DRAPERSTOWN’s Noel Kelly sent out two winners in the period under review, one on the flat and one over jumps, striking first last Thursday week at Dundalk where the Rileyzen Partnership’s Queen Leila landed the New Saddle Bar handicap over a mile.
He followed up the next evening at Kilbeggan where, in a division of the William Hill Each Way Extra Challenge Handicap Hurdle, Orán McGill partnered the 2/1 favourite Fort Randall to victory in the colours of the PMSS Syndicate.
McGill doubled up at that Co Westmeath meeting when winning the concluding bumper on the Paul Traynor-owned and trained Kershaw. This five-year-old Success Days gelding, who was having his second track start, was bred by Gail Kidd out of the bumper-winning Manduro mare Moorstone.
The opening Aguiar Racing Maiden Hurdle at Kilbeggan was won, on his third start, by the Berry Farms-bred five-year-old gelding Master Haku (Masked Marvel – La Sentosa, by Poliglote) while the William Hill Each Way Extra Challenge Series Handicap Chase was won by the Patricia Hunt-owned and bred six-year-old gelding Tell Nobody Nothin (Doyen – Bonny Kate, by Beneficial).
Also over jumps, there was a win last Thursday week at Perth for the Graham Morrow-bred eight-year-old gelding Classic Maestro (Jet Away – Shantelle Line, by Shantou).
Quinn’s big win
On the jump jockeys’ front, Downpatrick native Caoilin Quinn rounded off the 2025/2026 British campaign with a win in the bet365 Gold Cup Handicap Chase at Sandown on Saturday on the Gary and Josh Moore-trained Havaila which took his seasonal total to 41.
Danny McMenamin’s victory on Jupiter Des Mottes at Perth on Friday saw him complete the season on 81 wins while former three-time champion Brian Hughes, who hasn’t ridden since breaking his lower Tibia in a fall at Newcastle in March, ended the campaign on the 99-win mark.
At home, Simon Torrens won the Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series Final Handicap Hurdle on the J.P. McManus-owned, Jessica Harrington-trained Powerful.
On the flat here, Natalia Lupini saddled Peter Trainor’s Zia Zabel to win the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Median Auction Race for three-year-olds at Cork on Friday on his third start and she was back in the winner’s enclosure the following afternoon at Limerick where Thehell Partnership’s Hellorhighwater, who was making his debut for the yard, recorded his second win from four starts.
On the jockey front, there was a win at Navan on Saturday for Jamie Orr. Across the water, Oisin Orr was on the mark at Beverley last Thursday week and at Nottingham on Sunday, Darragh Keenan rode a winner at Ripon on Saturday and at Bath on Monday and there were single victories for Paddy Bradley at Haydock on Saturday and for Patsy Cosgrave at Bath on Monday. In Australia, Martin Harley rode a winner at Eagle Farm on Saturday and one at Ipswich on Wednesday.
THE Mid Antrims hold their spring point-to-point today at Toomebridge where on Saturday, April 8th 2006, on heavy ground, only five races were staged with the concluding six-year-old and upwards geldings’ maiden being abandoned.
Two of those five races were won by James Smyth who struck first in the confined hunt winners of two on Betty Houston’s seven-year-old home-bred Supalot, beating Mark O’Hare on the even-money favourite Too Much Talk by a neck. He then doubled up in the six-year-old and upwards mares’ maiden on that Religously gelding’s year-younger Zaffaran half-sister, Supalotmore.
O’Hare, who also finished second in the opening four and five-year-old maiden to the Denis Macauley-ridden Catherines Verse, managed to win the four and five-year-old geldings’ maiden on Picture In The Sky while J.D. Moore comfortably landed the six-runner open on Dr Fitz Gillespie’s Allthree.
Broughshane
In 2015, the hunt moved their spring fixture to Broughshane where, on Saturday, May 7th the following year, Stuart and Ben Crawford combined to win the five and six-year-old geldings’ maiden with Ravenhill Road and the following adjacent hunts’ maiden with Ballylumford.
With Legacy Phoenix, the pair had to settle for second in the five-year-old and upwards mares’ maiden, won by the Dermot McLoughlin-trained Court Adjourned, while the day opened with a Co Wexford-trained winner in Donnchadh Doyle’s charge Calino d’Airy.
The father and son team of Stephen and Michael McConville landed the nine-runner open with the 4/5 favourite Anseanachai Cliste and the day ended on a bad note for the bookmakers when Mark O’Hare, in the colours of owner/trainer George Stewart, won the following 10-runner winners of two on the even-money favourite Step Back.
Next Friday and Saturday, the Fermanagh Harriers are running their annual two-day point-to-point at Castle Irvine, Necarne. The meeting no longer clashes with Balmoral Show (May 13th to 16th) but does with the North West 200.
TREO Eile, which has been involved with the Irish Pony Club for a number of years, moved north for the first time last weekend when sponsoring prizes at Castle Irvine, Necarne where Area 17 of The Pony Club held their Barrier Animal Health spring festival.
The plan was to award a prize to the highest-placed thoroughbred in all three disciplines – arena eventing, dressage and show jumping – but, with no thoroughbreds featuring in the top six in the dedicated classes over coloured poles, the decision was taken to award two prizes in dressage.
The first of these went to Route Hunt Branch member Grace Elliott who finished fifth in Section A of the PC80 class on the unraced Harrier Jet, a seven-year-old Jet Away gelding. In Section B at the same level, Holly Knox, a member of the Killultagh, Old Rock & Chichester Branch, also finished fifth on Double Greatest.
This seven-year-old El Kabeir gelding ran unplaced three times on the flat in 2022 when trained by John McConnell.
In Sunday’s arena eventing competitions, the Treo Eile prize was presented to the East Downs’ Ella Tormey who finished a close-up second in the PC70 on board Boxing Clever.
IT was good to see Warren Ewing saddle his first winner of the season last Sunday at Fairyhouse where, on his second start, the Jet Away bay Power On Demand landed division one of the Goffs Punchestown Sale four-year-old geldings’ maiden in the hands of Dara McGill.
There were six meetings in Britain last weekend but the only northern-connected winners I could find were Carrhill, who justified favouritism in the restricted at Pusk on Saturday and Buzzard Bay who landed the club members conditions race at Talbey on Sunday.
The Getaway six-year-old Carrhill, who was bred by former Irish Olympic event rider Virginia McGrath out of the Yeats mare Simonia, ran once here for Cormac Abernethy and six times for Caroline McCaldin.
He was then of course trained for Wilson Dennison who we mentioned last week ahead of his 82nd birthday on Wednesday. We have since been informed that when he made his pointing debut at the age of 12, he wore the black and white colours registered by his father in 1949. Wilson was the only one of his family to wear those colours between the flags although his daughters Caroline and Katrina did when eventing.
The 12-year-old Court Cave gelding Buzzard Trix was bred by Barney O’Hare out of the once-raced Presenting mare Present Trix.
IT caught my eye that the first of this season’s pony racing meetings being run by the Northwest Racing Board is scheduled for Sunday next, May 10th, at Carndonagh. Existing and aspiring jockeys should take note of some new rules being introduced for the 2026 campaign.