RETURNING to action after what was called the Christmas break – all of 11 days – point-to-point racing resumed at Dromahane and then again five days later, another trip to Co Cork was required to take in the New Year’s Day meeting at Boulta.

Most unusually for fixtures taking place at this time of year, both meetings enjoyed fine weather, although the north wind on the Sunday provided a definite chill factor.

However, with ground classed as yielding at both venues and consequent good underfoot conditions for both car parks and spectators, it made for two of the most pleasant days experienced at this stage of the season.

As a result, attendance at both meetings was quite respectable and, considering that both venues were very rural, one could not expect much better, though it is a pity that the Boulta meeting, which was supporting the Irish Injured Jockeys charity, did not take place at a venue which might have attracted more casual visitors.

Both meetings had a winner which came all the way from the north (well done Warren Ewing and David Christie) which reflects how much the sport owes to the infrastructural developments of the Celtic Tiger years.

But what was remarkable was the almost total absence of Wexford-based horses. Nowadays we are so used to seeing young maidens from the specialist yards in that county targeting the younger horse maidens that their absence made it seem like a return to a more distant past.

One of the points of conversation during racing was the newly instituted international point-to-point meeting to be held next Saturday (January 14th).

This will take place at Barbury Racecourse in Wiltshire (near Swindon just off the M4 motorway).

While I have many happy memories of attending points at Barbury Castle in the early 1960s, I will not be making any great effort to revisit the course. Personally I have rather mixed feelings about the venture which – as I see it – is driven by commercial rather than by sporting motives. Obviously for those wishing to sell their young horses with potential it is far better that they can show them to prospective purchasers racing rather than on a video recording, but surely all the horses that have been kept under wraps are not going to cross the Irish Sea in order to take each other on?

Each race can have only one winner and those beaten will need to redeem themselves with a subsequent victory.

I am also somewhat wary of a meeting of this type taking place at this time of year – conditions look likely to be favourable this January – but Barbury has a poor record in its attempts to hold winter meetings in recent years.

Although it is sited on a chalk downland where waterlogging is not a problem, the track is very susceptible to winter weather conditions. Were the meeting planned for late February or March (which would probably mean a mid-week day) this variable would almost be eliminated.