Wednesday, November 12, 2025
WEEKLY
FIRE STARTER
Knockmullen House winner Grey Balls Of Fire gives handler Dominic Sheehy afirst career success Reports, pages 4-5
DEREK O’CONNOR
‘Sam Curling has his team in brilliant form and Ididn’thave to move amuscle on Wonderwall on his reappearance at Dromahane’ Page 2
IN FOCUS BARRYJONES
‘There was never any question about what Iwas going to do in life; it was always going to be horses’ The Kirkistown clerk of the course talksabout his role as amainstay of the North Down point-to-point Page 3
Racecourse double last Friday
5YO HAYMEADOW,bredbyWilliam Codd, won ahurdle by 13 lengths for Lucinda Russell & Michael Scudamore
4YO FORTHFACTOR,bredbyJoe O’Donoghue, won abumper by 6lengths for Dan Skelton under apenalty
DerekO’Connor Straight to thePoint Shades of Bravemansgameas
Dawn Of Lightgetsoff themark
WE’REapproaching the closingstages for the current four-year-old crop, so it’s good to report that we’restill seeingplentyof runners and competitiveracing. Last weekend’s six races in the agegroup attracted 60 runners,none with fewer than eightrunners
Thethree mares’ races produced winners noteworthyfor pedigreeas well as performance.Iwas impressed by Dawn Of Light, who wonby20 lengths at Quakerstown,ridden by Josh Berryfor her Wexford-based breeder-owner-trainer Richard Busher
TheMahler filly is ahalf-sister to the top-classBravemansgame,who wassoldbyBusher to the Doyle brothers as astoreand wona Lingstownmaiden for Donnchadh DoylebeforejoiningPaulNicholls.
TheHarleyDunne-trainedEmiko, winner of the mares’ maiden at Dromahane,isbyWalk In ThePark outofBloomingQuick, amarewho racedonly once buthas aclaim to fame as ahalf-sister to the great Moscow Flyer.
Shehas producedseveral winners, includingthis one’s Jessica Harrington-trainedsisterChanging TheRules.Her half-sisterbyYeats, FeelingThe Love,won four races for Moscow Flyer’strainer Queens Charm, an Aidan Fitzgerald-trainednewcomer by Kapgarde, showed agood attitude to land the mares’ maiden at Knockmullen House. A€25,000 purchase at the Goffs Arkle sale,she is outofahalf-sister to La BagueAu Roi, winner of twoGrade 1novice chases for Warren Greatrex
Thefour-year-old geldings’ maiden at Dromahane also produceda stoutdebutperformance RedAcres Max, ridden by HarryGoff for his father Mick, just held the challenge of the Colin Bowe-trained Soul Asylum by ahead. Thewinner is ahalf-brother by Maxios to Red AcresGeorgie,a 15-length winner for Mick at Ballindenisk in the spring and subsequently boughtbyTony Mullins Jardin De Tunis,who ranlastonce lastseason, showed that he hasdone well since then with agoodwin for Matthew Flynn O’Connorinthe fouryear-old geldings maiden at
Knockmullen House. Ka Mate Du Brivet alsoshowed the benefit of experience gainedlastseason when winningatQuakerstown for Maike Magnusson.
This wasthe firstsuccessofthe season for Maikewith only her second runner.She wasjoinedon the scoresheet by twowomen riders. ThePat Doyle-trainedMagic Sadler gave Emily Costello her thirdwinner of the season by takingthe ladies’ open, and Nicole Lockhead Anderson, successful on LonghouseStar at Rathcannon the previous Sunday,
‘I
won bumperson Only By Night at Limerick and Navanand felt she wasalovely long-termprospect’
doubledher scorewith asix-length winonDepalmafor SamCurlingin the novice riders’event.
