THINKTANK
Debutant Thinkitdontjinxit powers to an impressive victory at Ballycrystal for Shane Cotter Reports, pages 4-5
DEREK O’CONNOR
‘Michael Kenneally’sstory is an inspiration to anyone with the ambition to have another shot at race-riding after taking time out’ Page 2
IN FOCUS STEPHEN CONNOR
‘I’m passionate about producing young horses. Ilove watching them progress’ The young rider going places has more than one string to his bow Page 3
on X Grange Stud, i were just luck those stallion
2026!
it’s there for acoupleofhundred years nearlynow,and we ky to be in that Blackwater Valley andhad access to someof s, and thatwas the start of it from my memory Walter Connors
DerekO’Connor Straight to thePoint
FoundAFifty leadsthe wayas ex-pointersprove theirworth
LASTweek, Iwrote about the point-to-point background of several horseswho made headlines at the big Fairyhousemeeting, includingthe Gordon Elliott-trainedpair Romeo Coolio and Koktail Brut
Thestable’s runofformcontinued with atrebleatNavan on Saturday and afour-timer at CorkonSunday. Except for FrenchimportKala Conti, the winnershad their firstexperience inthe point-to-pointfield.
By coincidence,several hadlinks with riders and handlers who were amongthe winners at the fixturesat Dromahane and Ballycrystal.
Star of theshowatCorkwas Found AFifty, whogavea braveperformance to beat Majborough in the Hilly Way. He hasnow wonnine of his19races on the track, includingtwo Grade1s as anovice and Navan’sFortria Chase twice,sincekickingoff hiscareerwith amaidenwin for Mark Faheyat Boulta four seasons ago.
He wasriddenthat daybyBrian Lawless, alsointhe saddle when Gordon’sDrinmoreChase winner RomeoCoolio wona 2023 Belclare maiden for Donnchadh Doyle
Brian is trainingnow,while also continuinghis ridingcareer. At the weekend, he hadhis first winner as a handler,takingthe four-year-old mares’ maiden at Ballycrystal with the French-bred Lola De Magny.
On account of howIrish point-topointing hasdeveloped over the last 20 years,manyriders hadthe good fortune to ride top-class hurdlers and chasers in their early days
Beinginvolved with talented horsescan help arider to develop insightintothe qualities of ayoung jumpingprospect. I’msureBrian’s experience of ridinghorsesofa high calibrewill benefit him nowheis startinga new phaseofhis career
TheElliott winners at the weekend includedDownMemoryLane, a second-season chaser who took the valuable FoxrockHandicap Chaseat Navan. He’s aWalk In ThePark geldingIrodetowin amaiden at Umma Housethree years agofor JonathanFogarty.
Ialsorodehim to winabumper and amaidenhurdle and liked him a lot.Itwas goodtosee him wina competitiverace on only his second startinahandicap
TheFogarty team struck at Dromahane whenthe BarryStoneridden Super Juniorwon adivision of the four-year-old geldings’maiden. I wasn’t so happyabout this winner, since Iwas ridingthe runner-up Cascando for Robert Tyner! Road Exile providedthe first legof the ElliotttrebleatNavan, winningwhat looked a strong maiden hurdle TheHarzand gelding startedwith Cormac Doyle, winningat Rathcannon during
‘Brian Lawlesshad hisfirstwinner as ahandler, taking thefour-yearoldmares’maidenat Ballycrystal with Lola De Magny’
last year’s autumn campaign Cormac, whosaddled Mint
BectiveStudTea Rooms Handicap Hurdle
Approved for victoryina maiden at BallycrystalonSunday, wonthe same Rathcannon maiden this season with Majestic Horizon, ahalfbrother to Dark Raven,winner of three of his firstfiveraces for Willie Mullins beforeafatal injury in an AintreeGrade 1 novice hurdle in 2023. Donnchadh Doyle wasresponsible for producingGringo D’Aubrelle to wina maiden at Loughanmorein 2021. After winninga bumper and maiden hurdle later that year and thenfinishingthirdinthe ChallowHurdle, he failedtobuild on his early promise.
