RACING takes place in Kildorrery next weekend and it will be interesting to see if any descendents of mares who ran at the Duhallow Foxhounds’ meeting in the past feature among the entry.

Forty years ago, Nicky Dee brought up a double in the finale for the Stackpool Memorial Cup, on the Straight Lad mare Anna Fair who had won her maiden at the Dungarvan Harriers’ meeting in Kilossera three weeks previously. In spite of her 4lb winners’ penalty, Anna Fair won the Kildorrery race by 10 lengths from the Tom Busteed-partnered Corrig Gold.

Ten years later, Dee won the opening confined maiden on the Quisling gelding Anyone Else while the Gain mares maiden was divided as were two other races on the card. The first mare to win was Ballykeneally Lady (by Proverb) who, like Anna Fair, didn’t breed anything of much importance. And the same, sadly, was true of the division two winner, Diana’s Daughter, who was also by Proverb and went on to win two more point-to-points.

Happily, Greenflag Princess, who won the six-year-old mares’ maiden at Killdorrery in 1997 under James Sheehan, went on to prove successful on the track and as a broodmare.

Following her maiden victory, the 1991 bay went on to win two more races between the flags that season (including the Gain Mares Final at Ballynoe) after which trainer Jimmy Mangan sent her to the track. Greenflag Princess immediately won a bumper and a chase and, in 32 more appearances inside the rails, she added a hurdle and three more chase wins to her tally. She was rarely out of the first four and was Grade 3-placed on three occasions.

Among Greenflag Princess’s successful progeny to date is the 2006 Beneficial mare Kates Benefit who won two bumpers, a hurdle and a chase and, like her dam, has been Grade 3-placed over fences. On February 25th, 2007, the five and six-year-old mares’ maiden at Killdorrery was divided into three with the winners being Oddly Presented, Rock’n Roll Kate and The Show Woman, the last-named beating Irish Mol by a head. Only the first-named has had runners to date, her second foal Presenting Mahler winning a bumper, a hurdle and a chase.