THE second half of the northern season starts today with the first of the East Down Foxhounds’ spring fixtures at Tyrella.

The pack introduced this earlier meeting in 1995 when the winning riders were Tony Martin, who completed a treble, Ian Buchanan, John Quinn, Colin McBratney, Liam Lennon and Warren Ewing.

Twenty years ago, on Saturday, January 31st, 1998, Martin and Buchanan were still among the winners as was Paddy Graffin who landed the winners of two on the 6/4 favourite, Mike Futter’s Verywell, a Torus gelding bred by Tucker Geraghty.

In 2008, the meeting was held on Saturday, February 2nd when Colin Motherway recorded a treble with Jason McKeown landing a double. The first of Motherway’s winners was the David Christie-trained Royal Ranger in the open.

TIPPS

The closest finish at the North Tipperarys’ meeting at Stereame, Nenagh on Sunday, May 14th, 1978 came in the opening winners of two where the Jim Mernagh-owned and ridden Coolamurry got the better of the Willie Mullins-partnered Dusky Sand by a neck.

Ted Walsh won the open maiden on Owen Abbey, who ran in the colours of his trainer Mick O’Toole’s wife Una, George Mernagh claimed another maiden with Francie Derwin’s Hewlett, while Tommy Kinane junior won the final two races on Hindsight and MacAuliffe. Mullins was cautioned after the last when failing to weigh-in on the fourth-placed My Duskey.

Ten years later, the hunt again held one of the final fixtures of the season on Sunday, May 8th. Then Mullins did ride a winner when War Head landed the first division of the four, five and six-year-old maiden. Gerry Mulcaire took the second half on Deep Cliff.

The season’s leading rider, John Berry, completed a double on Paula’s Empress and Mother General and his constant rival for the title, Tom Costello, returned to the No 1 spot on the open winner Shannon Castle. Maurice Phelan claimed the opening winners of one on Pleasant Journey with Philip Fenton coming out to win the following mares’ open on Island Rose.

The 1998 fixture also took place in early May (Sunday 10th) when John Thomas McNamara initiated a double in the seven-year-old and upwards maiden on Emyvale Boy and completed it in division two of the unplaced maiden on Sip Of Brandy. The first half of that maiden saw Pat Kelly on board Reelin River see off McNamara on the only other finisher, Do You See Me, by half a length.

The fixture had moved closer to the start of the year by 2008 when, on Sunday, January 27th, there was an eight-race card.

While McNamara again rode two winners, Richie Harding did better with a treble which he initiated in the opening five-year-old geldings’ maiden on the Nick Stokes-owned and trained Tarablaze whose subsequent successes on the track included the Grade 2 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at Haydock.

There were 15 starters in the concluding older mares’ maiden which was confined to lady riders – as is the open tomorrow. The 2008 winner was Sharon Dunphy’s mount, Croomgarry Queen.