Point-to-Point Weekly 17-4-24

FRUIT OF SUCCESS

Fruit De Mer’s Ballycrystal victory is the first of four weekend winners for Rob James as he moves on to the shoulder of Barry O’Neill in the riders’ title race Reports, pages 2-3

DEREK O’CONNOR

‘When it comes to buying ayoung filly, purchasers may be factoring in an event broodmarefuture. It’s agamble, like so much else in thesport’ Page 4

€65,000 Charles Shanahan/Glenvale Stud

€48,000 Glenmore Farm

€46,000 Glenvale Stud

€43,000 Ballymore Bloodstock

€42,000 Moanmore Stables

€30,000 Glenvale Stud

€30,000 WeirViewStud

€28,000 KCS Bloodstock

€28,000 Eimear Fallon

€27,000 Bleahen Brothers

€26,000 Luke Bleahen

€26,000 Kevin Ross Bldstk x2

ISLAND HUNT AT BALLYCRYSTAL SATURDAY

Treble boosts James’s title chance

ROB JAMES’S title aspirations received a huge boost when a treble moved him within one winner of the leading rider, his great friend Barry O’Neill.

James’s first success came in the openin g ra ce on the impressive newcomer Fruit De Mer in a division of the Tattersalls NH four-year-old maiden.

Much of the focus pre-race had been on O’Neill’s mount Paul Collins after he had chased home the subsequent £350,000 purchase Buckna at Kirkistown a month earlier

Ho we ve r, th at Br ia n Acheson-owned Pillar Coral gelding was put in his place by Donnchadh Doyle’s son of Pour Moi, who powered clear to win by 16 lengths

“He was doing everything very well at home and has been really nice from the beginning,” said Susan James, partner of the winning handler and sister of the winning rider

“We picked him up at the Goffs Arkle Sale and Jack Doyle owns half of him with me

“I’m delighted as it’s my first winner after loads of seconds.”

Ja mes wa s in the sa me Monbeg Syndicate colours when he added the CS Bloodstock International Transport and Baltimore Stables mares’

Star performance

Fruit De Mer showed great fortitude to dominate a race that was run at a particularly strong gallop

open on Millie Supreme

The six-year-old, a courseand-distance maiden winner from January, seemed booked for the runner-up spot until Peggy’s Rock blundered her chance away at the last, handing the initiative to James, who beat his rival by half a length

It was more straightforward in the middle le g of the Killanne rider’s treble on Cloonainra in the Monbeg Stables five- and six-year-old mares’ maiden.

David O’Brien’s charge had shown promise before falling on her debut at Lisronagh in November, but there were no such worries at the second time of asking as she was always holding the more experience d Loud And Proud before winning by two and a half lengths

Only James and O’Neill have ridden more winners around Ballycrystal than Brian Lawless and the Wicklow rider added two more successes to his record, beginning with Rucker

WESTMEATH AT CASTLETOWN-GEOGHEGAN SUNDAY

SHANE COTTER has been David Christie’s go-to jockey for novice-rider opens this season and the pair maintained a 100 per cent strike-rate together with the success of Winged Leader in the Brosna Paints Barbour Cup.

“Shane’s a talent and I’m sure he’ll go on to do great things. He gave the horse another brilliant ride,” David Christie jnr said.

“He’s 100 per cent for us, but you have to go out and do the job – and he’s doing it.”

The 17-year-old Ballynoe rider ensured it was an honest gallop set by the favourite, a tempo that ensured few of his eight rivals could get involved

The Gordon Elliott-trained course-and-distance winner

The Bosses Oscar tried to get on terms inside the final half mile, but failed and returned si x le ng ths be hi nd the favourite, whose victory was his fifth this season – placing him top of the table for the horse-of-the-season title – and an 18th win overall between the flags

Donnchadh Doyle doubled his weekend tally when Drop A Threat followed the impressive debut of stablemate Fruit De Mer at Ballycrystal 24 hours

Road in division two of the Goffs Punchestown Sale fiveyear-old geldings’ maiden.

