THE Turf Club senior steward Meta Osborne took time out from her busy schedule to attend Sunday’s West Waterford meeting at Tallow, home town of her husband Dermot Cantillon.

The couple’s Tinnakill House in Coolrain, Co Laois once again sponsored the opening four-year-old maiden (won by the Martin Hassett-trained Mulcahys Hill) which was run in memory of Dermot’s late father and namesake.

The following tribute appeared in the racecard: “This race is named in memory of Dr Dermot Cantillon who served the people of Tallow and surrounding areas for over forty years. He had a great affinity with horses and horse people, as a man who always looked forward to the new “great hope” the four-year-old maiden is a fitting race to bear his name.”

Not only as senior steward but as a veterinary surgeon, Meta would have been delighted to see the 2003 Aintree National winner Monty’s Pass looking so well despite now being 23 years of age.

The Montelimar gelding, who resides at the point-to-point venue of his trainer Jimmy Mangan, was led in the parade by Michael O’Connor. In his first year in secondary school, Michael rides out regularly with Jimmy and is a grandson of the late Donal O’Connor, a very fine point-to-point rider in his day.

Also paraded on Sunday, but having to be boxed in not walked like Monty’s Pass, was the recent Thyestes Chase winner My Murphy. His trainer, Liam Burke, was delighted to be asked to bring the Presenting gelding to the meeting and readily agreed to do so. Unfortunately, the going was extremely testing at Tallow. “In all the years I’ve been riding on the land here, I never saw it so soft,” stated Mangan during the week. “We were lucky to run the meeting and haven’t been able to get into the field all week.”

The point-to-point committee once again ran a dog show on Sunday and while numbers, as with the attendance, were down slightly, we are assured that the standard of competitor was up!