OwnersNoeland Valerie Moran have hadtobepatient with him,and he came goodagain by winningback their sponsorship moneyattheir localtrack in Navan’s€100,000
Therewas abig point-to-point connection to this success, since he wasanother majorhandicap winner for MichaelKenneally, who rode Drumgill to victoryinaListed handicap chasefor John Ryan at Fairyhouse the previous weekend.
Michael’scareerprofile is unusual in that he made the breakthrough last season when alreadyinhis late twenties.Hestartedasayoung apprentice on the Flat for Michael Bell and rode afew winnersbefore emigratingtoAustralia and gaining plenty of experience
He returnedtoIreland, left the sportfor awhile and trainedasan apprentice electrician. Aspell in Britain ridingout for Nicky Henderson inspired him to takeout an amateurs’licence and he quickly establishedhimself with 14 winners in points last season, highlightedby atrebleatDromahane in April.
He rode his firstwinnerasa professional at the Listowel festival
and hasbeeninbig demand. He has ahugeamountofexperience for a 7lb claimer.His story is an inspiration to anyone with the ambition to have another shot at race-ridingafter takingtimeout
Last season’sother breakthrough rider wasDavid Doyle, crowned under-21 champion with 14 wins.By coincidence,two of thosewinscame onhorses who wondivisions of Sunday’smaiden hurdle at Corkfor Gordon.
He partnered the four-year-old Lord Rougetofinishsecond in a maiden at Punchestown in February for PatDoyle,and wononKazansky for SamCurling in afive-year-old maiden at Rathcannon in April.
On Sunday,Sam and David teamed up to winamares’maiden at Ballycrystal with ShakeThe Bag, a 15th winner of the season for her handler and sixth for her jockey. And on that note,I’llend with congratulations to Sam, adeserving winner of the 2025 point-to-point awardinDublin on Monday.
PATRICK McCANN (RACINGPOST.COM/PHOTOS)
FoundAFifty,winnerofSunday’sHillyWay Chase under Jack Kennedy,has scored in nine of his19races on thetracksincehis maiden winatBoulta four seasons ago
It’s toughstarting outbut Stephen Connor (below) has some advice for thosekeentolearn
I’M BASED with Stuart Crawford, who trains just outside Larnein County Antrim,and this is my fourth yearwith the yard
Things couldn’t be going much better at the moment.
I’ve hadasolid starttothe season with twowinners and plenty of placedefforts,and after riding11winners last year –whichwas my best season to date –the aim is to keep the momentumgoing.
I’ve alsoridden 15 winners on the trackand,with the quality of horses in the yard, I’mhopeful thereare plenty moretocome Stuartand Iworkwell together;wethink the same wayabout horses and how theyshouldberidden, which makesfor averynatural partnership.He’sshown huge faith in me and Itry to repay that everytime Iget the legup. Ross Crawfordhas been very goodtometoo.I’veridden severalnice winners for him over the years.With 60 or 70 horsesintrainingfor the track and point-to-point, it’s a brilliantplace to be and riding in the double-greencoloursof ownersSimon Munir and Isaac Souede hasbeena real privilege
Ihonestly don’t regret not turningprofessional. There wasastage early in my time at the Crawfords when Ithought aboutit. Iwas gettinggood opportunities on the track, while BenCrawfordwas doing
NEWS AND VIEWS
‘Keepyourmouth shut,yourearsopen andyourheaddown. Hard work stillcounts’
mostofthe point-to-point riding.
Butwhen Benstepped back, Inaturally filledthat role,and everythingsettled.Ienjoy the balance of beinganamateur and still havingthe freedom to work with young horses
Life outside the yard is fairly hectic.MywifeSophie works fivedaysaweekatthe Crawfords too, so between us it’s horses morning, noon and night.