As Imentioned lastweek, Samhas his team in brilliantform, andIwas thrilledtolink up again with Wonderwall when last year’s St James’s Place winner made his reappearance at Dromahane. Ididn’t really have to move a muscle on him.Wetookthe lead just after twoout and cruised to acosy winfromBartlemyBoy.The runner-up is adecent horse in his ownright. He wonatLiscarroll and Dromahane in the spring and completed ahat-trick with ahunter chase winatKillarney. Lastseason, Irode Wonderwall to his two wins in the autumn campaign,and Samsenthim to Cheltenhamwithout aprep-run. It wasabrilliant trainingperformance, though of courseitwasn’t agood result for me,with RobJames in the saddle,asIwentdownbyaneckon ItsOnThe Line
Robwas ridingatKnockmullen HouseonSunday. He enjoyedan easysuccessonthe Eamonn DoyletrainedKenzoDes Bruyeres in the winners of one,backingupawidemargin winatUmmaHouse
Another County Wexfordman with the name James,well-knownbreeder TommyJames,was alsointhe news this week, since he bred Colonel Harry, winner of Saturday’sGrand Sefton over the Grand National fences at Aintree.
He’s ahorse Irememberwellfrom his early days in point-to-points.He hadagood reputation and was favourite firsttime outatDamma Houseataround this time of the year in 2021.
He builtupabig lead in the final mileand waswell in command whentakinganunlucky fall at the last.Inthe new year,hewon at Ballyvodock, leadingmostofthe wayunder Pa King. Irode the runner-upand wasimpressed by howeasilyhewon despite makinga couple of mistakesinthe latter part of therace.
He made afinestartacrossthe water andwon the Towton the
season beforelast. Lastwinter’s campaign wascut shortbyafall at Cheltenham on NewYear’sDay Jamie Snowden producedhim in top shapefor his return.
Back at home,OnlyByNight, another ex-pointerwho hadjumping issues early on, gave asmart performance to winthe Grade 3 BarberstownCastle Chaseovertwo miles at Naas
Afaller on her firsttwo starts in points,the mare gother act together for trainer Gary Murphywhen winningatLingstown on her third start. Shehad one runfor Jonjo O’Neillbeforecomingbackto Ireland to join Gavin Cromwell. I wonbumpers on her at Limerick and Navanand felt she wasalovelylongtermprospect.
Gavinhas done abrilliantjob with her.She took to chasingwell last season, winning aGrade 2atCork and aListedrace at Exeter.She has suffered heronly defeats when secondtoJango Baie in the Arkle and when no match for Majborough at Punchestown.She’s one of the mostexcitingchasingmares around.
EmilyCostellorecordedher thirdsuccess of theseason on Magic Sadler in the ladies’openatQuakerstown
BarryJones (below)
shares his thoughts on his role at Kirkistown
IHAVE beenclerkofthe courseatKirkistown for aboutseven years, although,tobehonest, I’ve beenhelping outat the NorthDownpoint-topointfor as long as Ican remember.
Raymond Mitchell, one of the masters,was clerkbefore me,then Terence McKeag took over for awhile,and when they finishedupI just sort of fell into it
My family hasalwaysbeen involved with the hunt, and I’ve grownupwith point-topointingbeingpartoflife
My dad Barneytrained, so I wasalwaysaround horses. My mumElizabeth isn’t horseyat all, butshe helps with catering at ourmeetings
Dad, my brother Philip and sisterCaroline help me with settingupthe course along with my wife Lesley’s family. It’s aproperfamily effort.
Therewas neverreally any question aboutwhat Iwas goingtodoinlife. It was alwaysgoingtobehorses.
At 16 IwenttoJohn Oxx’s, whereI stayed for ayear before joiningChristy Rochefor aboutnineyears.Irodemy first winner at Navanfor CharlieSwaninabumperand rode apoint-to-pointwinner for Russell McNabb at Tyrella. Altogether,Irodeinaround 100 races as an amateur.The dayIrodemyfirstwinner at Navanstands outthe most, as I alsorodeone for Christy that day, whichwas beaten in a very closefinish
AND VIEWS
‘You can’tcontrol everything, youjustdoyourbest, have good people around youand hope fora successful day’
Ithoroughly enjoyed my time at the Curraghand gainedgreat experience.I was involved with some good horses,such as multiple Grade 1winner Like-A-Butterflyand rode outdual Derbywinner Sinndar as atwo-yearold.
