THE East Antrim Harriers hosted the second day of their Easter fixture at Loughanmore on Monday, courtesy of landowner Wilson Dennison. Huge credit must go to the hunt committee, who carried out immense work on Sunday to repair the track and parking areas following heavy rainfall from Storm Dave.
Although fields were smaller on Monday, the card still produced a cracking day’s racing and drew a large crowd. Smithytown (6/4 - 5/4 favourite) set the tone, providing Stephen Connor and Stuart Crawford with the opening leg of a treble in the four-year-old maiden restricted to horses bought for €25,000 or less as unraced three-year-olds.
Sent off favourite after a promising third on debut at Kirkistown, the €15,000 Goffs Arkle Sale purchase built on that effort. Given a patient ride, he tracked the long-time leader and eventual runner-up, Mister Realistic, who set strong fractions and held an advantage for much of the race.
However, the winner made steady headway before being produced at the final obstacle to lead on the run-in and assert with authority.
Connor stated: “He did that well. It rode like a decent race. When he got there, the class came out in him. His first run was a decent race; I’d say plenty of winners will come out of it. He is for sale.”
Smart turn of foot
Largy Leader (5/4 - evens favourite), a five-year-old son of Capri, returned to winning ways for Largy Bloodstock when he provided the middle leg of the Crawford-Connor treble in the adjacent winners’ of two.
Having been slightly unlucky since his maiden success at Kirkistown in February, he turned out again quickly after finishing third at Portrush the previous weekend behind much more experienced rivals.
Moving up to dispute the lead, he increased the tempo from the penultimate, gaining the upper hand before asserting his superior turn of foot to deny Morale Boost by two lengths.
Carnfunnock reverses form
The open contest drew huge interest as the history-making Winged Leader lined up in pursuit of a remarkable 38th point-to-point success. However, he was denied on this occasion by the younger Carnfunnock (7/4), who completed the Crawford-Connor treble, alongside a double on the day for Largy Bloodstock.
Carnfunnock was given a patient ride, always travelling strongly without showing his hand until the final obstacle, where he produced a sharp turn of foot to outpace his older rival and score by a length.
Having been last seen in the hunters’ chase at Cheltenham, where he ran with credit but slightly below his best, this nine-year-old son of Getaway looked back to peak form here, and it was no mean feat to lower the colours of a 37-time point winner of Winged Leader’s calibre.
The success completed a treble for the in-form Crawford team, who are operating at over a 25% strike rate. This marked their 15th winner of the season, just two shy of their best tally, and they look well capable of surpassing that mark before this term ends.
NELSONS Port (2/1 - 3/1), a striking daughter of Mount Nelson, provided a memorable success for handler Amy Parsons in the colours of Aisling Molloy in the older mares’ maiden.
Out of a multiple dual-purpose winning dam who produced four-time winner Porter In The Park, she made a belated debut but ran with notable professionalism to score by four lengths under Dara McGill from the more experienced Miss Minnie Me.
A delighted Parsons remarked: “We thought she would be thereabouts. The owners have been brilliant and very patient. She is a big mare and has been given every chance. We’ll make a plan now, but that’s my first winner as a point-to-point trainer, so I’m over the moon.”
The mares’ winners’ of two contest attracted just four runners, however, Paul Pierce’s Colegram (11/8 – 2/1 joint-favourite) annihilated the opposition, powering to a 13-length success under Barry Stone, making the long journey north worthwhile for connections.
The six-year-old daughter of Buck’s Boum was following up her maiden success at Durrow just over two weeks earlier and did so in convincing fashion on her first start in winners’ company.
Always prominent, the Blackhall Stable Partnership-owned mare moved into contention alongside the runner-up approaching the second last before asserting her superiority in the straight to beat Lady Eimile.
A DAMAGED wing at the final fence resulted in the final fence being omitted, which ensured there was an extended run on the flat at the conclusion of the older geldings’ maiden for novice riders.
That mattered little to the Peter Buchanan-owned and trained Brootally (3/1 - 2/1 favourite) as he overcame a 344-day layoff to justify favouritism.
Appearing for the first time since he was pulled up at Fairyhouse in April 2025, he produced a fluent round of jumping from the front in the hands of Donal O’Connor, before he showed a smart turn of foot on the extended run-in to score by five lengths from Tadino.
Buchanan commented, “He has always been a lovely horse. He ran first time as a five-year-old, and he tipped up at the second last when going well.
“He has had time off and has been ready for a while. When this came up, I thought I’d give him a spin here, and we might look at a bumper next.”
Horse to Follow
Mister Realistic (S. Doyle): made an encouraging debut. Sent straight to the front, he set strong fractions and was only headed on the run-in by a more experienced rival.
A half-brother to the smart Mister Pessimistic, he looks capable of following a similar path, as he lost little in defeat and rates as one to keep firmly onside next time if not snapped up after this effort.