Wednesday,November 19,2025
STONE ROLLING
Barry Stone returns from injury with apower-packed victory on Tendoo (left) at Turtulla Reports, pages 4-5
‘Smaller yards have to survive too and major handicaps offer the best chance of picking up decent prize-money’ Page 2
DEREK O’CONNOR IN FOCUS RICHARD BUSHER
‘I bought Bravemansgame for €5,000.There were 30 foals running around the field but he stood out straight away’ The successful multi-tasker is on ahigh after Dawn Of Light tops the Cheltenham sale Page 3
HIGHLAND CRYSTAL (3f), bred by Bobby & Robert McCarthy,impressed for Gordon Elliott and Robcour
DerekO’Connor Straight to thePoint
O’Brien’sTroytownvictory a boostfor grassroots stables
WE’VE come along waysince the days whenIrish pointto-points were all aboutproducing the stayingchasers of thefuture.
Thesedays, you canexpecttosee anythingfromfuturetop-class bumper horses and two-mile novice hurdlers to futurewinners of the top stayingraces over fences or hurdles, and moreorlessevery class of race in between.
Still, Iknowthat alot of followers of oursport geta real kickout of seeingex-pointersinaction in the season’smostvaluable handicap chases.Manywerethrilledtosee AnswerToKayfgiveabattling performance to winNavan’s Troytown ChaseonSundayfor Terence O’Brien and rider John Shinnick.
Terence is an ambassador for the grassroots of the game in Cork. He hasmadeanamefor himself on the trackthankstobig handicap wins with the likes of Farrells Fancy, She’s GotGrit, Ballyadam Approach, Lakemilan and Whiskeywealth,who all racedinpoints for different trainers at the beginningoftheir careers
He hasmaintainedhis linkswith the point-to-pointworld all through From arelativelyfew runners,hehas hadatleast one winner in every season since 2007-08 when he became active. He hadanexcellent campaign in 2023-24 when saddling sevenwinners with a35per cent strike-rate.
He boughtAnswerToKayfatthe DerbySalein2019 for €35,000, below the median and averageprice.The KayfTarageldinghas suffered from soundness issues,but Terence was patientwith him beforeand after he finishedsecond on his debutina maiden at KnockmullenHouse as a six-year-old. He hasrun only14 times on the track, winningfourand beingplaced four times,aswellas finishingfourthtoBetter Days Ahead in the2024 Martin PipeHurdle. Sunday’swin came only twoweeks after Lonesome Boatmanwon the CorkNational for Sean Allen. Anineyear-oldgeldingbyJukebox Jury, LonesomeBoatman didn’t begin his career in points.However,itwas point-to-pointingthat shaped his
career.After showing early promise for Martin Brassilinbumpers and maiden hurdles,hehad asetback and missed twoyears beforegetting a second chanceinSean’sFermoyyard. He didn’t getoff to an ideal start, fallingatthe lastatLisronaghwhen in contention. He made up forthat by winningthree in arow under DarraghAllen at Lingstown,Tallow and Castlelands.Bythe end of the 2023-24 season, he hadimproved to alevel that sawhim finish thirdto ItsOnThe Line in the championship hunter chaseatPunchestown At thebeginningof lastyearheseemed to losehis waya little
‘Terence had an excellent campaign in 2023-24witha
He fell in ahunterchase at Clonmel and wastailedoff at Naas.Hewas sent backtopoint-to-pointing and a winatLisronaghplayedits partin restoringhis confidence
He raninafew good novice races and then rana fine race to finish fourth in abig handicap over four miles at the Punchestown festival. After his summer break,hehad arun at Listowelbeforeproducinga career-besttowin the three-and-ahalf-mile Corkrace in greatstyle.
place moneyinGraded races and occasionally in bighandicaps, such as when second to Ga Lawinthe Paddy PowerGold Cupin2022.
Lastseason, he struggledabit after beatingMinella Indo in aGrade 3 chaseatPunchestown.The Robcour operation let him go to the sales after he finishedsecond to Vital Island over the cross-countrycourseatthe Punchestown festival.
beat horses from Ireland’s strongest stables in three of the major handicapsofthe winter season. It’s good for racingthat racegoers areseeingthis variety, and it’s good for us in the point-to-pointworld to knowweare producingdurable staying chasers with ahighlevel of ability.
