ALSO enjoying a good weekend was Downpatrick qualified rider Deckie Lavery who partnered three winners, two between the flags and one on the track.

Working backwards, his racecourse success came on Sunday at Punchestown where he landed the bumper on the James Motherway-trained Dinny Lacey who had been third on his debut at Limerick over Christmas.

The five-year-old Presenting gelding was bred by Gareth Metcalfe and sold by him, through Brenda McMillen’s Comber-based Hillcrest Stables, as a foal at the 2014 National Hunt Sale at Tattersalls. The bay is the seventh of nine foals, and fifth winner, out of the Old Vic mare Prowler, the best to date being the four-time winner Creepy (by Westerner). Prowler is a half-sister to Sir OJ whose 10 victories included four Grade 2 chases.

Before heading to Punchestown, Lavery had one ride at the Ward Union point-to-point at Oldtown and this too proved successful as he claimed the five-year-old geldings’ maiden on Tareeshar who is trained by another Downpatrick man, Patrick Turley, for Paddy Madine. Deckie was also on board the Morozov bay when he was second on his only previous start at Kirkistown in November.

On Saturday, the North Downs were back at Kirkistown for their spring meeting and here Lavery won the five and six-year-old mares’ maiden on Rubiana whose Banbridge trainer, Sarah Dawson, was saddling her second winner from just five runners this season.

The tall Rubiana, who was having her fourth start on Saturday and may now head to the track, is owned by Saintfield’s Anne and Andy Wishart who bred her out of the Snurge mare Derriana, a half-sister to the Flemensfirth gelding Kicks For Free who won six times and was placed on multiple occasions at graded level over hurdles and fences.

Notable Northern-bred flat winners

THERE were a couple of notable Northern-bred flat winners in the period under review. One was I Am Power who landed a £79,000 handicap on turf at Sha Tin, Hong Kong, last Sunday.

The four-year-old Power gelding was bred in partnership between Dr Dean Harron and Ciaran Conroy and is out of the Stravinsky mare Bridge Note.

The bay won over a similar five-furlong trip in late December.

On the same day, the five-year-old Legendary Lunch recorded his fourth success when winning a seven-furlong listed race in Abu Dhabi.

This chesnut by Dragon Pulse was bred in Co Tyrone by Johnston King out of the Hansel mare Taalluf, who is dam of at least six other winners.