CONGRATULATIONS to flat jockey Oisin Orr who was named the 2023 Donegal Sports Star of The Year at the 2023 Donegal Sports Star Awards held in the Mount Errigal Hotel, Letterkenny, last Friday night.

According to Chris McNulty of donegallive, nearly 600 people attended the function where Orr was represented by his father, Raymond. The Rathmullan native was winning the overall award for the second time, having first been honoured in 2020, the year he won the Irish St Leger on Search For A Song.

Last year, the highlight of Orr’s season was his mid-November victory in the Group 2 Bahrain International Trophy, worth £500,000 to the winner, on Spirit Dancer who is trained by the jockey’s boss Richard Fahey for joint-breeder Sir Alex Ferguson, Ged Mason and Fred Done. At York, in late August, Orr won the Group 3 Sky Bet and Symphony Group Strensall Stakes on the 2017 Frankel gelding.

Orr missed Friday night’s award ceremony as he was riding in the United Arab Emirates where he partnered Spirit Dancer to finish fourth in the Longines-presented Group 1 Jebel Hatta at Meydan.

CONTINUING its tradition of supporting local causes, Down Royal has announced Friends of the Cancer Centre as its official charity partner for 2024.

The partnership will see Friends of the Cancer Centre hold collections at 13 of Down Royal’s scheduled meetings in aid of its work supporting people afflicted by the disease across Northern Ireland.

Ciara Bainbridge, Corporate and Events Fundraising Officer for Friends of the Cancer Centre commented: “Without support from local businesses like Down Royal we would be unable to continue our vital work which is making a real difference to thousands of patients and their families.

This includes our funding of additional members of staff across cancer services and providing practical support, like financial grants, which can help make a difficult time a little easier.

“In addition, the funds raised will allow us to continue our investment in locally-led cancer research through our partnership with the Northern Ireland Cancer Trials Network and the Patrick G. Johnston Centre for Cancer Research at Queen’s University, which is helping find new and improved ways to treat many different types of cancer and giving hope to many.

“We are extremely grateful to the team at Down Royal and its racegoers for their vote of support. We’re asking the public when they see a Friends of the Cancer Centre volunteer at the fabulous race days to think of those across NI who are facing the most difficult of circumstances and give all they can. Thank you to everyone for the opportunity to become Down Royal’s official charity partner for 2024.”

Speaking about the collaboration, Emma Meehan, chief executive of Down Royal said: “Friends of the Cancer Centre is well-known for its unwavering dedication to improving the lives of cancer patients across Northern Ireland and we are delighted to be able to support a cause which is so close to the heart of both our team and our valued customers. We look forward to a great year partnering with the charity’s team to raise as much as we can for this incredibly important cause.”

BRIAN Hughes is a bit off the pace in this season’s British jump jockeys’ championship but he moved closer to the leader, Sean Bowen, in the past eight days by riding six winners since Thursday week last.

These included a double on Tuesday at Newcastle where Danny McMenamin was also on the mark. Other locally-born jockeys to visit the winner’s enclosure in the period under review were Caoilin Quinn who struck at Huntingdon last Thursday week and at Plumpton on Monday when Jody McGarvey was successful at Punchestown. The following afternoon, Deckie Lavery landed the bumper at Limerick.

On the flat, Patsy Cosgrave rode a winner at Meydan while Dylan Browne McMonagle partnered his first winner since his return to Ireland when getting up late in the extended 10-furlong maiden for three-year-olds at Dundalk on Wednesday aboard the Joseph O’Brien-trained Neski Sherelski. The following maiden for four-year-old and upwards was won by the four-year-old Australia colt Squire Danagher who is trained in Caledon by Andy Oliver for Francis Campbell.

There were a good few wins for former Northern-trained horses in the same time frame including Ballybentragh who landed the opening National Hunt Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown on Friday under his owner, David Maxwell. Making his racecourse debut for Gary Moore, this 2017 Fame And Glory gelding won an adjacent hunts’ maiden first time out at Broughshane in May 2022 when trained by Colin McKeever for Wilson Dennison, and followed up with a second-place finish at Moira almost a year later. He next appeared in the care of David Christie and in the colours of Maxwell and finished second on his further two starts between the flags.

Two Loughanmore graduates won at Doncaster on Saturday, J.P. McManus’ Jeriko Du Reponet in the Grade 2 SBK Supreme Trial Rossington Main Novices’ Hurdle and the Brian Hughes-ridden Kerryhill in the Grade 2 Albert Bartlett River Don Novices’ Hurdle.

Previously trained by Colin McBratney, Captain Cody won the Connolly’s Red Mills Irish EBF Ladies Auction Maiden Hurdle at Gowran Park last Thursday week for the Willie Mullins yard; the former Gary McGill-trained Springtime Promise made it two wins in two starts for Fergal O’Brien at Sedgefield on Friday; at Naas on Sunday there were wins for the ex-Mark O’Hare-trained Cleatus Poolaw and the ex-Stuart Crawford-trained Jasmin De Vaux; while another graduate of Crawford’s Larne yard, Largy Poet, recorded his first racecourse success on his third start at Exeter on Wednesday.

THE second half of the 2023/’24 point-to-point season in the Northern Region started on a good note at Tyrella last Saturday for Caroline McCaldin whose two runners won their respective races.

First up, Ballybrittas, who was having his fifth start, won the second division of the five-year-old geldings’ maiden. The Oran McGill-partnered Champs Elysees bay scored by three-quarters of a length in the colours of the trainer’s father, Wilson Dennison, who sponsored the race through Dennison JCB. The double was completed in dominant fashion in the concluding Bluegrass & Dengie six-year-old and upwards geldings’ maiden by the Noel McParlan-ridden Slievehill, a Kayf Tara seven-year-old who McCaldin trains for her husband Alan.

McParlan was bringing up a double, having earlier landed the James Armstrong Auctioneers & Valuers winner of three on the Philip McBurney-owned, Gerald Quinn-trained Raceview Road, while the Johnny Barry-ridden Big Girl Betty claimed the Tasca Tankers older mares’ maiden for the owner/trainer combination of Leo Matheson and Mark McNiff.

Between these two wins, in the Cosy Roof open, the Dara McGill-partnered, Warren Ewing-trained Jay Bee Why was beaten three lengths into second by Battleoverdoyen. This 11-year-old Doyen gelding has been trained by Gordon Elliott since April 2017 but started his career with Gerry Cosgrave for whom he won a four-year-old maiden at Loughanmore on his only start for the Katesbridge yard.

Partnered that day by Mark O’Hare, the horse then ran in the colours of Magheralin’s Michael Lynch who had purchased him privately as a foal from his breeder, Dromore veterinary surgeon Callie Berry. Battleoverdoyen, whose racecourse successes include Grade 1 wins over hurdles and fences, is the eighth of 14 thoroughbred foals out of the Sillery mare Battle Over who won five races in her native France.

The open at Cragmore on Sunday was landed by the David Christie-trained Ramillies, who was winning for the fourth time this season, while Toni Quail quickly followed up her first win of the season at Ballycrystal seven days earlier by partnering the same horse, De Nordener, to victory in the open for novice riders at Lismore.

On the same afternoon, the maiden at Horseheath in England was won by Artiste D’ainay who was placed six times over hurdles when trained here by Stuart Crawford for Simon Munir and Isaac Souede. The six-year-old No Risk At All gelding is now in the care of Tom Ellis and was ridden on Sunday by the trainer’s brother-in-law, Jack Andrews.