We’vetwo kids, Mia and Weston. Miaenjoys her Irish dancingand does abit with the ponies,but Westonis absolutelyponymad. Balancingeverythingcan be tricky,but Sophie is brilliant. If I’mawayracing, Iknow everythingathome is looked after We usuallyhavefiveorsix horsesathome.Atthe moment, we have twothree-
year-olds of ourown and afew for breaking, pre-trainingand sales prep
Producingyoung horses is somethingI’m genuinely passionate about.Ilove startingthem from scratch and watchingthem progress Down the line,Sophieand I would liketoexpand that side of things,maybe even takeout ahandler’s permit for a couple of our own, but there’sno rush Igrewup in Ballybrit in Galway,right besidethe racecourse, so racingwas always around me.Dad, John, is aplumber,but he went racingevery opportunity he got.
My uncles kept Connemara ponies and my uncle Mike had acouple of racehorses for fun. Istartedridinglessons at nine or tenand hunted from 12.
My cousin David and Iwere inseparable growingup. We
showjumped,huntedand competeduntil we were too old for ponies
We both worked for our neighbour Martin Cullinane and basically spentevery spare minute in the saddle. WhenI was13or14, Ispentasummer ridingout for Yvonne Dunleavy, and lovedit. From then on,I knew racingwas whereI wanted to go.After school, I movedtoTipperaryat17to work full-timewith horses.
My firstwinnerinpoints came on Caitlin Brookat Rockfield in 2015. Dadowned her and, under PatDoyle’s guidance,Idid nearly everythingwith her myself
Your first winner is always memorable,but when it’s one you’ve beenheavily involved with at home it’s even better That dayremains my favourite memoryinracing.
I’ve beenlucky to work with some brillianthorsemen. I spenttime with John Ryan and then with PatDoyle,who is a master at producingyoung horses.
Schoolingonce aweekwith DerekO’Connorand Davy
Russell wasanincredible grounding.
Ithen spentseveral years with TimHyde, whereI learned as much aboutsales and pedigrees as Idid about riding.
They consigna lot of Flat yearlings,soprepping horses and understanding what buyers want became partof my education. Iowe thema huge amount.I’d probably still be there if riding opportunities hadn’tnaturally driedup, as the younger generationofhis family came through Around that time,Ispoke to Derekand said Ineeded a move if Iwantedtoprogress. He suggested headingnorth to Loughanmoretoworkfor Wilson Dennison and Colin McKeever
Iwentupfor acouple of days,liked everythingabout the place and made the move I’ve never regrettedit. If I hadn’t gone north,I’d never have metSophie Therewerefantastic days at Loughanmore. Ballyadam was the standout.Ibroke him in
and worked him at home,and he showed seriousgears from the start.
Hisdebutwin at Portrush didn’t surpriseusand then he topped the Cheltenham sale I’ve beenfortunatetobe involved with plenty of highclass horses over the years, whether Irodethem in public or worked with them behind the scenes.
Point-to-points have changed since Istarted. There used to be more oldermaidens and mares, butrising insurancecosts and pressure on small farmers have made it harder for smaller yardsto keep ahorsefor sport. Northern fixturesalsoneed attention. This autumn, for example,the firstthree northern weekends came too quickly, and then therewas a long gapbeforethe fourth;it doesn’t work.Loughanmore, whichisatop-class meeting, hadveryfew entries. If it hadbeenstaged a couple of weeks later,before the sales,I’m confidentthey would have hadfar more runners
As an amateur,unlessyou’re attachedtoa strong yard, opportunities arelimited. I’m very fortunatewith Stuart, but for young lads startingout,it’s tough
My advice is always the same: keep yourmouth shut, your earsopenand yourhead down.Hardworkstill counts Eachseason, Itry to progressalittlemorethanthe last.Ialwayswanttobeatlast year’s total, butthe main aim is to make the mostofevery opportunity. Long term,I’d love to be heavily involved in breakingand pre-training. STEPHEN CONNOR WAS TALKING TO DEBBIE McCRELLIS
Tattersallslostfixture rescheduledfor Sunday
THE autumn season hasbeen extendedbyone weekto accommodate the rescheduled fixture at Tattersalls whichwas cancelledlastSunday.
Ra cin ga tt he Lo uth Foxhoundsfixture wasunable to begin due to alackof ambulancecover,anannouncementbeingmade just after 12.15pm statingthat the fixture hadtobecancelled.