WhenChristy startedtowind down,I decidedto leave the Curraghand come home
Dadwas findingit harder to get people to ride out, so it just made senseto move back. Whenthe chance came to takeoverthe hunting at NorthDownabout 12 years ago, Ijumped at it I’mahuntsman and my wife Lesleyismasterofthe hunt. On ahuntingday I’mout with the hounds,while Lesleyrides as field master and keeps the rest of the field with her.She’s the one that gets the blame if anythinggoeswrong, so that worksout well for me
We do thehorsestogether in the mornings beforeLesley heads to work We’re up around six most mornings, and if youdon’t getstarted early you’rechasingyourtail all day.
Betweenthe hunters and hounds there’s plenty to keep me going We’vearound 26 hounds in total and they either exerciseon the road or runinthe paddocksbeside the kennels
We liveatthe kennels in Comberand our daughters,Lacey,Faith and Paige, areverymuch part of it Laceyis13now and mad keen on riding, Faith’s abit younger and cantakeitor leave it,while Paigehas no interest. They love the pointto-pointand canbetrustedto putnumbers outonfences or do jobs around the track.
We’veabrilliant committee and Icouldn’t do it without
them.JackAndersonand Yvonne Pearsonare twoofthe mainstays, andHugh Ferguson is another greathelp. Between them and all the family we manage well.
Thecoursebelongs to Dusty Mullan, alocal builderand contractor,and his sonBarry looks after it now. They couldn’t be better to deal with Theground covers about50 acres;it’sfirst-class land that drains well and alwaysholds up beautifully.
Work at Kirkistownstarts months beforerace day. When the grassgets itslastcut, usually August or September, we begin setting outthe fences and putting up rails in case the weather turns wet. That way we’renot drivingoverthe track when it’s soft
From then on we’rethere everyother weekend doinga bit at atime,and by the final weekit’sjustwebbing, painting andtidying up
We still useour ownfences; alot of huntsrentthem now, butwe’ve alwayshad ours.We replacedthe fronts afew years agowithartificial ones,which
makesiteasier to keep them fresh and tidy.
Theweather is alwaysthe biggestchallenge.We’re lucky because Kirkistown drains well, butyou’realways watchingthe forecast and hopingfor agood day.
We’veone fence left to paint and abit of webbingtofinish, then we’ll be backThursday for the 48-hour inspection and to getthe marqueeup. After that we’reall setfor the first race at 12.30pm
Point-to-pointinghas changed alot over the years.
Thesedaysit’sall aboutthe young horses.Yearsago,you mighthavehad three divides inthe older races,but now you’relucky to geta handful of runners.The increaseinprizemoneyfor the older horseshas helped alittle,but it’s still tough
We’ve also lost some fixtures on the northern circuit,which means fewer opportunities for riders,trainers and especially smallerpeople in the game
It’s abig loss for the hunts too,not beingabletoprovide schoolingafter racing. We’re
fortunateour meetingis still goingstrong, thanks to the people behind it who do it purely for the love of it
It’s not always easy getting a crowd, beingsofar out, but everyone involved gives it theirall.That’s what keeps point-to-pointingalive;not bigmoney, just genuine enthusiasm
My dad alwayssaidtome when Iwas youngand wanting to ride everything, “Ifyou’re goodenough, you’ll getyour winners.”
He wasright. Youcan’t force things.You just keep working, and what’s meantfor you won’t pass youby. It’s the same with huntingand pointto-pointing. Youcan’t control everything. Youjustdoyourbest, have goodpeople around you and hopefor asafeand successful day.
ComeSaturday, that’s allI’ll behoping for:nocasualties,a goodcrowd and dryweather That’s successasfar as I’m concerned.
