THE Mid Antrim point-to-point at Toomebridge last Saturday saw a double for the Philip McBurney/Gerald Quinn/Noel McParlan team and one for the Largy Bloodstock/Stuart Crawford/Stephen Connor trio.

The meeting concluded with a poignant victory in the Katie Simpson memorial older geldings’ maiden, which he sponsored, for the Noel Kelly-trained and bred Unfortunatecharlie (see page 43).

The Soldier Of Fortune seven-year-old, who was ridden by Óran McGill, is out of the Old Vic mare Charlie’s Vic, the winner of a bumper, two hurdle races and two chases including one Grade 3 race over fences. Riding for his father Sean, Noel McParlan had another winner on Sunday at Stowlin where their Jet Away bay, Drumlee Jet, finished alone in division one of the Goffs Spring Sale and The Bleahen Family four-year-old geldings’ maiden.

Stephen Connor also rode a winner here, the Frank Reynolds-owned and bred Glendaars Prince, who landed the Goffs Property and Easyfix five-year-old geldings’ maiden on just his second start.

The Maxios bay is trained outside Antrim by Stephen Carlin whose former charge, Boxing Clever, was a winner of a Treo Eile award at the previous weekend’s Pony Club Festival at Castle Irvine, Necarne.

THE 157th Balmoral Show starts on Wednesday and that’s when racing fans should attend, as the Downpatrick Racecourse-sponsored racehorse to riding horse class takes place in the Spar Main Arena that evening.

Younger event enthusiasts should also gather to watch as the ride judge for the class is Larne trainer Stuart Crawford, who won a gold medal for Ireland at the European Young Riders championships in Achselschwang, Germany in 1995 and, three years later, competed as an individual at the World Equestrian Games in Rome.

Crawford last evented in October 2009, when he finished eighth in the six-year-old championship at the world young event horse championships at Le Lion d’Angers on the Irish Sport Horse gelding Amacuzzi.

On their previous start, Stuart and the black son of Marcuzzi had won what was then the CIC1* at Necarne.

Conformation

The conformation judge at Balmoral is leading dual-purpose trainer Gavin Cromwell, who has had a long association with the Ward Union Hunt.

The winner of this class qualifies for the racehorse to riding horse championship at Dublin, as does the former Henry de Bromhead-trained Arctic Bresil (Blue Bresil - Arctic Actress, by King’s Theatre) who, under Fiona Gerring, won the open ex-racehorse class, and championship, at Friday’s session of the Northern Ireland Festival at Cavan Equestrian Centre.

The novice class was won by Ava Stubbs on another British-bred gelding, the former Keith Watson-trained 11-year-old gelding Landue (Champs Elysees - Time Of Gold, by Banker’s Gold).

MENTIONED in this column recently following his win in the Treo Eile thoroughbred EI90 class at Tyrella last month, the former Caroline McCaldin-trained Baile An Sceig landed an 18-runner unrestricted EI90 class last Saturday at Ian and Alison Wilson’s Vesey Lodge.

Ridden by David O’Connor for Siobhan Morrow, the 10-year-old Jet Away gelding, who didn’t manage to win on the track, completed on his dressage score.

Baile An Sceig is among the entries for today’s EI90 at Hazeldene as are three other thoroughbreds.

This event at the home of Andrew and Laura Napier near Ballynahinch, is unlucky to clash with Badminton, but the organisers have arranged for a big screen to show the famed international event.

Among the many local businesses sponsoring the big screen, and whose names will appear on it during the day, is bookmaker Pat O’Hare.

THE Northern Region of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association is holding its annual awards lunch on Friday, May 22nd at Downpatrick racecourse where the feature race, the Albert Bartlett Hunters Chase, is open to runners from Great Britain.

John Yarr was among those honoured at last year’s awards having bred the Region’s National Hunt horse of the year, Hello Neighbour.

That five-year-old Harzand gelding rounded off the 2025/2026 season with a win last Saturday at Punchestown in the Listed Lawlor’s of Naas Handicap Hurdle.

Hello Neighbour is out of the Montjeu mare Je T’Adore, who is dam also of the blacktype performers A Wave Of The Sea and Duvet Day.

At the Co Kildare track the previous evening, the concluding bumper was won by the Deckie Lavery-ridden Largy Star.