By that point, no fewer than 24 horseshad beendeclared for the four-year-old geldings’ maiden,resulting in therace being divided,and it is the connections of those horsesin the four younger-age maiden races on the card who will have beenmostaffectedbythe cancellation.
Many of thoseownersand handlerswould have been hopingtosendtheir horses to the Tattersalls Cheltenham DecemberSalethis Fridayafter arun on Sunday, with those plans nowshelved
All is not lost, however, after thefixture wasswiftly rescheduledfor this Sunday, with the original entryof164, the largest of the autumn term,standing. Therewill be an earlier start time for the rescheduled fixture.Actionwillnow get under wayat11am to accommodate the arrivalofhorses on siteatthe sales complex ahead of the Sapphiresale Irishexports clean up in Cornwall ... Therewas further big-race successfor Irish point-to-point graduates acrossthe weekend, headlinedbythe Grade 2 successofFound AFifty in the €100,000Bar 1BettingHilly WayChase on Sunday. Although not as high profile, on the same afternoon Irish exports went through the card at the Wadebridge point-topoint, winningall seven races at the Cornwall venue. They included victories for
twohorseswho hadbeenin action betweenthe flagson theseshoresinrecenttimes. Clonagoose,who wonthe op eni ng div is io no ft he maiden, hadrun three times in Ireland for AidanFitzgerald, most recently when finishing fifth,beaten 19 lengths at Loughrea in mid-October.
Thefour-year-old swiftly
found his levelacrossthe Irish Sea, winningonhis firstouting forEmmaSummersby. Thesecond division of the maiden went to Madame Le’strange.The Flemensfirth mare signed offonsix starts for Sean Doyle when placed in an older mares’ maiden at Necarne in Mayand,likeClonagoose, made awinningBritish debut
for her newtrainer Will Biddick. ...and Sam Curling cleans up at HRI Awards
Tw en ty- fo ur ho ur sa ft er saddlinghis 15th winner of the season with theBallycrystal successofShake TheBag,Sam Curlingwas again celebrating after he wasannounced the winner of the point-to-point
categoryatthe HRI Awards ceremony.
The2024-25 season wasa memor ab le one for the Tipperaryhandler,who saddled Wonderwall to become the first Irish-trainedwinnerofthe St James’s PlaceFestival Hunters’ Chaseatthe Cheltenham Festivalsince 2022. Curling hadsourced the eight-year-old from Peterand MikeyBowen’s stable at a horses-in-trainingsaleon behalf of owner John O’Leary the previous summer and he set aboutpreparing the Yeats geldingfor atiltatCheltenham Wonderwall wonconsecutiveopenraces at Loughrea and DammaHouse before beingkeptfresh forthe festival, returningfromafour-month absence to beat ItsOnThe Line by aneck.
Be tw ee nt he fla gs,t he 2024-25 campaign alsoproved to be Curling’smostsuccessful, with 34 winners.
CAROLINE NORRIS (RACINGPOST.COM/PHOTOS)
Wonderwall jumps thelastonthe waytogiving Sam Curling success in theStJames’sPlaceHunters’ Chase
BALLINAGORE AT BALLYCRYSTAL SUNDAY
‘I
really thought she’d do the job’ – Lola gives Lawless first win as a trainer
JOCKEY Brian Lawless saddled his first winner as a trainer when guiding Lola De Magny to success in the opener at Ballycrystal.
The 2020 joint under-21 champion rider took out his handler’s permit at the start of the season and, fittingly, victory came at the course where he trains
His success came in the Gain Equine Nutrition, Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale and Cooney Furlong four-yearold ma re s’ ma ide n after making the running on the daughter of Jeu St Eloi.
Lawless put the mare’s experience of three previous races to good use before fending off the challenge of C’Est Elle to win by a length and a half
“She’s a tough mare and I fancied her coming here. She had a good run the last day but just got in close to the last two fences,” Lawless said of the mare who ran in the colours of his girlfriend Abbie O’Connor
“I really thought Lola De Magny would do the job and I’ m deli gh te d to get it Hopefully, she’ll head to the sales now.”