Dromahanestarts72-strong spring fixture list
THEtraditional post-Christmas point-to-point at Dromahane will open a72-fixture listfor the 2025-26 springterm.
Thereare few changesinthe earlyweeks,with nine fixtures inJanuary, beforethe four-yearold maiden season beginsat Ballinaboola andBellharbour on the firstday of February
TheKildare Foxhounds fixture at Punchestown moves forward to February8,which opens up aSaturdaydateinthe eastern region in the second half of the month for the Laois Foxhounds at the only new coursethis season.
Traditionally associated with racingatStradballyinApril and May, the Laois Foxhounds will move to anew right-handed courseatBallygogue House near Ballacolla on February 21.
Marchremains the busiest mon th wi th 19 fix tu re s, including the return of the Iveagh Foxhounds
Th ey ha ve not he ld a
point-to-pointsince 2022,but will return to the fold on March 14 at Loughbrickland, where theylast racedin1994.
Meanwhile,the Gain Mares’ Finaltakes place at Ballynoe on Sunday, March22.
Easter week falls at the start of April, with Ballyknock openingthe festiveracing on April1,withLoughanmore, Curraghmoreand Quakerstown remainingonthe Easter bank holidayweekend.
TheKilkennyFoxhounds return to Tullaherin on April 19, after it waswell received for its inauguralfixture lastseason, while the thirdand finalfixture of the season at Lisronaghis scheduledfor April26, amonth later than recentyears. Twelvefixtureshavebeen scheduled for the final month of the season, including atrio on the finalweekend, May23 and 24.
Thetwo-day Ballingarry fixture is joinedbyInchydoney
for afinal daydouble-header to bringthe curtain down on the 2025-26 season
Wonderwall linedupfor hunter chasetitle defence
Wonder wall wasthe star attraction at Dromahane where the St James’sPlaceFestival Hunter Chasewinner made a successful return in the open. Although the margin of victorywas only twoand ahalf lengths,with just six lengths covering the firstfivehorses home,the nine-year-old was value for considerably more than the winningmargin.
Histrainer,Sam Curling, indicated theson of Yeats would continuehis path back to the CheltenhamFestival via Bellharbour on February1
In some respects,that will mirrorthe two-runapproach the Tipperaryhandler tooken route to Cheltenhamlast season. However, 12 months agoWonderwall hadmade an
tL ou ghrea on October 13 andDammaHouse on November 3.
This time,his reappearance at Dromahanetook placeonly aweekafter the date of his final open runlastseason.
This weekend’s Dromahane victorycontinued the strong starttothe season for Curling, who is already on the 11-winner mark,afigure that puts him within twoofequallinghis 2023-24 total after just six weekends of racing.
Cheltenham saleattracts 43 pointers
Severaloflastweekend’s maiden winnerswereswiftly addedtothe catalogue for the firstauction of point-topointersthis season In all,43point-to-pointers are scheduled to go under the hammer in the Cheltenham sales ring after racingonFriday. That includes all bar one of last weekend’s sixwinners in the four-year-oldage group and, unsurprisingly,itisfouryear-old point-to-pointerswho ma ke up the bu lk of the catalogue,featuring 36 fouryear-oldswitharecentpointto-pointrun.
BARRYJONES WASTALKING TO DEBBIE McCRELLIS
earlierstarttohis season, wi nnin ga
Emiko, winner of thefour-year-old mares’ maiden at Dromahane will be one of 43 point-to-pointers forsaleatCheltenham
HEALYRACING
Wonderwall back in the groove for festival defence
WONDERWALL, the horse who denied Derek O’Connor victory by a neck in a thrilling finish to last season’s Festival Hunters’ Chase at Cheltenham, repaid the 11-time champion rider with a sliver of compensation here.