Lastmonth’s Munster National at Limerick was alsowon by ahorse with apoint-to-point background, French Dynamite,who spentmostofhis career with Mouse Morrisafter winning amaiden for Donnchadh Doyleat Traleeasafour-year-old. He wasalwaysa smart horse, winningseven racesfor Mouseaswellaspickingupalot of
Eric McNamara boughthim for €40,000 and gotalmosthalf of that backwhenhefinishedthirdtothe
Willie Mullins-trainedSpanish Harlem in theKerry National. That sethim up perfectly for the big Limerickhandicap in which he beat his shorter-pricedstablemate Weveallbeencaught, another who began his career with apointwin.
Thesethree horses have different stories involvingups and downs.
AnswerToKayfand Lonesome Boatmanare both aged nineand French Dynamite is ayear older,yet heretheyare,goingstrongand producingsmart performances to
Everyone appreciatesand admires howthe bigstables have raised the standard. Thepurchasingpower their bigownersbring to the sales is vital for the health of the business model of ourpoint-to-point producers
At the same time,the smaller and medium-sized racingyards have to survivetoo.Withthe Gradedraces almostcompletelysewnup, the majorhandicaps offerthe best chance of pickingupdecentprizemoney.
Thecompetition is not getting any easier,but theserecentwins will give amorale boostnot just in the yards involved butinsimilar stables all around the country.
PATRICK McCANN (RACINGPOST.COM/PHOTOS)
Answer To Kayf (right) rewardsthe patience of Terence O’Brienwith aglorious successinthe Troytown Chase
IN FOCUS
Ex-fisherman
RichardBusher (below) revealshow it feelstohavean unforgettable haul
THE last couple of weeks have been unbelievable.I trainedmyfirst point-to-point winner with my very first runner as ahandler when Dawn Of Lightwon impressively by 20 lengths at Quakerstown,and afew days later she walked into the ring at the Tattersalls Cheltenham Sale and made £370,000. Iknewshe would make money, butnothinglikethat It’s somethingI’llnever forget Idon’t knowifI’llevertop it.
Gettingmarried wasone of the great memories too I can’t leave that out, butthis is right up therewithanythingthat’s ever happenedtome.
Ihadn’t plannedto sell her at first. Iwas goingtokeepher and breed from her,but after she wonso well at Quakerstown Ithoughtit mightbe worthrolling the dice
Josh Berryrode her;he’sa good young ladand did agreat job.Josh comes in to do some of the schoolingand ride work for me
‘Totrain
my firstwinnerand sell thetop lotinsidea week is somethingyou can’tscript’
rang the manwho ownedthe mare, BernardStoffel, to see if he would sell her,sowedid the deal, and Ibroughther backwith me
To train my firstwinner and then sell the top lot in the space of aweekissomething you can’tscript.I’m really lookingforward to watching her progressonthe track. She will stay in Ireland, although I’mnot sure who will train her yet.
Istill have herdam hereat home.I boughther after buyingBravemansgame becauseI liked him so much.I
AND VIEWS
She’sbeena brilliantmare. I have an Australia yearlingout of her,anAuthorized foal,and she’s backinfoal to Martinborough now. There’s plenty to be excitedabout Ileftschool at 15 and worked with half-bred horses for awhile beforeheadingout to sea. Ifishedfor 25 or 30 years. Horses were alwaysinthe background, butittook me alongtime to come back to them properly. Even while I wasstill fishing, Ihad begun buyingthe oddfoal.
My father,alsoRichard,was acontractor who later trained acouple of horsesathome and even hada winner.I supposewithout realisingit I’ve endedupwalkingthe same path that he started. Back then, Iwas only dabbling, butIboughtafew that worked out. Monkfish was one.Igave€12,500 for him as afoal at Tattersalls.Hewas a big, powerful typewitha proper pedigree
Youbuy plenty likethat, and mostwon’t turn outtobe anything. Isold him to
CormacDoyle for €36,000, and he went on to winthe Grade 1 AlbertBartlettand Brown AdvisoryatCheltenham for Willie Mullins and Rich Ricci. IboughtBravemansgame in France as afoal for €5,000. Therewereabout 30 foals runningaround thefield, but he stood outtomestraight away.Heturnedout to be another top-classhorse Horses like him and Monkfish really helped put Busher Bloodstock on the map. Of course,for everystar thereare plenty who don’t reach thoseheights,but that’s the natureofthe game
More recently, Spindleberry kept the rungoing. Shewon the Grade 1Gold Cupat Fairyhouseinthe spring for her thirdwin over fences after
takinga Listed race earlier in theseason. Shewas alovely mare to have in the draft,and it givesyou confidence to see them go on and do it
When Istarted,Iprobably hadfourorfivehorses around me.Now thereare about70, between mares, foals and youngstock.I’vebuiltitupbit by bit. Ibuy only twoorthree foals ayear nowbut I’ve 16 or 17 broodmaresand Ibreed mostofwhat Ihave.
