BANBRIDGE’s Sarah Dawson was the first of three Northern trainers to saddle a winner at Down Royal’s St Stephen’s Day meeting and did so in the Adare Manor Opportunity Handicap Hurdle with the 2015 Born To Sea gelding Magic Sea whose only previous success had come in a seven-furlong nursery at the Co Down track in September 2017.

On the first occasion the bay, then a colt, was owned by a partnership of Sarah’s husband, Dr Joe Dawson and Peter Passmore who have since been joined by Bob McCoubrey. A half-brother to the listed-placed, 10-time winner Magic City (by Elusive City), Magic Sea was purchased by his trainer at Tattersalls Ireland’s 2016 September Yearling Sale.

“I’m delighted Magic Sea has won at his local track, Down Royal, which he loves,” said Dawson who, as joint-Master of the Iveagh Foxhounds, featured in a recent hunting report in the Irish Horse World section of this newspaper.

“He won here as two-year-old on this ground before so I knew that the ground and course would suit.

“We just needed a bit of luck in running today and it all came together.”

Magic Sea was ridden by Eoin Walsh who recorded a double in the Metcollect Handicap Chase on the Sean McParlan-trained Drummallagh Rocky.

This 16/1 winner was also scoring for the second time in his career having claimed a maiden hurdle at Perth in July 2016 when he was ridden by the trainer’s amateur son, Noel, and was returned at 100/1.

A 2009 gelding by Pasternak, who once stood at Scarvagh House Stud, Drummallagh Rocky runs in the colours of Omeath’s Martin Ward who bred the bay out of the Distinctly North mare Wind Scarlet. He was having his first start since finishing fifth over course and distance in January 2019.

“It was absolutely brilliant, brilliant, magic,” said Sean in his post-race interview. “I knew he had the ability to win but our horses haven’t been running that well of late so we’re just delighted to get it. Martin was a bit late getting down to the winner’s enclosure – he must have been out on the track trying to chase the horse home!”

Derrylin trainer David Christie and owner Ray Nicholas wouldn’t have many 25/1 winners in the point-to-point sphere but that was the price of the pair’s Dylrow who landed a very competitive hunters’ chase in the hands of 7lb-claimer Jordan Gainford. The race was sponsored by Eglish, Co Tyrone animal feed company Bluegrass.

Nicholas owns the 2003 Kalanisi gelding in partnership with fellow Belfast resident Dr Sam Campbell, chief executive of the Newtownabbey-based cattle breeding company, A.I. Services Northern Ireland Ltd. The horse, previously trained by Robbie Hennessy, won an open for his present connections at Kirkistown in November.

“I’m delighted,” said Christie who also saddled Nicholas’s Marinero to finish 11th. “We were standing in the paddock and we were looking around saying ‘oh look at that horse and he’s a good horse’ so I said to the boys if we finish in the first six or seven here we’ll have run real respectable as both my horses would want good ground.

“I told Jordan that Dylrow had a turn of foot, which a lot of three-milers don’t have; he has won over two miles and he stays well. I said to Jordan ‘if you are in contention at the top of the hill, don’t go for him. Just keep riding him hands and heels, hands and heels and keep your biggest weapon up your sleeve which is your turn of foot’; he did that right to the letter of the law. Then when he asked the horse for it, he had it.”

Queried as to plans for Dylrow, Christie commented: “Before today I had thought he was an Aintree Foxhunters horse because he’d love that flat track and the good ground and the big fences at Aintree. But we’re going to have to sit down and think about it now. He stayed so well there we’d have to consider whether he could tackle some of the big three-mile hunter chases in Ireland and maybe across the water.”

The quotes above were supplied by Richhill’s Ruth Loney, a regular contributor to the Irish Horse World section of The Irish Field, who covered the Boxing Day meeting at Down Royal for Q Radio.