Ireland’s most successful point-to-point rider is chasing his 1,400th wi nner and Wonderwall left him needing only 22 more after landing the Mick Malone’s Sports Bar Open
The pair came home two and a half lengths clear of Bartlemy Boy – last season’s Killarney hunter chase winner – after coasting into the lead at the second-last.
The veteran King Alex hinted he could be winning again soon by returning a further half a length behind in third.
Sam Curling, who is leading this season’s handlers’ table with 11 winners, is likely to save Wonderwall for the February meeting at Bellharbour before sending the nine-year-old Yeats gelding back to Cheltenham to defend his hunter chase title “He’d been working well and his work has nearly been better
Star performance
yards, but held on to beat Soul Asylum by a head.
this year,” Curling said of the John O’Leary-owned winner “He’s a class horse and will now go to Belharbour before going back to Cheltenham.”
Th e Tatt ersa lls Ireland
November NH Sale four-yearold geldings’ maiden attracted 12 runners, the biggest field of the day. Severa l runners arrived with lofty reputations, and Harry Goff steered his father Mick’s debutant Red Acres Max to a narrow success over Soul Asylum Red Acres Max, a son of Maxios and a half-brother to the mare Red Acres Georgie whom Goff saddled to beat the geldings in a Ballindenisk fouryear-old maiden in 2024, was always prominent and there was little to separate him from Stick To The Board when Sean Doyle’s mount fell at the last.
Red Acres Max drifted lefthanded inside the final 75
Red Acres Max, from the same family as Ballyburn and owned by the handler’s wife, Catriona, and Mullinavat breeder Tommy Frisby, will now be offered for sale
There was another family su cce ss in th e Ch ar le s J O’Connor Solicitors, Fergus O’ Con no r an d Eu ge ne O’Sullivan adjacent hunts maiden when Finian Maguire won on The Mall Man, owned by his mother Sabrina.
The Alex Ott-trained winner made smooth progress from two out before beating stablemate and warm favourite The Happy Huntsman, ridden by the handler’s son Andrew Burke Ott, by one and a half lengths
The winning rider’s father, Adrian Maguire, suggested The Mall Man would likely contest a winners’ race
Former amateur rider Pat Crowley sent out Tap Tap Shamie to make light of an absence of more than 18 months in the Dairygold and Pegus Horse Feeds five-yearold geldings’ maiden.
The half-brother to Noel Meade’s Kilbeggan Midlands National winner Idas Boy fulfilled the promise of his debut sevent behind Ma Jacks Hill here in April 2024 by leading from four out under Johnny Barry to beat the closing Cool Consul by four lengths.
“He had a lovely run here as a four-year-old but he just took time to mature. He could now be sold,” Crowley said of Tap Tap Shamie, owned by Stephen
WEXFORD AT KNOCKMULLEN HOUSE SUNDAY
Ahearne from Dungarvan.
There was plenty of drama in the Rathbarry and Glenview Studs four-year-old mares’ maiden with Kiltybo still holdin g the ca ll when unseating three out, leaving Arm’s Of An Angel to dispute the running before being carried out by a loose horse approaching the second-last.
That left Frankie Murphy with the relatively simple task of bringing home the Harley
Dunne-trained Emiko – whose dam is a sister to Moscow Flyer – 14 lengths clear of Fine Thing. Garrett Power sent out a winner with his first runner of the season when newcomer Nells Princess obliged under Eoin O’Brien in The Committee five-year-old mares’ maiden. The Shirocco-sired winner, owned by Patrick Casey from Mitchelstown, overcame a final-fence error to beat Lucky Valley by three lengths
O’Connor’s ‘baby’ starts to repay six-figure outlay
WEXFORD handler Matty
Flynn O’Connor will hope to cash in on the six-figure price his Jardin De Tunis cost at the store sales after winning the Ballywalter Bloodstock fouryear-old geldings’ maiden.
A bid of €110,000 had been required by Flynn O’Connor and fellow Wexford handler Jim O’Neill to buy the grey French-bred at last year’s Derby Sale, and after finishing a disappointing seventh on his debut at Fairyhouse in April, he proved a more competitive force on his second outing.
