CIARAN McKee wasn’t the only Ireland-born jockey to ride a winner at Wolverhampton on Wednesday, December 22nd, as Oisin Orr, who was making his debut at the track, landed the six-furlong handicap on Ballyare.

The four-year-old Hot Streak gelding, who was recording his fourth career success, is trained in Scotland by Lucinda Russell who, the previous day, had also engaged Co Donegal native Orr, on a two-day trip over from Ireland, to ride the unplaced Engles Rock in a 10-furlong handicap at Newcastle.

While there was no racing in Ireland or Britain on Christmas Eve, there was a meeting at Jebel Ali where Co Down-born Patsy Cosgrave won the mile maiden on the Bhupat Seemar-trained Rakeez, a three-year-old Dubawi gelding who was in the care of Freddy Head when he last ran at Le Lion d’Angers in May.

Not too surprisingly, the most successful northern-born jockey over the post-Christmas period was Brian Hughes who continued his drive towards a second British jump jockeys’ championship with eight wins between Sunday and Wednesday.

Three winners

From seven rides at Sedgefield’s Boxing Day meeting, the 2019/20 champion partnered three winners, he recorded doubles at Wetherby on Monday and at Catterick the following afternoon while his eighth success came on Wednesday at Kelso where the Nicky Richards-trained Soft Risk won for the third time in three starts.

Hughes initiated his Wetherby double in the two-mile novices’ hurdle on the Alan King-trained Harbour Lake on whom he carried the colours of the late Trevor Hemmings to an 11-length success. The 8/13 favourite, a 2016 Shantou gelding, had scored over the same course and distance on his only previous start in late October.

Harbour Lake was bred by Patricia Duffin and is the second of five foals out of her 2004 Winged Love mare Aibrean who won a point-to-point maiden, three hurdle races and a chase between February 2009 and April 2014 when trained by Stuart Crawford.

Aibrean, who was Grade 2-placed over fences, is a half-sister to the nine-time winner Fine Rightly (by Alflora).

There were two northern-bred winners in Britain on Wednesday. At Doncaster, the Sean McElroy-bred Surrey Quest (2017 gelding by Milan out of Roztoc, by Desert King) won for the second time in three starts for the Nicky Henderson yard while, further north at Kelso, the Elizabeth ‘Hammy’ Hamilton-bred Millarville (2013 mare by Court Cave out of Portavoe, by Pilsudski) recorded her third success over hurdles, but her first for current trainer Harriet Graham.

Native River

We must mention here the retirement of the Colin Tizzard-trained Native River who, as top-weight, was pulled up in Monday’s Grade 3 Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow, failing to finish for the first time since January 2015 when he fell two out in a Grade 2 novices’ hurdle at Cheltenham.

The 2014 Indian River gelding, who was bred in Co Down by Fred Mackey out of the Be My Native mare Native Mo, earned over £1 million in a 32-race career. He was placed at the highest level many times in addition to recording 14 victories, highlighted by his successes in the 2018 Grade 1 Cheltenham Gold Cup.