THERE have been a number of alterations to the 2019 spring fixture list announced within the past couple of days, beginning with the cancellation of two fixtures that had been scheduled to take place over the next four weeks.

The East Clare fixture at Killaloe, which was due to take place on Sunday February 24th, has been cancelled.

This is the fourth year in succession that this meeting has been lost, with racing not having taken place there since February 2015 and the fixture which produced the subsequent Cheltenham Festival winner Mall Dini.

The South Westmeath’s will also not stage their traditional spring point-to-point at The Pigeons on Sunday March 3rd, having run a successful meeting in the autumn for the first time back in October.

COURSE CHANGES

There have also been a number of course changes announced for the coming months, beginning with the Stonehall Harriers, whose fixture next Sunday, February 10th, will now take place at Cragmore.

The fixture initially was scheduled to take place at Moig South, but will instead be held at the course which had staged the Co. Limerick Foxhounds’ fixture since 2015.

Their neighbouring hunt, the Limerick Harriers, will unveil a new course for their fixture on Sunday March 3rd.

The highly regarded track at Lemonfield has played host to their fixture since 2009, in which time it has built up a considerable reputation for producing exciting graduates, however it is to be replaced next month by Ballycahane.

The left-handed course is also located in Crecora, Limerick, and will host the first four-year-old mares’ maiden of the year, as part of the scheduled six races.

FORCED TO CANCEL

The Killeady Harriers had been forced to cancel their point-to-points at Ballyarthur in both 2017 and 2018, and having been due to run at that course on April 7th, it has been announced that they will instead run at Dromahane, where they last staged a fixture back in 2013.

Perfect timing for Holly

THE weekend’s three open lightweight races saw the favourites in each race go off at prices of even-money or shorter.

However only Kruzhlinin at Tyrella on Saturday was able to uphold honours for favourites within the division, as in a day of upsets on Sunday, Stand Up And Fight and Longhouse Music, both suffered their first defeats of the season.

In the case of the latter, Sam Curling’s mare was seeking to re-establish her lead at the top of the champion pointer leader board with a sixth victory of the campaign, which was thwarted when she was defeated by Holly Flight by a neck in Dungarvan.

That point-to-point newcomer is surely one of the final horses to have gained qualification to run between the flags this season, given that she ran at Galway on October 28th, just four days before the spring cut-off date, when finishing a very respectable fourth behind Well Tom. Paul O’Flynn’s seven-year-old daughter of Walk In The Park could well have been ruled out of the current point-to-point campaign, as she was declared for a two mile handicap chase at Cork after the spring deadline.

However having failed to take up that intended engagement on November 4th when declared a non-runner as she was reported to be dehydrated, her connections were able take out a hunter certificate for the current point-to-point season, in what has turned out to be a case of perfect timing.