One of three horses holding claims coming to the final fence, Brian Lawless’ mount battled gamely to deny newcomer Rices Pool by a length
“He had one run last season, but he was a big baby and I shouldn’t have run him It was my own fault,” Flynn O’Connor said.
“He’s still a big baby and he’s
Star performance
going to improve again. When he hit the front he had a good look around him.”
Lawless doubled his tally half an hour later when Grey Balls Of Fire earned a first success for Glenealy handler Dominic Sheehy in the Nitrofert fiveyear-old geldings’ maiden.
The son of owner-breeder Maurice Sheehy was saddling only his fourth runner as the Jukebox Jury gelding made every inch of the running to beat northern raider Mackieshill by two and a half lengths
“It’s a long overdue win for this horse,” Sheehy said. “We’ll try to sell him now. We need to move a few on because it’s
usually just myself in the yard.”
“We have a yard full of lovely horses and there’s loads of potential there, so hopefully I can get it out of them.”
There was a further first-time success when 19-year-old
Bl ac kw at er ri der Ja mie McCarthy landed the Coolbawn Stables and Rayfield Stud older
geldings’ maiden for novice riders on Erigmoor
The seven-year-old had been runner-up twice since joining David O’Brien from Gordon Elliott, including at Damma House a week earlier
Showing no signs of illeffects for the quick return to action, he began to dominate
climbing towards the home straight, and by the line had nine lengths to spare over the long-time leader Mr Frawley.
“It’s been a long time coming with this horse,” McCarthy said I was looking forward to riding him and we fancied him coming here. I’m with Mick Goff and we have a few horses at home, so I’m busy enough.”
Colin Bowe had won the last two runnings of the Orhre O’Reilly Hyland Real Estate four-year-old mares’ maiden, but his hat-trick bid was foiled by Queens Charm, who was a length and a half too strong for Bowe’s Push Push
It was a second victory in seven days for rider Troy Walsh and trainer Aidan Fitzgerald, and the daughter of Crystal Ocean, who cost €25,000 at last year’s Goffs Arkle sale, will now be sold.
The Eamonn Doyle-trained Kenzo Des Bruyeres had
opened his account at Umma House by 22 lengths, and came close to matching that margin of victory when doubling his tally in the Cooney Furlong winners-of-one
The French-bred son of Kapgarde did come under pres su re al on g the bac k straight, but galloped relentlessly clear of his rivals under Rob James to beat Not Now Rodney by 18 lengths
Honey Come Quick had not seen competitive action for a full year, having finished second at Dromahane on the corresponding weekend last year
She was not inconvenienced by the lack of race fitness, however, as James Walsh’s mount came out best in a pr otr acte d ba tt le wi th long-time leader Pointe A Pitre by a length and a half The victory was the first of the season for Sean Osborne with his second
runner
Jardin De Tunis showed signs of inexperience when having to be led in at the start, but that proved no barrier to success
Red Acres Max dug deep to make a winning debut in a race likely to produce several fine prospects
Wonderwall, winner of last season’s Festival Hunter Chase at Cheltenham, returns with an impressive victory under Derek O’Connor
Kenzo Des Bruyeres followed his 22-length victory at Umma House with an 18-length success for handler Eamonn Doyle
COUNTY CLARE AT QUAKERSTOWN SATURDAY
Magic Sadler conjures impressive win
MAGIC SADLER showed again he is a force to be reckoned with when beating four-time Grade 1 winner Fakir D’Oudairies in the Connolly’s Red Mills ladies open.
Pat Doyle’s seven-year-old had dominated at Tattersalls a fortnight ago under Emily Costello – who was again in the saddle – and the son of Clovis Du Berlais demonstrated he is a very strong stayer by powering clear of his former 167-rated rival by six lengths
“We just told Emily to jump out and go a good, even gallop,” Doyle said. “He jumps and gallops and he’s improved from last year He’s grown and got even stronger, and he handled that ground well.