Iusually sell them as threeyear-olds.Overtime, I’ve movedmoretowards breeding than buying, tryingtoimprove the quality eachyear so the whole system keeps getting stronger
I’ve twoplaces herein Wexford. Ballycogley, where the stores, yearlings,two-year-
oldsand broodmaresare kept, and Tacumshane,wherethe three-year-olds and point-topointers aretrained.
Over the summer,my neighbour DarraghBerry and I putina small gallop.That was what pushedmetotakeout thehandler’s licence.Upto then, I’dbeensending my pointers to BennyWalsh.
IalwayssaidI’d love to train afew myself.Bennyusedto tell me it wasatough job. Then, when Iwas talking aboutsending amarebackto him for this season, he said, ‘Whydon’t you train her yourself nowthat you’vethe track? She’squiet enough,and youcould even ride her yourself.’ So Idid, and that mare wasDawnOfLight.
It’s abusyset-up between
the training, the young horses and the broodmares. My wife Elaine does all the feeding when I’mgone early or back late
My daughters,Ellie and Dinah,helpout too. Dinah keeps the paperworkstraight, which is abig job.Myson Adam worked with me for a few years beforegoingoff to do somethingelse.
We’relucky with wherewe are. Thebeach is only five minutes away,and we useit regularly for theyoung horses Thegallopissharedbetween Darraghand me and it works well, although thereare never enough hours in the day.
Trainingbringsa different sort of pressure. Youlie awake wonderinghow they’ll runor whether you’ve done enough Butthere’spressureinevery partofthis job.Whether you’re tryingtosella horseorget one ready to win, you’realways thinkingahead. Still, thegoalisalwaysthe same.Toproduce nice young horses and sell them on, mostly as three-year-olds,and hope they go on to bigger things It’s agreat lifewhen things aregoingwell, butitcan test you too. You’dneed to love it to stay in it.Ithink I’ve just replacedone kind of danger with another,goingfromrough seas to the sales ring and the racetrack, butit’severy bitas exciting.
RICHARD BUSHER WAS TALKING TO DEBBIE McCRELLIS
Snow Is In TheSky is welcomed by Murphy
WILLIEMURPHY wasthe toast of Turtulla on Sundaywhen he saddled awelcome four-yearold winner with Snow Is In The Sky.
TheCarlowhandler last sent outa winner in this ultracompetitive agegroup at Dromahane almost 12 years agoinDecember2013 when Velocity Boywas successful in a four-year-old geldings’maiden at the County Corkvenue That sonofWesterner went on to contesttwo Grade1races andreach apeak rating of 134 for Murphy, who hadadded reason to celebratethis latest four-year-old success,given that Snow Is In TheSky is a daughter of Snow Sky, who has stood at his Ballycurragh Stud
in County Carlow since2016.
Adual Group2 winner for Sir MichaelStouteand placedin the St LegeratDoncaster,Snow Skyisnow the sireoffivefouryear-old maiden winners since 2022, with the Doyle brothers, in particular,doingwell with his young offspring. Do nn ch ad h, Se an and Cormachaveall saddled a four-year-old maiden winner by Snow Sky, butMurphywill have gainedparticular satisfaction from matching that feat with Snow Is In TheSky. Shemay be theonlyfouryear-old for whomhehas a hunter certificatebut,having producedthe likes of the Cheltenham Festival winner Global Cit iz en, he is we ll up to
producing anicetypeand he looks to have done so again
Mags bagstop-tag nag
Therewas averystrongstartto the new season of point-topoint salesonFriday, with the Ta tt er sa lls Che lten ha m November sale producing a bumper setofreturns
Horses with recentIrish point-to-pointformdominated the catalogue and contributed significantlytothe positive figuresonthe night.
In all, 35 point-to-pointers were tradedfor atotal of £3.7 million, which producedan averageprice of £95,949. That total spend wasup morethan£800,000 on the correspondingsalelastyear,
with the inclusion of an additional four horses
Toppingthe listwas Richard Busher’sDawnOfLight, a daughter of Mahler who had wonher maiden only six days earlier at Quakerstown.The 20-length winner wasknocked down to bloodstockagent Mags O’Toole for £370,000.
