THERE were eight meetings in Britain last weekend, split evenly between Saturday and Sunday, with five Irish-bred winners on the nine-race card at Cothelstone where there was a victory apiece for Sean Houlihan and Conor Orr.

Saturday’s two maidens at this Quantock Staghounds’ meeting were divided and the second half of the three-mile contest was won by Shes A Gangster, an eight-year-old Flemensfirth mare bred by side-saddle expert Jonah Wragg. The winner was ridden by Bradley Gibbs for his trainer father David.

Tim Underwood saddled a brace of winners at Saturday’s Crawley & Horsham fixture in Parham. It was completed in the open maiden by the Phil York-partnered Ballyfore Cross, a seven-year-old Vertical Speed gelding who had been second for Pauline Gavin at Rathcannon in October and Bellharbour in early February.

Shane Roche landed the restricted on the French-bred West Lake, who is trained by David Phelan.

SHOW JUMPER

British international show jumper Tim Gredley survived an early mistake in the opening club members’ race for novice riders at High Easter to record his first pointing success. The 31-year-old was on board the British-bred Old Vic gelding Silvergrove, who is trained by James Owen.Three of the six winners at Saturday’s meeting were Irish-bred.

On the same afternoon, the breeding honours were divided evenly between Ireland and Britain at the Hurworth fixture in Hutton Rudby. John Dawson brought up a riding double in the open maiden here on the odds-on favourite Monsun Storm, a six-year-old September Storm gelding who he also trains.

The 10-year-old Beneficial gelding Harris, who won the ladies’ open, and the men’s open winner, Neville Woods (GB), were both owned and trained by their respective rides, Emma Smith-Chaston and Philip Greaves, a rare situation in Irish pointing these days.

The aforementioned Orr, who hails from Ramelton in Co Donegal, was also on the mark at Brafield-On-The-Green on Sunday, when, on board William and Angela Ruckers’ Wild Bill, he beat David Maxwell on No Loose Change by six lengths in the men’s open.

The home-trained winner, an eight-year-old by Westerner, was one of six successful Irish-breds on the eight-race Oakley card. These included the winners of both divisions of the five-year-old and upwards three-mile maiden, the Johnny Bailey-ridden pair of Native Gamut (a 2010 Gamut gelding) and Lively Article.

The latter, a 2011 Definite Article gelding, was sourced through J.D. Moore having finished second twice in Ireland at the end of last year when trained by Louis Archdeacon.

There were just three Irish-bred winners on the eight-race card staged by the Dart Vale & Haldon Harriers on Sunday at Buckfastleigh where there were doubles for the trainer/rider partnerships of David Brace and Byron Moorcroft and Ed Walker and Will Biddick.

The two and a half-mile open maiden was divided three ways with Tom Chanin landing division two on the six-year-old Beneficial gelding Ballyristeen while Henry Morshead claimed division three on last June’s Derby Sale graduate The In Thing, a four-year-old Marienbard gelding who was making his debut.

HAMILTON

Tom Hamilton was in action on Sunday at Friars Haugh where he landed the club members’ race on the 10-year-old Cloudings gelding Wayupinthesky, one of five Irish-bred winners on the seven-race card.

The grey is trained by the rider’s mother Alison for his father Gavin and they brought up a double in the concluding three-mile maiden when Nick Orpwood, himself filling a brace, partnered their eight-year-old Towerburn, another son of Cloudings, to victory. Two lengths back in second was Tom Hamilton on the Clive Storey-trained Charlie Snow Angel.

There were just two Irish-bred winners on Sunday at Llanfrynach where the Jodie Hughes-partnered Bay Central, a 13-year-old Exit To Nowhere gelding, recorded his fourth pointing success in the ladies’ open.