Th ir d on his de bu t at Lisronagh three weeks ago, the Matty Flynn O’Connor-trained Malinas gelding was in a tightly grouped pack exiting the back straight, but by the last fence Lawless was looking over his shoulder for non-existent dangers as he came clear to beat the Emmet Mullins-trained El Toro Rocco by four lengths

“I told Brian to drop him in and he did it well,” the winning handler said “We got him for €30,000 at the Goffs Land Rover Sale and he ran well when third the first day at Lisronagh.”

Flynn O’Connor’s gallop runs around the outside of the course and his horses made the most of being on home turf by adding the Clondaw Stables an d CM Mu rph y Ra cin g winners-of-one to their afternoon’s successes courtesy of Je Viens Du Large, the second leg of a Lawless double

He had been brushed aside by the impressive Soldier In Milan two weeks earlier at Monksgrange, but the decision to send him into winners’ company, despite remaining a maiden, was richly rewarded as he returned 56 lengths clear of

Cotter praised for perfect record on Winged Leader

Star performance

Drop A Threat easily left his rivals trailing to justify his six-figure price tag from the store sales

earlier, after the Triple Threat gelding turne d the Goffs Punchestown Sale five-yearold geldings’ maiden into a procession.

Once the €100,000 purchase from the sponsor’s 2022 Land Rover sale was sent to the front two out by Rob James, there was only going to be one outcome as he galloped clear to beat Synchronist by 12 lengths Doyle’s brother Sean had successfully opened the card wi th the Affini se a-sir ed

newcomer On The Bayou landing the first division of the Tattersalls NH and Galileo Chrome four-year-old maiden.

Jack Hendrick was having to cajole his mount along on the

climb

“He’s a very nice horse who absolutely loved that ground. We really fancied him coming here,” Doyle said.

Ch eltenh am sa les and hopefully have a bright future.”

Division two looked like being a more closely run affair as Hillwalk was proving to be a persistent challenge to Koktail Brut until falling at the last. That allowed Declan Lavery’s mount to finish 25 lengths clear of Island Bridge, giving Downpatrick handler Patrick Turley his fif th su cce ss o f the campaign

Knockiel Synge was second in last year’s Edgemount Farm Racing adjacent winners’ race, and he went one better this time by outbattling the mare Fire Force by three-quarters of a length.

Wi

nnin g ow ner Hu gh Mulvihill, who is also clerk of the scales at the fixture, had won the race in 2019 with Star Wizard, and a return to racing over the banks is next on the agenda for the ten-year-old, with his handler Peter Flood

the only other finisher in the field of ten, The Brickey Ranger Fellow French-bred Kara Sacre was the class act in the second division of the fouryear-old maiden, asserting on the run-in to cross the line six lengths clear of Little Beast, with Derek O’Connor sitting motionless.

O’Connor had to settle for the runner-up spot in the opening division of the fiveyear-old geldings’ maiden when his mount, Too Cool Forshrule, came up second best behind an improved Committee Meeting

Th e Ye at s ge ldin g ha d finished last on his debut at Lingstown in December, but the €10, 000 Ta tt er sa lls Ireland May Store sale buy benefited for being freshened up as he was guided to victory by one and a quarter lengths under handler Luke Murphy.

Denis Ahern’s trip from Cork was rewarded when Mickthesoldier landed the Milestone Stables and Ballyboy Stables older maiden.

Michael Kenneally’s mount bounced back from a disappointing effort in a point-topoint bumper at Cork on Easter Monday to beat John’s Delight by eight lengths

targeting the Ladies Cup at the Punchestown festival.

Like Mulvihill, Mark Fagan, one of the fixture’s veterinary surgeons, was another on-duty official who saw his colours carried to success when his homebred Deravarra Rose dominated the Tottenham Timber mares’ maiden.

