THE Ward Union Hunt held a hound exercise morning last Saturday at the Man O’War pub in north Co Dublin where, with a later start time, the number of participants doubled that of last year.

That first staging of the exercise morning at the Man O’War was held in tribute to the late Graham Quinn, in whose memory a donation from Saturday’s cap was made towards one of his favourite causes, Skerries Youth Support Services. Hunt chairman Colm Byrne presented the donation to SYSS founder, Michael Matthews.

Two followers who travelled to the meet together, having been racing at Downpatrick on Friday, were James Griffin and Jill Revill. James, who was the meeting’s race commentator the previous afternoon, was on board an unnamed four-year-old Jet Away gelding, who will be going point-to-pointing in the spring.

Jill, who drove up - and led up - the last winner at Downpatrick on Friday, the Dermot McLoughlin-trained Schiehallion, was on board the Irish Sport Horse gelding Northeast Northwest. This brown four-year-old by Vittorio has done a small amount of registered jumping and has competed in a couple of unaffiliated events.

The Wards’ connection with racing continued later that day across the Atlantic, as Caoimhe O’Brien and Harry O’Dwyer, who have been ardent followers of the Staghounds from their pony days, rode at the Genesee Valley race meeting in New York State.

They both contested the Cross Country Cup for amateurs and apprentices over a modified timber track, which Caoimhe won on the Leslie Young-trained Total Joy, beating Harry on the Mark Beecher-saddled Old Style Humor by two and a half lengths. Co Waterford native Beecher then combined with O’Dwyer to win the featured Genesee Valley Hunt Cup (a three-and-a-half-mile race over timber) with Track And Trace who, like the other two horses mentioned, was bred in Ireland.

Prague trip

Caoimhe has been working for some time with Co Meath trainer Gavin Cromwell who, on Sunday, sent out the Keith Donoghue-ridden, CMD Syndicate-owned Final Orders to win the 136th running of the Velka Pardubicka. Trainer and jockey won the famous cross-country race over an extended four and a quarter miles last year with Stumptown.

Among those who travelled to Czechia in support of Final Orders were nine of the 10 members of the winning syndicate, including Fingal Harriers’ member Anna McArdle, and Ward Union members Kiva Cromwell (Gavin’s wife), Gary Carroll (flat jockey) and his wife Joanne Quirke (show horse rider and Irish Pony Society judge).