THE 2026 harness racing season closed at Annaghmore last Sunday. Only five races (26 runners) took place, probably the weakest card since the opening meeting at this venue on May 17th.

Going into the meeting, it was mathematically possible for Jonny Cowden to usurp 2025 champion driver Patrick Kane junior for The Irish Field silver salver for leading driver nationally.

Kane does not care for nail-biting finishes and the title was effectively his when he won the second race on the card with Niall Nugent’s Brody. Jonny had only two more drives, which meant that races three and five were dead rubbers as far as the championship was concerned.

It is gratifying for the sponsors to see how intensely Kane and Cowden battled to be ‘top gun’.

Patrick Kane jnr speaks with the confidence of one who knows that he is good at his job. “I’ve had a great season and I’m very lucky to have the calibre of horses that I have. We didn’t leave too many big pots behind us this year. It all culminated nicely with winning the drivers’ championship.”

Study the leading jockey/rider/driver title in any form of equestrianism and the experts agree, “you need the horses”. Patrick has earned the backing of John Ball from London and Josh Graber of the USA, which probably tipped the balance.

Five championships

Patrick has now won the championship five times since this newspaper first endorsed the award. He also won several titles in his early career.

Runner-up Jonny Cowden had a glass-is-half-full type of comment for The Irish Field: “Overall, I had a great year, the most wins I’ve had in a season and some big races as well. I’m looking forward to a break and to start again for next year.”

Patrick had a double on the day. Brody looked flung in for the Grade G pace, and he won as a 1/3 shot should.

By contrast, Neil McDermott’s One Cool Touch was one of the rags (5/1 in fact) for the Grade E and F pace. The Keady-based owners have knocked good fun out of Brody and they will be back in 2027.

Patrick got One Cool Touch off a long list of unplaced efforts in 2.02.8. He let ‘the Touch’ follow his faster young rivals before producing the 11-year-old on the line to mug Arts Princess (Adam Corey) and Desert Ranger (Jack Murdock).

“He has been a great servant to everyone who has owned him,” said Neil McDermott from Newtownbutler. One Cool Touch was for a few glorious moments ante-post favourite for the 2017 Vincent Delaney Memorial, thanks to the efforts of his colourful owner at that time.

“Well done” goes out to Jack Murdock (16), who recently obtained his licence and looks sure to break his duck in 2027. A sobering thought: Jack is the 14th Murdock I have watched driving in a race.

Easiest winners

John Richardson had one of the easiest winners of his long career, as Jelina Benoit took out the Grade F trot. The time of 2.08. 2 tells us that JR barely raised his voice. Flash Mc de Couet (Adam Corey) got second in the stewards’ room.

“Jelina is a nice steady mare, sound of limb and honest. She will always pick up money in her own grade’’ said JR, sounding like a man who would sell.

Even though this was a weak card, the public got their money’s worth. Patrick got a nice cheer when he was presented with the top driver award, One Cool Touch was well congratulated and ‘the wee mare from Ballyclare’ did it again.

The Ballyclare mare is of course, Andy McTaggart’s Feugeres Erem, a lone trotter in a region where equine Getaways and Doyens are common currency.

Andy’s 11-year-old has looked out of sorts in recent runs and he took the brave decision to keep her in work. Previously, the banter was that only Sean Kane had the key to her. Here, Gavin Murdock let her creep into the race and she won going away.

“Gavin gave her a great drive,” said the East Antrim man. “Before today, only Sean had won with her. She will only run when she is ready and not a second before. I’ll have to bring her back next year after a run like that.”

Great advert

Another gutsy little mare, Hot To Trot was second for Sean and Mary Kane. Andy told The Irish Field that Feugere Erem’s prize money had comfortably outweighed her entry fees in recent seasons. She is a great advert for how Le TROT scheme worked for a one-horse owner.

Fittingly, Jonny Cowden scored a consolation goal in the final race of the season. The 3/1 shot Extrem Ryld overturned 1/2 favourite, the mighty Harry Knows. Presumably Adam Corey had first choice of two in the race and he plumped for the mare Isba Quick. Jonny got first run with Extrem Ryld and, despite the best efforts of Patrick Kane on ‘Harry’, the bird had flown. The 2.02.8 is a quick mile for a 12-year-old trotter on a sloppy track.

Storm Boelo had wreaked havoc at the venue. As can be seen from the photos, horses and drivers were plastered with muck. Those hardy souls, the bookies, chose to bet indoors in the bar.

Layers usually get their predictions right, but they were wrong as the weather calmed for a few hours and it was actually a pleasant day for spectating.

Great banter

The medium-sized crowd crammed into the bar made for a good atmosphere and there was great banter amongst the patrons, a last day at school kind of feel.

Jim ‘Maxie’ Collins from Drogheda stepped down as a bookie late in 2025.

Happily, his son Seamus brought Maxie for the day. Maxie was asked to present The Irish Field silver salver for leading driver. The 83-year-old Maxie is one of the most successful breeders of coursing dogs in the country.

Smiles all round – Patrick Kane jnr receives The Irish Field leading driver award from Mark Flanagan (chairman IHRA) and retired bookmaker Maxie Collins \ Chloé Nelson

Photographer Chloe Nelson was called out for three cheers. The Portadown-based snapper never misses a meeting and has become part of the furniture.

The country is full of well-bred yearlings, both trotters and pacers. A few larger stables will also be shopping in Pennsylvania, so next season should serve up quality racing.

As usual, results are at www.irishharnessracing.com while replays are at Irish Harness Racing Association You Tube channel.

The Irish Field will keep you up to date with any newsworthy events through the winter, thanks for tuning in.