Ciaran Murphy had twice sent her out to be placed, including a close second at Belclare a month earlier, so her ei gh t- len gth defea t of Notnoweve was no surprise.

“She did a bit with me last year and the year before, but when my daughters were busy competing last year I dropped her into Ciaran’s and haven’t picked her up,” Fagan said.

“He did a fabulous job. She’s been consistent and has been placed almost every time.”

Lucas Williams hasn’t had to wait long for his breakthrough success. After making his raceriding debut on Baunmore Jet at Bellharbour in February, it was that John Staunton-trained seven-year-old who gave him his first victory on his fifth ride Th e pair re pe ll ed th e challenge of Complete Fantasy to win the Mullingar Agri Store older geldings’ maiden by half a length

to the penultimate fence, but once striking top gear he was able to beat the Ballyragget fourth Nelson County by eight lengths

DUHALLOW AT DROMAHANE SUNDAY

BALLYDUFF UPPER rider

Adam Feeney achieved his second career double when he signed off on Tom Keating’s outstanding first-season mare Millie B in the Redweld Stables and Brendan Murphy open.

It was the fourth victory of the season for Millie B – the only mare in the nine-runner field –and puts her joint-second behind Winged Leader in the race for the leading horse title

The winning daughter of Workforce was clearly travelling best from two out and, although drifting right-handed in the closing stages, she returned with one and a half lengths to spare over Wise Move.

“She’s tough and loves the ground,” Keating said of the sixyear-old, owned by his nearneighbour John O’Leary. “The target with her was the Gain Mares’ Final and she could now run at the evening meeting in Tipperary next month.”

Feeney was earlier on the mark on the Robert Clancyowned-and-trained newcomer Myfriendcooper in the Goffs Punchestown Sale four-yearold mares’ maiden. Th e Va lir ann -s ir ed My fr iend coop er mo ve d through to challenge Kap De Cerisy from three out, and although Kap De Cerisy was faster in the air over the last, she couldn’t cope with the winner, who is a half-sister to Fergal O’Brien’s 124-rated hurdler Onagatheringstorm

Three-quarters of a length separated the pair in the afternoon’s closest finish

“I bought her as a foal and

Talented Millie B takes tally to four and sends Feeney soaring

Star performance

Dawn Miss more than made up for her debut fall by producing a top-drawer performance

was happy with her coming here as she has always done everything easily,” Clancy, who has a ten-horse stable, said. Tiernan Power also landed a double, with winners supplied by Mark Scallan, and the pair scored first with newcomer Captains Speech in a division of the Coolmore four-year-old geldings’ maiden.

Captains Speech, a son of El Salvador bought for €20,000 at last year’s Goffs Arkle sale, led from three out to see off favourite Giantsgrave by five and a half lengths in the colours of Denis Hayes.

The Sean Doyle-trained Dawn Miss comfortably lands the five- and six-year-old mares’

previous two starts, Always A Reason did well to survive a blunder at the fourth-last before storming to the front 150 ya rd s ou t to be at He’s A Diamond by four lengths

Scallan plans to sell the winner, who is owned by his wife, Laura, and Michael Cullen “He’s threatened to be a nice horse,” Scallan said. “But it’s only recently we’ve really

figured out how to ride him.”

The Sean Doyle-trained Dawn Miss atoned for falling three out on her Monksgrange de bu t tw o we eks ag o by coming home as she pleased

Dawn Miss, a 2022 Goffs Land Rover sale graduate who is a sister to Olly Murphy’s Listed winning hurdler Booster Bob, led from four out to beat newcomer Highbourne Velvet by 12 lengths in the Monbeg Partnership silks

Sam Curling and Derek O’Connor, on the mark with Kara Sacre at Ballycrystal, struck with another newcomer in Life Goes On in the fouryear-old geldings’ maiden.

