BARRY O’Neill required back-to-back doubles last weekend in order to successfully defend his title in the northern region. The 36-year-old had entered the two-day season-ending fixtures in the region at Necarne, trailing both Stephen Connor and Noel McParlan, however winners aboard horses trained by David Christie, Ian McCarthy, and a first time to ride a winner for his brother Jim, saw him leapfrog his way back to the top of the standings, pipping Connor to a first title by one winner.

Notably, the second of two winners aboard Christie’s West Of Idaho within the space of 24 hours also proved to be a 900th winner in the sphere for the Wexford native, as he joined a select group of just three riders to have reached such a milestone figure, following on from Derek O’Connor and Jamie Codd.