STUART Crawford obviously has his string in good order with two winners at the Mid Antrim point-to-point on Saturday and three on the racecourse mid-week.

At Broughshane, Crawford joined forces with his brother Ben to win the five-year-old geldings’ maiden with the British-bred Ree Okka who had pulled up on his only other start in a similar race at Cork last month.

The Getaway bay runs in the colours of Ben Halsall whose Crawford-trained Vina Ardanza won an Ayr bumper, on his debut, last month under Brian Hughes. Both horses were purchased for Halsall by the Newtownabbey agency, Kevin Ross Bloodstock.

The Broughshane double for the Crawfords came up in the Tattersalls Cheltenham open through Raymond Scullion and Martin McGrogan’s Poli Roi who had finished sixth in the champion hunters’ chase at Punchestown last month.

On Tuesday at Sedgefield, the Crawford-trained Little Actress justified favouritism in a mares’ maiden hurdle, bringing up a double for Brian Hughes in the process. The six-year-old Oscar bay is owned by her breeders, Joe and Pat Sloan, who recently retired their nine-time winner, Guitar Pete, from Nicky Richards’s yard.

Perth

The following afternoon, Crawford struck at Perth where, on his fourth start over timber, the Dr J Syndicate’s Wowsham landed the opening two and a half-mile maiden hurdle. The six-year-old Elzaam gelding, who was bred by John Graham and Leslie Laverty out of the Polish Precedent mare Shams Wa Matar, was ridden by James Bowen as Hughes was in action at Worcester where he recorded his sixth success of the week. Largy Trix completed a Perth double for the team when he took the opening maiden hurdle on Thursday at odds of 18/1, with Hughes in the saddle again.

Oliver

The only other northern-trained winner over the past seven days was The Highway Rat who, under Ronan Whelan, landed the five-furlong handicap at Dundalk on Wednesday by seven lengths in spite of carrying top-weight of 9st 12lb. Caledon’s Andy Oliver trains the three-year-old Dandy Man colt for his wife Saffron, the pair having bred the winner out of Suzette De Bavay (by Whipper). Some other recent northern-owned winners include the John Ryan-trained Brooks Falls who claimed the near two and three-quarter mile maiden hurdle at Ballinrobe on May 4th in the colours of Jim Magill of Mount Mills, Newry and the Noel Meade-trained Face The Odds who won the near three-mile beginners chase at Tipperary last Thursday week for Belfast owner, Patricia Hunt.

On the same day, but at Huntingdon, there were two northern-bred winners with the Tom Lacey-trained Forchena in the mares’ handicap hurdle and Jimmi Chew who landed the near three-mile novices’ handicap chase for the Alex Hales yard.

The former, a seven-year-old daughter of Gold Well who was last seen when winning at Southwell last August, was bred by the late Hugh Hazzard out of the Bob Back mare Fine Fortune while John Canavan bred the eight-year-old Jimble gelding Jimmi Chew out of the Bustomi mare Katie Baby.