to Elliott’s base well, as Bluegrass products have been fed at the yard for many years.
Continuing partnership
Susan McCartney, Head of Racing Operations at Down Royal, shared her enthusiasm for the scheme: “We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Bluegrass Horse Feed and the ‘Best Turned Out League’, a brand that shares our passion for equine welfare and racing excellence. Gordon Elliott’s runners are always impeccably turned-out and reflect the hard work of the whole team. We are thrilled to reward their dedication alongside Bluegrass.”
Bluegrass Horse Feed will also continue its support of the St Patrick’s Day meeting at Down Royal on Tuesday, March 17th, promising a thrilling day of top-tier racing, lively celebrations and traditional music.
THE Tynan & Armaghs are due to run their point-to-point next Saturday, February 28th, at the popular venue of Farmacaffley where the opening four-year-old maiden will be over two and a half miles.
There was no dedicated race for that age group on Saturday, February 27th, 2016 when the five-year-old geldings’ maiden, won by the Thomas McGeough-owned and trained Mr McGo (Liam Kelleher), attracted 10 runners which was the largest field of the day.
The confined hunt race, which was always fiercely contested, was won by Anseanachai Cliste. That 4/7 favourite was ridden by his owner Michael McConville whose father Stephen trained the Bach gelding.
There were nine runners in the five-year-old and upwards mares’ maiden, where Mark O’Hare added to his seasonal total of wins on board the Galvin family’s Sixteen Again.
The youngest runner in the five-runner open was the 11-year-old winner Current Exchange, trained by Gordon Elliott and ridden by the now France-based trainer Tim Donworth; Noel McParlan and his father Sean combined to land the six-runner winners of two with the odds-on favourite Tareesh Lane; and Jamie Codd landed the older geldings’ maiden on Jim Dreaper’s charge MMD Sizer.
On Saturday, February 25th, 2006, when there were two divides on the card, Mark O’Hare recorded a treble on three favourites - Too Much Talk (division one of the five and six-year-old geldings’ maiden), Bryansford Belle (division two of the five, six and seven-year-old mares’ maiden) and French Thyne (winners of two).
J.D. Moore landed the confined winners’ race on the Fitz Gillespie-owned and bred Allthree and then doubled up in division two of the younger geldings’ maiden with Thai Vango. Willie Rankin claimed the winners of two on Roy Wilson’s Savati; Nigel Slevin rewarded favourite-backers on Woodstock Lass in the first division of the mares’ maiden; and Johnny Farrelly was first home on Its All About Luck in the concluding 18-runner older geldings’ maiden.