The physically imposing Life Goes On, whose dam is a halfsister to dual Grade 1 winner Yanworth, was always positioned at the head of affairs and the son of Malinas stayed on powerfully in the closing stages to thwart The Blue Room by one and a quarter lengths

Master Of The Sums, representing longstanding points supporter Joe Sheahan from Whitechurch, destroyed the opposition in the Rathbarry and Glenview Studs adjacent hunts maiden when leading from two out under Maxine O’Sullivan, daughter of handler Eugene O’Sullivan, to beat Lorna Yeats by 23 lengths

“He’s a proper horse who has always shown plenty and he has been very straightforward from day one,” Scallan said of Captains Speech, who traces to the family of Tommy Whittle Chase winner Bobby Grant. Scallan and Power later combined to land the Tattersalls NH five-year-old geldings’ maiden with Always A Reason Having finished third on his under Jamie Scallan in the Fitzwilliam Sports five- and sixyear-old mares’ maiden.

Inothewayurthinkin (WALKINTHEPARK) cut to 10/1 for the Gold Cup after completing Cheltenham-Aintree double in the MildmayNovices’Chase(Grade1)

2023/24 Leading NH Sires

Jonbon (WALKINTHEPARK) notched up his sixth Grade 1 success in the MellingChase(Grade1)

maiden

Wednesday,April 17,2024

DerekO’Connor Straight to thePoint ItsOnThe Line wasbrilliant butRob Jamesstole theshow

ITWAS agreat thrill to winthe AintreeFoxhunters’ on ItsOn

TheLinefor JP McManusand Emmet Mullins.However, before sharing my experience, it’s only fair to givethe headlines to my weighroom colleagueRob James, who hadafabulous weekonand off the track.

Like myself,Rob is doublingupas arider and handler thesedays. He enjoyedabrilliantsuccesswhen toppingthe Goffs AintreeSalelast Thursdaywithhis Jukebox Jury geldingHeCan’t Dance,boughtby Gordon ElliottRacingfor £300,000.

On SaturdayRob wasbackon home territoryatBallycrystal, where he rode atreble, startingwith the Donnchadh Doyle-trainedfour-yearold Fruit De Mer, who hadnotrouble copingwith demandingconditions, coming home well clear of the Colin Bowe-trainedPaulCollins,the only other finisher in afield of eight.

Robagain teamed up successfully with Donnchadh at CastletownGeoghegan on Sunday, ridingDrop AThreattoaclear-cut win. This promisingfive-year-old is by Triple Threat, whohad agood week.He’s alsoresponsible for Sans Bruit,an impressivewinnerofthe RedRum ChaseatAintree forPaulNicholls

Thanks to his four winnersatthe weekend, Robhas movedtothe 26-winner mark,only one behind BarryO’Neill, who pickeduphis first winsince returningfromashort spell on the sidelines

He providedalocal successon DeravarraRosefor owner-breeder Mark Faganand trainer Ciaran Murphyatthe Westmeath meeting. NowBarry is backhewillbedoing his best to defend thetitle he has held since 2017.

Therewillbeplenty of opportunities over the nextsix weeks or so,and everyone involved in the sportiskeeping their fingers crossed that the rest of theseason canbe completed without more cancellations.

Let’shopethat replacement fixturescan be foundfor mostof thoselosttothe desperately wet conditions that have plagued us for the last couple of months

Therehas been positivenewsfrom the north,wheremeetings have been rearranged for Loughanmoreonthe nexttwo Saturdays anda

Taylorstown fixture on May18, whichwill bringthe northern region campaign to an end.

