DYLAN Browne McMonagle continues to visit the winner’s enclosure and, in the period under review, he did so on four occasions, bringing his seasonal tally in this country up to 42.

His most lucrative success came on the Joseph O’Brien-trained Statement who, as the 100/30 favourite, landed the one-mile Listed Navigation Stakes on Tuesday at Cork where Luke McAteer also partnered a winner.

Sam Ewing recorded a mixed double in the same time frame, winning the two-and-a-half-mile novice hurdle at Listowel on Saturday on the Peter Fahey-trained Ambitious Fellow and then joining forces with Gordon Elliott to land a mile-and-a-half maiden at Bellewstown on Wednesday.

At Roscommon on Monday, Simon Torrens won the near two-mile maiden hurdle for four-year-olds on Black Hawk Eagle whose trainer, Noel Meade, sent out Seamus Hunt’s Encosta to win the seven-furlong maiden for two-year-old fillies, providing jockey Chris Hayes with the third of his four at Down Royal on the same day.

Across the water, Brian Hughes partnered four winners up to Wednesday, recording a double at Worcester on Friday last; Derek Fox rode two winners for Lucinda Russell at Bangor on Wednesday; and there were single wins on Tuesday for Danny McMenamin at Sedgefield and for Caoilin Quinn at Southwell.

Downpatrick prepares for ‘finale’

DOWNPATRICK Racecourse stages its ‘End Of Season Raceday’ next Friday, October 7th, and this week uploaded a video and some photographs on to its social media platforms showing the groundstaff preparing the track for the finale.

And yes, some of us, who possibly never thought about such matters, did find it an interesting fact that “The rail is taken down and put away after each racemeeting then repositioned and put back up before the next.” One learns something new every day.

Mark McNiff and David Christie both trained winners at this fixture last year. The former sent out Fassbender to land the two-mile, two-furlong handicap hurdle while Christie saddled Ask The Leader to win the two-mile, five-and-a-half-furlong handicap hurdle in the colours of Kieran Mahon.

The 2022 racing year at the track will conclude with the Downpatrick End of Season Handicap Chase over two miles, seven furlongs and 110 yards.

Last October, this race was won by Carnet De Stage who was later disqualified following an IHRB enquiry.

The records now show the winner as being Earths Furies, a 2016 Dylan Thomas gelding trained in Co Cork by Eugene O’Sullivan and ridden by Castlereagh-born jockey Jordan Canavan.