WHILE this column usually covers racing from Thursday week last through to Wednesday just past, we cannot let this opportunity go without congratulating Liam McKenna on his superb winning ride on Tudor City in Thursday’s feature race, the Grade A Guinness Galway Hurdle Handicap with its fantastic first-place prize money of €159,300.

This was not just the first win of the season for Liam but his first ride as well as the Co Tyrone-born jockey had been stuck on the sidelines since breaking his collarbone when Ronald Pump fell at the final fence in the Grade A BoyleSports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday.

Tudor City, who runs in the colours of trainer Tony Martin’s staunch supporter John Breslin, was bred by Denis Reddan who for so many years was a winning owner/breeder on the northern point-to-point circuit, although resident in Co Louth.

The 10-year-old Yeats gelding, who also won this race back in 2019 under Robbie Power, is the eighth of nine recorded foals out of the Commanche Run mare She’s Our Mare who won 12 races when trained by Martin for Reddan.

There was no obvious northern-connected winner on the first day of Galway’s Summer Festival but, on Tuesday, Natalia Lupini saddled the 5/1 favourite Dunum to land the seven-furlong handicap under Wayne Lordan.

This was a fourth win in a row for the four-year-old Ivawood gelding who runs in the colours of his breeders, Maurice Burns and Mick McCartan.

Maurice foaled Dunum himself and it was his dream to breed a winner. It was a double dream come true on Tuesday as Maurice has been attending the Festival for 40 years and having a winner there made this year’s visit even more special. Natalia will be under pressure now to make more dreams come true – it’s what racing’s about!

Deans is cock a hoop!

THE selling of thoroughbreds is the core business at Tattersalls Ireland but, last Saturday morning, there was trade of a different sort when two pigeons were handed over by their Bailiesmills breeder, Robert Morrow, to Dublin’s William Deans.

No money changed hands on the day, as all the financial dealings had been done in advance, but Deans, who found himself attending his first horse show on Saturday, was delighted to finally get his hands around the yearling cock and hen who were purchased as future breeding stock.

“These are from the much sought-after Busschart family,” said Robert who won three Derbys during the years he raced pigeons up to 1992. “Since then, I’ve just concentrated on breeding.”

Among those who visited the show over the two days was Downpatrick racecourse manager Richard Lyttle who had a big interest in the pony showing world.

TOMMY Moore loves nothing better than going point-to-pointing during the autumn and spring seasons but, over the summer months, he feels he really does have to support his wife Shirley and daughter Rachel in their showing endeavours.

Last weekend the Ballynahinch resident made his way down to the Tattersalls Ireland July Show where, had there been betting on the outcomes, he might have made a bit of money as Rachel rode the first three winners on the show hunter ‘card’ and recorded a five-timer in total over the two days.

Her Saturday winners were Julie Graham’s four-year-old Drumlanes Belle, who was bred by David Sloan, in the mares’ class, Shirley’s Drumlane Hiello, who was also bred by Sloan, in the four-year-old lightweight class, and Kathryn Curry’s Moylough Legend in the four-year-old heavyweight class.

On the flat on Sunday, Rachel landed the riding horse championship on the ‘small’ class winner, Team Torrens’s 15-year-old Brief Encounter gelding Leave It To You.

Disappointingly for Tommy, Fortview Mermus, a four-year-old skewbald Mermus R gelding he bred, could only finish fifth in his novice working hunter class but Rachel won the Irish Equine Centre open workers’ class on a six-year-old gelding by the same sire, the highly regarded Ballymacbrennan Meridos.

Working hunter

It was good to see other northern region riders do so well with Jamie Smyth winning the novice and restricted working hunter classes on Sunday with two half-siblings bred in Co Down by owner Karen King while the two working hunter classes on Saturday also went to northern riders, Nicky Laverty and Claire Liddle.

Armagh’s Kate Crozier had an excellent show with her Irish Draught gelding Mountview Silver Fox whose wins included that in the ladies’ side saddle class sponsored by the Mahony family.

Orr lands Goodwood victory

ALTHOUGH you’d sometimes wonder, Galway didn’t have the stage to itself this week and at Goodwood on Wednesday, Donegal’s Oisin Orr won the five-furlong fillies’ conditions race on the Richard Fahey-trained 5/6 favourite, The Platinum Queen, a two-year-old bay by Cotai Glory.

Up in Scotland, the meeting at Perth took centre stage and on Tuesday Brian Hughes recorded a treble, the first leg of which came on the Jerry Cosgrave-trained Sula Warrior in the two-mile, four-furlong maiden hurdle.

Owned by Pauline Whitten, this six-year-old Winged Love mare was bred by John Kidd and is the second of five recorded foals out of the unraced Tamayaz mare Pamalee, a half-sister to the 12-time winner Promalee (by Homo Sapien) and to the eight-time winner Michael Mor (by Denel). This is the family of Little Owl.

Hughes rode a double at the same rack on Wednesday for Laura Morgan.