It’s good to see cooperation taking place between variousvenues.For example,the Ballymacad meeting scheduledfor the Oldcastle track nextSundayhas been switchedto Tattersalls

Lastweek’sAintree sale went well

However, as Goffs UK managing director TimKentadmitted, the spate of cancellations of Irish points made it hard

‘Rob James enjoyeda brilliant successwhen topping theGoffs

to puttogether acatalogue in line with the qualityassociatedwiththis sale in recentyears. It’s atribute to thestandardofsomerecentfixtures that 23 of the 26 lots changed hands. TheMonksgrange fixtureproduced the sales-toppingHeCan’t Dance,an odds-on winner of the four-year-old geldings’maiden, as well as two promisingtypes from the fillies’ maiden in the same agegroup

part of thefascination of the sales

Threeother horses made six-figure sums at Aintree. JonathanFogarty’s Tattersalls winner Flamingo Grove (£150,000), PatTurley’s Portrush runner-up Cobbler’s Boy(£115,000), and Sean Doyle’sKnockanohill winner Parish Quiz (£100,000).

Icould see him running in the National at some stage

Finally, Ihavetopay tribute to ItsOn TheLine for the abilityand sheer toughnessheshowed at Aintreelast Thursday.

AintreeSalelast

Thursday with his JukeboxJurygelding He Can’tDance’

TheDenis Murphy-trained runner-up Holloway Queen, by the same sire as He Can’tDanceout of amarebyShantou, fetched£180,000, outshiningJackie Hobbs,the Paul Pierce-trained winner who made £130,000. That mayseem strange, butthe fact is differentpurchasers have their ideas of value and potential. Both fillies areata relative stageof developmentand,when it comes to buyingayoung filly, purchasers may be factoringinaneventual broodmare future. It’s agamble,like so much elseinthe sport, andthat’s

By coincidence,all threetrainers were involved in divisions of the four-year-old maiden at CastletownGeoghegan. Doyle’s On TheBayou,a sonofAffinisea,took thefirst heat under Jack Hendrick,while Declan Lavery wasable to ease down Turley’s French-bredKoktail Brut to scoreby25lengths after the FogartytrainedHillwalk hadfallen when throwingdowna challenge at the last. Both races hadonly two finishers,asignofhow tough the conditions areatpresent. Koktail Brut hasagood pedigree. He’s by Cokoriko, sireofGordon Elliott’stalentedstayinghandicap chaser CokoBeach, and is ahalfbrother to the same trainer’s Gevrey, who finishedsecond to IAm Maximusinlastyear’s Irish Grand National and went oneplace better in this season’sMunster National at Limerick.

UnlikeSaturday’sGrand National, in which the action began to unfold only over the last couple of fences, therewas astronggallop and my fellowwas off the bridle alongway from home

Buthekept jumping well and from twoout Ifelt the leadersweregoing to come backtome, and that he would end up outstayingthem

He wasprobably helped by having acouple of loosehorses for company and wongoingawayinthe end. He deserveditafter aslightly unlucky fall at Becher’s lastyear andfinishing runner-up in the St James’sPlace Hunters’Chase at Cheltenhamthis year and last.

He’s such atough horse. Ireckon that Emmetwill be able to givehim the go-ahead for the Champion Hunter ChaseatPunchestown, which he wonlastyear.He’sonly sevenand Icould see him runningin aNationalatsome stageofhis career if all goeswell.

ItsOnThe Line (number12) clearsafenceonthe waytoproviding Derek O’Connor with amemorable success in theFoxhunters’ ChaseatAintree

JOHN GROSSICK (RACINGPOST.COM/PHOTOS)

Slade Steel (bya son of GALILEO)

1st Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1), Cheltenham

Mystical Power (byGALILEO)

1stTop Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1), Aintree

Dancing City (bya son of GALILEO)

1st Sefton Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1), Aintree

Order OfSt George (GALILEO) is already sire ofthree 4YO point-to-pointwinners from hisfirst crop!

Montjeu’s influence in the winter game is old news, of course, but there was a breakthrough last week for the reputation of Coolmore’s other great son of Sadler’s Wells, Galileo, as a National Hunt sire of sires. Seven of his sons got on the festival scoresheet this year

Martin Stevens, Good Morning Bloodstock, 18th March