The seven-year-old Blue Bresil gelding is out of the Definite Article mare Ballinahow Star, who won two point-to-points and two hurdle races and is dam also of the Sholokhov bay Largy Silver, who won a five-year-old geldings’ maiden at Tyrella in January on his only start. Now in the care of Gavin Cromwell, Largy Star was previously trained by Cormac Abernethy, who sent him out to win a maiden and a winners’ point-to-point from his two starts last autumn in the colours of his breeders, Largy Bloodstock.

Jockeys

Also on the National Hunt jockeys’ front, Sam Ewing, who returned from injury on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival, rode his first winner since March when landing the penultimate race on Friday, the FRS Fencing Handicap Hurdle, on the Peter Fahey-trained Avalo, who scored by a short-head.

Danny McMenamin got his 2026/2027 British season off the mark on Wednesday at Kelso, where he recorded a double, while the colours of Randox’s Peter FitzGerald were carried to victory last Saturday at Auteuil.

There, his four-year-old Nirvana Du Berlais gelding Teen Spirit, who is trained by Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm and was having his third start, justified favouritism by 10 lengths in the opening two-mile, six-furlong chase, where he was ridden by James Reveley.

THE reigning champion flat jockey, Dylan Browne McMonagle (pictured), only returned to competitive action last Sunday at Cork where, from five rides, he rode two winners for his retaining yard of Joseph O’Brien.

The 23-year-old, who suffered a verterbrae-fracture in a fall at Happy Valley in March, had no wins but only twice finished outside the top four in seven rides at the Curragh on Monday. On Wednesday, again riding for O’Brien, he landed another double from six rides at Gowran, where he was placed in the other four races.

Also in Ireland, there was a win for Jamie Orr at Sligo on Sunday while, across the water, Patsy Cosgrave partnered winners at Windsor on Thursday last, at Goodwood the following day and at Bath on Monday.

Barry McHugh visited the winner’s enclosure at Hamilton on Sunday and at Ayr on Tuesday and there were single wins also during the week for Darragh Keenan, Kyle McHugh and Paddy Bradley.

Australia

On what was described as heavy ground at Eagle Farm on Saturday, Martin Harley landed the AUS€350,000 Group 2 Queensland Guineas on the Chris and Corey Munce-trained gelding Brave Monarch.

On the training front, the in-form Natalia Lupini saddled Summer Island to justify favouritism in the seven-furlong apprentice handicap at the Curragh on Monday. The four-year-old Caravaggio gelding is owned by Lupini’s partner Craig Bryson, Nigel O’Hare, Martin White and Mark Devlin. O’Hare and Devlin also own a leg or two of the Ado McGuinness-trained Land Of The Giants who, too, rewarded favourite-backers at Ayr on Tuesday. Also at Ayr, the five-furlong handicap was won by the David Laverty-bred five-year-old mare Little Mi Mi (Dandy Man - Alasaayel, by Shamardal).

At Sligo on Sunday, the extended 10-furlong handicap went to the Brian and Anne Marie Kennedy-bred three-year-old filly Misty Cove (Inns Of Court - Music Pearl, by Oratorio).

TODAY’s second stage of the Fermanagh Hunt’s two-day meeting at Castle Irvine, Necarne, the final meeting in the region for the 2025/26 season, gets under way at 2pm with the Goffs Spring Sale four-year-old auction maiden.

Ten years ago, five local trainers saddled winners at this fixture but only one of these, the Jerry Cosgrave-owned and trained Champione, was ridden by a local rider and that was Mark O’Hare.

There were wins also for the David Christie-trained Maple Mons (adjacent hunts’ race), Stephen McConville’s Anseanachai Cliste (open), Paul McAleese’s Kinnacally (mares’ winners of three) and Caroline McAldin’s charge The Trigger. The last-named was partnered by Jamie Codd who initiated a double on Drovers Lane, trained by fellow Co Wexford native Denis Murphy.

10 years back

Ten years prior to that, five of the six winners had been issued hunters’ certs by local packs. Not too surprising at that time, the adjacent hunts’ race was won a member of the Vance family, in this case Johnny, on board Ninaprettyballerina. The host hunt was also represented by the David Christie-trained open winner, Hersov, who was ridden by Clare MacMahon.

The mares’ winners of three was landed by the Dunlop family’s home-bred Religiously bay All Saints, who held a Co Down cert; the mares’ maiden went to the Mid Antrim-qualified Glensan River, an Insan bay home-bred by John McIlveen; and the geldings’ maiden for novice riders was won by a son of Religiously, the Paddy Graffin-bred Lord Benson who held a Tynan and Armagh cert.