“He’s still a maiden on the track so we’ll probably go for a maiden hunter chase.”
Star performance
Ka Mate Du Brivet slipped his rivals at the top of the track in a well-executed front-running ride by Johnny Barry
Richard Busher may be better known on the sales circuit as a consignor of talented, unraced National Hunt horses, but he made a successful foray into training when Dawn Of Light, the first horse he has saddled in pointing, won the Tattersalls Cheltenham November Sale and Rapid Form four-year-old mares’ maiden.
Dawn Of Light is a half-sister to triple Grade 1 winner Bravemansgame and Busher had further reason to celebrate the victory of the daughter of Mahler as he also bred and
ow ns the ba y ma re Sh e showed a smart turn of foot under Josh Berry to beat After The Ball by 20 lengths
“We were expecting that. We didn’t come up here for the scenery,” Busher said. “She was sick last year when we ran her We scoped her after and she was wrong, so we put her out straight away.”
There was a first success of the season for Wexford-based Harley Dunne when Port And Brandy landed the Custy Constructions five-year-oldand-upwards mares’ maiden.
Vi ctor y wa s for tu nat e, however, because Kayla’s Friend was three lengths clear at the fin al fence when unseating Johnny Barry, leaving Port And Brandy, under Frankie Murphy, to beat Kilbrin Rose by two and a half lengths.
The winner, an Affinisea mare, bought by her handler and Grand National-winning jockey David Mullins for €12,000, had been placed at Tattersalls on her return to action two weeks earlier.
Sam Curling’s good run of for m con tin ue d when Depalma won the Islandavanna Bloodstock and INHSC older geldings’ maiden for novice riders.
The six-year-old bounced back from a disappointing run at Damma House six days earlier, when pulled up after going off favourite, to show a gutsy attitude under Nicole Lockhead Anderson by overhauling Daytime Friend in the straight to win by six lengths
“Sam has been a massive supporter of mine,” Lockhead Anderson said. “It’s the first
racing yard I’ve worked in, so all the credit has to go to him He keeps putting me up on good horses, so thanks to him.”
The Skehanagh stables team ca me wi thin a len gth of doubling their tally in the Bu rren In n five-year-old geldings’ maiden, but their Fr ench-b re d new comer Kildare D’Irlande found his market rival Boultydoolin too strong on the run-in.
Brian McMahon’s son of Diamond Boy brought the strongest form into the race after his third at Curraghmore in April and duly went two places better in the hands of former southern champion Darragh Allen.
Manatee sired his first fouryear-old winner when Ka Mate Du Brivet put his experience to good use in the Tattersalls
Ireland November NH Sale and JSM Utility Services Ltd fouryear-old geldings’ maiden. No match for Jet To Monte Carlo when second on his debut in Ballynoe last March, Maike Magnussen’s charge recaptured his early promise after a below-par effort at Dromahane subsequently as Johnny Barry guided him to a six-length victory over Marie Harding’s Oyster Cottage
“It’s my first winner in 24 years,” owner Martin Hastings said. “He was unsold in the sales so we bought him after that.
“He was second first time out last year and we went to Dromahane after that and got it all wrong. The ground was too dry and they went too fast. This is his ground and he’s a relentless galloper.”
Dawn Of Light scores by 20 lengths in the four-year-old mares’ maiden for handler Richard Busher
First crop 4YO QueensCharm,bred by PadraigHiggins & LarryMurphy,won the 4YO Mares Maiden first time out at Knockmullen House on Sunday for AidanFitzgerald
“To be honest we thought she wouldn’t be beat…I think he (Crystal Ocean) is a very good stallion, they’re very laid back, they keep training on and improving”
AidanFitzgerald on Racing'sInsideTrackTV
First Coolmore NH crop 4YO RedAcresMax,bred by TommyFrisby,won the 4YO Geldings Maiden first time out at Dromahane on Sunday for MichaelGoff