Two hundred and forty days after the 2018/19 season burst into life at Toombebridge, the honour of bringing down the curtain on the campaign once again fell to the Ormond Hunt at Ballingarry on Bank Holiday Monday.

A total of 101 fixtures took place within that eight-month period, an increase of seven on the previous season, which is not surprising given the washout that was the 2017/18 season, and the very positive news, is that the green shoots of recovery continued to feature in many areas.

In line with the increased number of fixtures that took place, the number of entries has risen more than sufficiently to match this, as for the first time in five seasons, the total number of entries surpassed the 10,000 mark, with a total of 10,914 entries having been made during the season.

This produced an average entry of 108 for each fixture, the highest average entry since 2014, and continues the growth in this figure which had already risen from 95 in 2017 to 103 last year.

Financially, the number of entries that a hunt receives for their point-to-point can make or break the profitability of the fixture and so attracting the greatest number of entries possible is always crucial.

This season, a total of 56 fixtures received 100 or more entries, with that number increasing up to 75 fixtures for those that received at least 90 entries. That spread of fixtures attracting increased entries is key.

Biggest entry

The Meath & Tara point-to-point in Fairyhouse had the honour of attracting the biggest entry of 194 for their fixture in late April, while the autumn fixture at Tattersalls Farm and Easter Sunday meeting at Curraghmore, followed with 184 and 183 entries respectively.

That Louth Foxhounds meeting in December at Tattersalls featured the largest turnout of runners, with 114 horses in action on the card producing a busy day with nine races. That was one of two fixtures that staged nine races, as three divides also took place at the rescheduled West Waterford fixture at Boulta in December.

In line with increased entries, the number of horses that were issued with a hunter certificate has also risen to the highest level since 2015, with 2,836 individual horses being certed, although the level of increases here has not been as strong, indicating that horses are being entered more often.

The Ballinagore Hunt in Wexford are responsible for the greatest number of certs, having issued 356 certs, more than double the number of any other hunt in the country. Wexford hunts unsurprisingly dominate the list, having issued the greatest number of certs, with the Ballinagore’s being closely followed by the Bree, Killinick and Island hunts.

There were a total of 5,449 runners during the season, which is on par with those recent years that have had a similar number of fixtures, although it has certainly been a season that profited good ground horses, with surely an unprecedented 60 fixtures taking place with good in the going description.

Never before has watering been required at tracks in January, during the depths of winter, and if this trend of drier periods is to continue, this additional expense of watering is going to fall on more and more hunts, which will need to be supported.

One area that is of concern is the continuing fall in the number of individuals that enjoyed success during the season. The number of riders that rode a winner during the season dropped below 100 for the first time since records began, and ended the season at 96, down from 161 a decade ago.

New riders

Encouragingly, there were a total of 49 new riders to the sport who rode in their first Irish point-to-point, while the season also saw 19 riders having their first success, from Barry Stone at Loughrea back in October, to Jack O’Grady at Ballingarry on Sunday – a milestone moment for each of them.

On the training side, the number of handlers saddling winners has also continued to fall, dropping below 200 to a figure that is now just half of what it was a decade ago at 387.

With over 1,200 races under rules, and 450 in British point-to-points, the market at all levels for Irish pointing exports has remained extremely strong buoyed by those results.

Sales demand stays strong

This insatiable demand for young horses with point-to-point form has continued to grow, reaching yet another record breaking figure of just over €26 million for public sales alone.

That is a remarkable sum to be returning back into the rural Irish economy each year, with the cycle of reinvestment set to step up a gear with the upcoming Land Rover and Derby sales, as yards around the country continue the process of restocking for the new season.

That record sum more than justifies the increased financial support that point-to-point racing has been receiving from the Government via Horse Racing Ireland.

That is one of the overall benefits of those successes, as it has allowed the races for older horses to offer increased prize money.

In the sales ring it was the Colin Bowe-trained Papa Tango Charly who was the season’s most expensive horse, trumping the top price of last year when he was knocked down for £440,000, while no fewer than 78 horses were sold at public auction for a six-figure sum, including 18 who realised prices in excess of £200,000.

Those big prices led to the average price reaching over £62,000, with demand for mares in particular proving to be particularly strong.

Paddy Turley’s Ballycahane winner My Whirlwind became the most expensive point-to-point mare to go through a public sale when she was knocked down to Nicky Henderson for £400,000 at the Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival Sale, while Noreen Bawn, Southern Girl and Telmesomethinggirl were among the other mares to have sold for sums in excess of £150,000.

Performances by the likes of this season’s Grade 1 winner Honeysuckle, who won her four-year-old maiden just over a year ago for Jerry Cosgrave and Mark O’Hare, have given the market for mares a significant boost.