The 26-year-old jockey was not alone in successfully combining riding and training, as Pa King matched his feat in the Just Dig It winners-of-two on Muskerry Rock
The in-form Emily Costello had set a good pace on City Slippers, which meant only two of the seven runners finished after four pulled up in the testing conditions and a fifth fell.
King was able to take his mount into the lead entering the back straight and pulled clear to beat City Slippers by seven lengths
“He had a good run in Rathcannon the last day,” King said.
“He’d been busy in the autumn and had three runs in four weeks, so we eased off him a bit
Star performance
Thinkitdontjinxit sprinted clear of his rivals in taking fashion to make an impressive start to his career
“He seemed fresh again today and he won well He might get an entry at Limerick over Christmas, but he had a hard race today.”
Th at wa s not the onl y su cces s on the ca rd fo r Ti pp er ar y conne ctions . Leading handler Sam Curling saddled his 15th victory of the campaign when Shake The Bag deservedly opened her account in the PR Firewood five-year-old-and-upwards mares’ maiden.
She was not winning out of turn after being placed at Loughanmore and Rathcannon in recent weeks and canny punters made her second favourite to break her duck
The Soldier Of Fortune mare was confidently produced by reigning under-21 champion David Doyle and they quickly asserted before the final fence to pull 13 lengths clear of newcomer Rose Of Knocknamoe by the line
“We weren’t sure how she’d cope with the ground, but she handled it well and jumped well,” said Doyle, who leads this season’s under-21 table on six winners
“It was just a matter of not getting there too soon. I was trying to wait for as long as I could because she’s lairy in front, but she’s done it well in the end.”
Ross Sugrue has been out of luck in recent months with injuries and suspensions meaning that the success of Watery Borren in the second division of the Moy ne Veterinary Hospital four-yearold geldings’ maiden was his first since March.
Teaming up with Meath handler Peter Flood for the first time, Sugrue was able to dictate the pace from the front on the Je t Away new comer and, although tiring on the run-in, his mount still had a length to spare at the line from fellow newcomer Kilbricken Chase, who was closing quickly.
“He worked well two weeks ago and we were hopeful of a big run today,” Flood said.
“He’s a very straightforward hors e an d ju mp s we ll. Hopefully, he’ll head to the sales at Cheltenham on Friday.”
Sugrue had to settle for second in the opening division of the same race when the wellbacked newcomer Catching Jets, found another first-timer, Th inkitdon tj in xit ei gh t lengths too strong.
A fifth winner of the season for Shane Cotter and Denis Murphy, the Vadamos gelding was also reported to be bound for the sales
Donal O’Connor maintained his excellent strike-rate for the campaign when guiding Mint Approved to victory in the Ballycrystal Stables five-yearold-and-upwards geldings’ maiden.
It was a fifth winner this term fr om ei gh t ri de s for th e Wexford-based Corkman as Cormac Doyle’s experienced son of Authorized took a big step forward after his summer break to beat Magic Arch by three lengths
“I had him in third most of the way and he got to the front before three out,” O’Connor said.
“He carried me the whole way home from there and just kept going. I thought he’d get tired but in fairness he stayed on very well.”
Doyle’s elder brother Sean was also among the winners when saddling Gale Force Jet in the L&M Motors open for novice riders
Although only four horses went to post, they were all sideby-side jumping the secondlast, but it was Cormac Byrne’s mount who dug deepest to beat an improved Jack In The Box by half a length
“It’s great for Cormac Byrne, he works very hard,” Doyle said. “This horse improved a lot from Lingstown and I’m looking forward to going back over the banks with him
“He was a bit green over them the last day, but he’s a horse who could turn up in the Ladies Cup in the spring.
(Above) Lola De Magny (right) provides Brian Lawless with his first winner as a handler in the four-yearold mares’ maiden; (right) Gale Force Jet (far right) gets the better of Jack In The Box by half a length to land the open for novice riders
DUHALLOW KANTURK AT DROMAHANE SATURDAY
Feather in the cap of Kelleher team
AFTER failing to finish her last three runs despite showing signs of talent, Burds Of A Feather showed the ability was there with victory at the fourth attempt
It came in the Kanturk P2P Committee four-year-old mares’ maiden, although there was a little good fortune involved when Rob James was two lengths clear on Even Tho coming to the final fence,where the pair crashed out.
