OKAY, Willie Mullins doesn’t win every bumper in Ireland – it just sometimes seems he does – but he does train Madmansgame who, on his debut for the yard, landed the Paddy Flood Memorial INH Flat Race at the rescheduled Navan meeting on Tuesday.

Ridden by the trainer’s son Patrick, the 4/11 favourite made all on heavy ground in the colours of Randox founder and managing director Dr Peter FitzGerald.

The five-year-old son of the Glenview Stud-based Blue Bresil was purchased by Mullins for 250,000gns at Tattersalls’ online National Hunt and point-to-point sale in mid-December following his first-time-out victory just days earlier for Donnchadh Doyle in a four-year-old geldings’ maiden at Boulta.

Downpatrick-born David Maxwell wore his own colours to victory in the three-mile, two-furlong hunters’ chase at Doncaster on Wednesday on his Philip Hobbs-trained Dolphin Square.

This was a second successive success in hunters’ chase company for the eight-year-old Shantou gelding, while Maxwell declared himself well-pleased with the comeback run of his Paul Nicholls-trained Bob And Co who finished second to last season’s Aintree Foxhunters Chase winner, Cousin Pascal, at Haydock last Saturday.

Hughes again

While the London-based property investor is mulling over his rides at Cheltenham, Brian Hughes is just concentrating in booting home winners – anywhere and everywhere.

He didn’t manage to add to his seasonal total over the weekend but doubles at Kelso on Friday, at Carlisle on Monday and at Market Rasen on Tuesday saw him hit the 165-win mark.

Patsy Cosgrave partnered winners at Meydan and Abu Dhabi in the past week while his uncle, Jerry Cosgrave, bred the 12-year-old Winged Love gelding Enduring Love who won the concluding two-and-a-half-mile handicap chase at Clonmel last Thursday week. The bay is out of the unraced Exit To Nowhere mare Strong Lady, a half-sister of Aranleigh (by Insan).

The Danny Doran-bred Foillan, a seven-year-old gelding by Le Fou out of Castlevennon, by Milan, won the three-mile, half-a-furlong Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle qualifier at Haydock on Saturday.

Also by Le Fou but a year older, Old Jewry was on the mark on Monday at Carlisle where he won a two-mile, one-furlong handicap hurdle. This bay gelding was bred by Patrick McCartan out of the Clerkenwell mare Clerken Bridge.

As at home, point-to-points in Britain were badly affected by the weather last weekend but two of them did go ahead with the Puckeridge meeting at Horseheath on Saturday concluding with a novice riders’ race which was won by Mr Love.

This was a second success in two starts between the flags in Britain for the Winged Love gelding to go with three victories over hurdles. The 10-year-old was bred by Alexander McCrum out of the Beauchamp King mare Bonny Rathlin.