IN the two weeks since this column last appeared there have been some notable retirements on both the human and equine front on the British point-to-point and hunters’ chase scene but we first concentrate on one of the young Irish riders making his mark between the flags.

Dungarvan native Conor Houlihan rode five winners recently, starting with a treble on Saturday, May 29th at Bratton Downs where there were six Irish-bred winners on the seven-race card.

Houlihan rode half of these, finishing his afternoon with success in the nine-runner maiden for leading owner/trainer Jason Warner on board the eight-year-old Stowaway gelding Best To Come.

On Monday last, a Bank Holiday in England, Houlihan was in action at Upcott Cross where he initiated a double in the opening conditions (level 2) race on Definite Dilemma, one of three of the day’s six winners to have been bred in Ireland.

Trained by the rider’s boss, the currently sidelined multiple men’s champion Will Biddick, the eight-year-old Definite Article gelding runs in the colours of Houlihan’s father, Martin.

A brother of jockeys Sean and Niall, 22-year-old Houlihan currently heads the Highflyer Bloodstock novice men’s championship table.

“I have five rides this weekend so, hopefully, can kick on and bag the novice title as I’m two ahead,” said the six-foot–four-inch tall rider. “For the summer, I will keep working away for Will, doing the breakers, but I hope to get home for a bit also.”

Double

Men’s champion elect James King rode a double for Luke Price at that Exmoor Foxhounds’ meeting at Bratton Downs on May 29th, initiated by the eight-year-old Galileo gelding Los Alamos in the men’s open, and he brought his seasonal tally up to 29 with a win at Chaddesley Corbett last Monday.

This came in the Jockey Club mares’ maiden on the Jake Slatter-trained Rose Iland, a seven-year-old Fame And Glory bay who had finished third once and second four times on her five previous starts in Britain.

Bred by Charles Persse out of the bumper winner One Rose (by Roi De Rome), Rose Iland finished fourth twice in the autumn season here in 2019. Following this win, the mare’s owner, Jim Collett, announced that she would be his last ever runner.

There were six other Irish-bred winners on the eight-race card at that Albrighton & Woodland (South) fixture including the Phil Rowley-trained Hazel Hill who was retired following his victory under Co Galway’s Tommie O’Brien in the hunt members’ race.

Owned by Diana Williams, the 13-year-old Milan gelding, who was bred by Patrick Moakley out of Resenting (by Presenting), won 11 other point-to-points and six hunters’ chases including the 2019 running of the St James’s Place Foxhunters’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

Another retirement announced on Monday was that from the saddle of Hannah Lewis following her third-place finish on Shometheway in the ladies’ conditions race. She is now set to concentrate on her career as a trainer and saddled two winners at that Chaddesley Corbett fixture including the seven-year-old Arcadio gelding That’s Me who claimed division two of the maiden in the hands of Tom Broughton.

Annabelle Bacon also saddled two winners, the second being Thursdayateight in division one of the maiden. Rallying after the last to get up and score by a neck under Josh Cameron, the six-year-old Sans Frontieres gelding, who was having his third start, is out of the point-to-point-winning Executive Perk mare Sarogini.

There were two other fixtures in the period under review, viz the Melton Hunt Club meeting on Sunday, May 23rd at Garthorpe, where there were five Irish-bred winners on the seven-race card, and, seven days later, the Berks & Bucks Draghounds’ meeting at Kingston Blount where three of the six winners carried an IRE suffix.

At both fixtures, there were wins for the in-form trainer/rider combination of Alan Hill and Izzie Marshall but, although lying second in the Skinner’s ladies’ championship with eight wins, Marshall is some way behind reigning champion, Gina Andrews.