That left Luke Kelleher, 24-year-old nephew of trainer Gerard Kelleher, to coast home on Burds Of A Feather 11 lengths in front of The Ocean Queen.
The winner, owned by Luke’s sister Lucy and her fiance Joe Burke, was bounced out in front and led until joined by Even Tho three out. That rival looked to be going well before falling at the last, a fence that also claimed Bansha Blue, who was holding place prospects in third at the time
“She picked up well and really deserved to win,” said the Kelleher siblings’ father Mikey.
Burds Of A Feather, a sister to Sam Curling’s Grade 3-placed hurdler Sarah Beara, will be sold at Friday’s Tattersalls sale after racing at Cheltenham
The John Murphy-trained The Old Head impressed with a stylish winning debut in the first division of the Boulta P2P Committee four-year-old geldings’ maiden.
The Old Head, who formed the opening leg of a double for Johnny Barry, was held up towards the rear, edged closer along the bottom of the track four out and led from the penultimate of 13 fences
It was plain sailing from there for the Highfort Partnership 2-owned bay, who swept clear to beat Debrave Soldier by six lengths with a 15-length break back to the third-placed Annual Invitation in a race in which debutants occupied the first three places
“We seem to have a lovely bunch of horses at the moment, and Johnny Barry said The Old Head was very green when he hit the front. He’s a horse with a big future and will now be sold,” Murphy said.
The winning son of Walk In The Park, a €40,000 Derby Sale acquisition whose dam Mardale was a Listed-placed hurdler in Britain, was the trainer’s third four-year-old maiden winner in as many weeks
Barry completed his double on Dempseys Diamond for
Star performance
The Old Head continued a purple patch for John Murphy’s four-year-olds with an impressive debut
Fermoy-based owner-trainer
Pat Crowley in The Gortroe Inn five-year-old-and-upwards unplaced maiden.
The Diamond Boy gelding travelled well before asserting three out to beat Moonshine River by four lengths
Racegoers were treated to a gripping finish in the Mick Malone’s Sports Bar winnersof-two as Ian McCarthy’s Hearts And Spades maintained his unbeaten record in three points this autumn by bravely coming a second time to beat Dromleigh by a head.
Eoin Mahon’s mount, a winner at Peppards Castle and Boulta, arrived from well off the pace to lead two out, only to be headed on the run-in.
The winning French-bred then overtook Dromleigh inside the final 100 yards to snatch victory from Emily Costello, the season’s leading woman rider.
On another good afternoon for We xfor d hor se s, th e Jonathan Fogarty-trained new co mer Sup er Junior landed the second division of
the four-year-old geldings’ maiden under Barry Stone A brother to Kalkbrenner, who won a maiden hurdle for Ben Pauling at Ffos Las having started off in points with Fogarty last season, Super Junior was positioned at the head of affairs and led three out to be at the pr omi sin g Cascando by five lengths Paul Pierce’s Sworn Duty made light of a 19-month lay-off by leading two out under the in-form James Coffey to beat ex-track performer Twoplustwo Equals by two lengths in the Grimes Recovery five-year-old-and-upwards mares’ maiden.
The Richard Rath-trained Call Of Freedom atoned for falling at the third fence on his Ballindenisk debut six days earlier by making the best of his way home from the thirdlast under Jamie Scallan to finish 13 lengths in front of Fr iendly Fo e in the firs t division of the Dairygold and Pegus Horse Feeds five-yearold geldings’ maiden.
Th e Jo e Ry an-tr aine d Maiori, who was pulled up on his only previous outing at Belclare last term, benefited from a well-judged waiting ride from Jimmy O’Rourke by coming from off the pace to land the second division.
Pictures: HEALY RACING
Debutant Super Junior scores in the four-year-old geldings’ maiden to continue handler Jonathan Fogarty’s fine form
