LAST weekend was a good one for Martin McIntyre who recorded a double at Cothelstone on Saturday before adding one more win to his seasonal tally the following afternoon at Buckfastleigh where he finished third on his other two rides.

Three of the seven winners at Cothelstone were Irish-bred and McIntyre partnered two of the trio.

The Co Meath native first landed the three-and-a-half-mile mixed open on the Bea Coward-trained Gran Paradiso, a 10-year-old Galileo gelding who recorded his fifth point-to-point success by holding off the Ask gelding Broadclyst by a head.

McIntyre doubled up in the concluding maiden where, on his debut for the Chris Barber yard, Top Target had 17 lengths to spare over the Will Biddick-trained and -ridden Ninth Wave.

The winner, a four-year-old Westerner gelding who had finished fifth in a Ballinaboola maiden early last month when trained by Rob James, was bred by Joseph Smiddy out of the unraced Presenting mare New Targets.

On Sunday, McIntyre’s win at Buckfastleigh came in the mixed open which he landed on the Sam Loxton-trained nine-year-old French-bred gelding, Chameron, who had unseated Ben Sutton the previous afternoon at Cothelstone.

Favourite

Co Galway’s Tommie O’Brien was also on the mark at both meetings, his successful partner at the Quantocks’ Saturday fixture being Miss May Hill who, sent off as the 4/5 favourite for division one of the mares’ maiden, is trained by Lucy Smith for her breeder, Clive Bennett.

The five-year-old Shirocco bay is out of the three-time winning pointer Labarynth (by Exit To Nowhere) and is thus a half-sister to Shishkin (by Sholokhov).

At the Dart Vale and Haldon Harriers’ meeting, O’Brien won the four- and five-year-old two-mile bumper on the Clive Boultbee-Brooks-owned and trained Black Of The Glade, a five-year-old French-bred newcomer by Tirwanako.

Another Irish rider to visit the winner’s enclosure at the weekend was Jack Power who landed the concluding two-mile, six-furlong maiden at Dalton Park on Sunday on the Annabelle Sowray-trained Imperial Imp.

The six-year-old Imperial Monarch gelding had been previously trained here by Colm Murphy.

GINA Andrews’s quest for her ninth ladies’ championship title continued last weekend when she notched up a treble from five rides at High Easter on Saturday but had to settle for three runner-up spots, from three rides, at Guilsborough on Sunday.

Andrews’s short-priced treble at the High Easter Racing Club’s fixture came on horses bred in this country with two of these being trained by her husband, Tom Ellis.

That pair were the five-year-old Mahler gelding Imnottalkingtoyou (restricted) and the 10-year-old Milan gelding King Of The Clothe (veteran horses’ conditions race).

The nine-year-old Touch Of Land gelding Tullys Touch, who claimed the mixed open under Andrews as the 1/10 favourite, is trained by John Ibbott.

Young Freddie Gordon won the opening novice riders’ race on the 10-year-old Stowaway gelding Highway One O One, who is trained by his mother Jenny; Alex Chadwick partnered the Rob Cundy-trained Castle Trump, an eight-year-old Presenting gelding, to victory in the two-runner Level 2 conditions race; and Charlie Marshall landed division two of the concluding maiden on the 6/4 favourite Sum It Up who was making his British debut. Trained by Andrew Pennock, this seven-year-old Fame And Glory gelding was previously in the care of Sean Doyle.

The reigning British men’s champion, James King, and the former holder of the title Will Biddick, who is currently topping the leaderboard, rode winners apiece on Saturday and Sunday.

Biddick struck first at Cothelstone where he landed division two of the mares’ maiden on the British-bred Rocktreerunner, a five-year-old Saddler’s Rock chestnut who he also trains. King’s win came in the restricted on the 4/6 favourite Spanish Jump, a French-bred gelding owned and trained by TV pundit Luke Harvey.

On Sunday, the pair travelled to Buckfastleigh where King partnered the Francesca Poste-trained Champion Chase, another French-bred, to victory in the intermediate. Biddick’s successful mount in the restricted came on the Andrew Jackson-trained British-bred Nobodydoesitbetter.

The rider in form at this Dart Vale and Haldon Harriers’ meeting was Josh Newman who landed the opening two-runner hunt members race on the Susan Darke-trained Minimalistic, a 10-year-old Definite Article gelding, before doubling up in the following nine-runner maiden on the Neil McLean-trained Stellar Stream.

This five-year-old Getaway gelding, who was having his fourth start, is out of the unraced Deploy mare Gaelic River.

Dalton Park

There were small fields on Sunday at Dalton Park where there were doubles for John Dawson and Chris Furness.

The former won the opening hunt members’ race on the Emma Clark-trained Stellar Notion, a 14-year-old Presenting gelding, and completed his brace in the Level 1 conditions race on the Stephanie Easterby-trained British-bred Roycano.

Furness’s wins were recorded in the five-runner mixed open on the Christopher Denny-trained Clondaw Anchor, a nine-year-old Stowaway gelding who won a chase at Lingfield in November 2019 for the Dan Skelton yard, and the following four-runner restricted on Courting Flow, a six-year-old Court Cave gelding trained by Jack Teal.

The five-runner Level 3 conditions race at this Holderness fixture went to the Joe Wright-partnered, Lucienne Atkinson-trained Mustmeetalady, a 12-year-old gelding by Mustameet.

There were three Irish-bred winners on the six-race card at Guilsborough where Dale Peters recorded a double which was completed in the Level 1 conditions race on the nine-year-old Mustameet gelding The Unmentionable, who he also trains.

Earlier, Peters landed the five-runner four- and five-year-old maiden on the Alan Hill-trained Quick Sharpener who was making his seasonal debut having had just one outing last term.

The five-year-old Sageburg gelding is out of the Flemensfirth mare Flaming Flower. Hill also sent out the French-bred Diplomate Sivola to justify favouritism under Ben Sutton in the four-runner mixed open.

There were 12 starters in the maiden which was won by the George Edgedale-owned, trained and ridden Kilpin who saw off the Gina Andrews-partnered Wireless Operator by half a length.

The successful seven-year-old Milan gelding, who is out of the Kris Kin mare Come And Fight, was having his third start between the flags, had been placed over hurdles and fences when previously trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies.

THREE hunters’ chases were run in Britain between last Wednesday week and Monday just past with the last of these, a novices’ race at Stratford, being won by the Irish-bred Drakes Well.

The nine-year-old Mustameet gelding began his career here with Harry Kelly, for whom he ran twice in point-to-points, but was in the care of Fred Hutsby when, on his British debut, he landed a maiden over two and a half miles at Larkhill in early December 2018.

Placed in his two subsequent outings between the flags, Drakes Well remained in the ownership of Stephen Corbett when moving to David Bridgwater who sent him out to win once and be placed seven times in nine starts over hurdles between February and July last year.

The bay, who is out of the unraced Clare Belle (by Sayarshan) the dam of two other winners, rejoined Hutsby later in the summer and was having his fourth outing since then when Alice Stephens, in Corbett’s colours, partnered him to victory at Stratford.

The French-bred Absainte, who won the maiden hunters’ chase last Wednesday week at Catterick, also began her career in Ireland, on the track and point-to-points for Tony Martin’s yard.

The daughter of Saint Des Saints won at Portrush in October 2017 but all four of her wins between the flags since then have been for Robin Tate. On the vast majority of her starts in Britain, she has been ridden by Will Easterby who was in the saddle at Catterick. Another French-bred, the Georgina Nicholls-trained Capitaine, landed the open hunters’ chase at Leicester last Friday.