JODY McGarvey enjoyed a better Christmas than most in these strange days with three winners in the space of three days.

First up, the Coleraine native won the opening two-mile maiden hurdle for four-year-olds at Leopardstown on Saturday with the French-bred Spanish Moon gelding Get My Drift who is trained for J.P. McManus by Mouse Morris.

McGarvey had no luck at the Foxrock track on Sunday but recorded a double the following day when he travelled down to Limerick.

He got off the mark in the opening maiden hurdle on the McManus-owned French-bred Ciel De Neige, who is trained by Willie Mullins, and immediately followed up by guiding Farouk D’Alene to victory in the Lyons of Limerick Jaguar Land Rover Novice Hurdle. Yet another winner carrying an FR suffix, the Racinger five-year-old is trained for Gigginstown House Stud by Gordon Elliott.

Simon Torrens also rode a winner in the McManus colours at Leopardstown’s St Stephen’s Day fixture, his success coming in the two-mile, one-furlong handicap chase on the Padraig Roche-trained Uisce Beatha who got up close home to score at odds of 40/1.

There were two northern-owned winners at the south Co Dublin track on Sunday starting with the Mullins-trained Castlebawn West who carried top-weight and the colours of Rose Boyd to victory in the Paddy Power Handicap Chase. The 2013 Westerner gelding was purchased by Rose for €24,000 at the 2016 Goffs Land Rover Sale.

Sadly, the victory of the Wilson Dennison-owned, Elliott-trained Ballycairn in the bumper came as the result of the clear leader, and odds-on favourite, Reality Cheque, suffering a fatal injury a furlong down.

Mulholland winners

There were no winners for northern-based trainers over the Christmas period but Co Antrim-born Neil Mulholland sent out four winners from his Conkwell Grange Stables near Bath.

The quartet was led by Chinwag who scored at Wincanton’s December 26th meeting under Harry Reed and at Taunton four days later when Millie Wonnacott was in the saddle. Between times, Reed partnered Percy Pops to win at Doncaster on Tuesday while Sam Twiston-Davies came in for the successful ride on Golden Emblem at Market Rasen on Wednesday.

Let’s hope there will be plenty of northern-bred, owned, trained and ridden winners in 2021 and we will get back to some sort of normality. A happy New Year to all.