IT was a good week for North of Ireland-born riders with amateur David Maxwell recording his first victory in France last Sunday when the Dominique Bresssou-trained Cat Tiger won a Grade 3 chase for four-year-olds at Auteuil.

Although the Diamond Boy gelding ran in the colours of David Maxwell Racing Limited, the Downpatrick-born, London-based property investor was riding the horse for the first time on Sunday.

This may not have seemed the wisest move when the combination parted company at the practice fence on the way to the start but, all’s well that ends well, with Maxwell landing his recent €180,000 purchase the winner by four and a half lengths.

The rider was back in the winner’s enclosure on Tuesday but this time at Lingfield following his victory in the near three-mile handicap chase on the Philip Hobbs-trained Diplomate Sivola, the 9/4 favourite.

Co Down farrier Mark O’Hare will partner few winners as impressive as the Jessica Harrington-trained Barrington Court who landed the Listed Coolmore NH Sires Irish EBF Mares INH Flat Race at Navan on Sunday by a comfortable 10 lengths from the Deckie Lavery-ridden Two Shoe Tom.

Having had his hat trick bid scuppered by a fall at Kelso on November 10th, the Keith Dalgleish-trained One Night In Milan got his season back on track at Catterick on Friday.

The five-year-old Milan half-brother to the Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Native River, was bred in Co Down by Fred Mackey.

The bay was one of four winners in the period under review for Armagh-born jockey, Brian Hughes.

One of Hughes’s wins came on Tuesday at Sedgefield where Downpatrick-born Danny McMenamin also got in on the act by landing a division of the two-mile, one-furlong handicap hurdle on the Dianne Sayer-trained Millie The Minx, the 6/4 favourite.