KATE Harrington, a leading amateur rider in bumpers on the track, looks set to saddle her first runner as a trainer between the flags in the coming weeks with her own four-year-old.

Bennaway, a Stowaway gelding who was purchased by Harrington from Springhill Stud for €20,000 as a three-year-old, at last year’s renewal of the Derby Sale, is the horse who will provide her with her first foray in that role.

To date, Harrington has partnered three horses between the flags as a rider, all coming throughout the 2011/12 season aboard horses trained by her mother Jessica. However, the final of those mounts ended in serious facial injury following a fall in a six-year-old geldings’ maiden at Templemore. Following that, she has high hopes of altering her fortunes between the flags within this new role.

“I just have the one in training at the moment. I’m assistant to mom here and still riding away on the track, but because I’m restricted to being here so much of the time, it is hard to get out and ride for other trainers.

“I decided to go with point-to-points as I want to try to turn over a horse to get started.

“I bought him at the sales last summer and he is a big, easy, uncomplicated horse that jumps very well. It would be great if he could go and run well to get him to one of the Cheltenham sales.”

With the hope that this initial foray into the point-to-point training sphere will be a success, Harrington has aspirations of expanding it into the future: “I have my own barn down the lane here and if I can get him turned over, I would love to go back to the sale in the summer and pick-up a couple more to go again next season.”