Dawn Of Lightwas one of two four-year-old mares’ maiden winners to surpassthe £250,000 mark,withDenis Murphy’s Lo ugh anmor ew inner , Eskylady, realising£260,000. ThedaughterofMaxios was bought by agentDan Astbury, owner Martin Gowing and trainer MickeyBowen
SixIrish pointers sold for morethan£200,000, that group
includedapairofhorses who contested thefour-year-old gel din gs ’m aiden at Dromahane on the Sunday precedingthe sale.
Colin Bowe’s runner-up Soul Asylumwill nowjoin Gordon Elliottafter tradinghands for £280,000, while the final-fence faller StickToThe Boardgoes into training with Paul Nicholls after Sean Doyle’s CrystalOcean geldingwentfor £215,000.
In addition to those six £200,000 sellers, therewerea further four point-to-pointers who sold forasix-figure sum beneath that £200,000 mark to ensurevendorshad astrong starttothe season, ahead of sales at Newburyand Goresbridge in the weekstocome
Kirkistown rescheduled for this Saturday Saturday’sfixture at Kirkistown wasa rare autumn point-topointcardtofall to the weather TheNorth Down Foxhounds fixture hadtobecancelled on Fridayafter heavier than forecastrainfallleftthe track unfit for racing. Th em ee tin gh as bee n rescheduledfor this Saturday, November 22, with the initial 60 entries standing. No autumn point-to-point hasbeencancelledafter the entrystagesince Kirkistown in 2023, and all in the sportwill be hopingthe remainingthree weekends beforethe Christmas break proceedasplanned.
Dawn Of Lighttopped the Tattersalls Cheltenham Sale at £370,000 aweekafter her 20-length victoryatQuakerstown
HEALYRACING
WICKLOW AT TINAHELY SUNDAY
Galon has Aintree Foxhunters’ target after fine victory
DU AL Gr ade 1 wi nne r
Conflated failed to beat a rival home on an underwhelming return to action in the DW O’Toole and Co Solicitors and C&D Recycling Kavanagh open which was dominated by Galon De Vauzelle
A four-time winner under rules, Philip Rothwell’s nineyear-old had been denied by only a neck at Peppards Castle on his first outing in open company, but he stepped forward from that for a popular local success.
Sent to the front at the bottom of the home straight by Phidelma Elvin, who had finished third at Cheltenham 24 hours earlier on her first ride in Britain, Galon De Vauzelle powered 13 lengths clear of the mare Between Waters.
“He ran in the Sefton at Aintree last year and the main aim is to try to get him back for the Foxhunters’ there this season,” said Elvin.
“I’m so lucky that my mother Emma, who is here today, my father John, who is unfortunately working in Navan, and Philip [Rothwell] all own him together and got him for me to go to Aintree.”
Long Road brought up a swift double for Rothwell –whose gallop runs parallel to the home straight here at Fair wood Park – when he belatedly opened his account in the Kavanagh Tarmac Ltd and T Swaine & Sons Ltd older maiden for novice riders
Having gone clos e in a hunter chase at Tramore in April, the six-year-old failed to make much of an impression in four subsequent outings under rules, but after a promising return to the pointing fields at Peppards Castle three weeks earlier, he went one place better by beating Occupational Force by eight lengths
The victory sealed a first double for local rider Barry Walsh after he had earlier teamed up with his father John’s Singing Casamento to land the John Cullen Grain Ltd and Golden Anchor mares’ maiden.
The five-year-old, who was also bred by the winning rider’s brother Aaron, had finished tailed off in two outings over hurdles during the summer, but the pair found an ideal opportunity for her first outing between the flags. Just two
Star performance
Galon De Vauzelle powered clear of four capable opponents on the climb over the final two fences to suggest he should remain a big player in open company
ri va ls line d up and the daughter of Casamento proved three and a half lengths too good for Coppola
Aidan Fitzgerald’s stable has hit a purple patch in recent weeks with the victor y of Jonzac in the McDonnell Properties and Millhouse Veterinary five- and six-year-old geldings’ maiden a third for his Cobajay Stables in as many weekends
A €62,000 Goffs Arkle Sale pu rc ha se, bu t be at en 53 lengths when making his debut in a bumper for Willie Mullins, the twice-placed French-bred overcame an error at the second-last to beat Gainsville by three-quarters of a length as the pair left their rivals trailing 28 lengths adrift
“We made the running the first two days and it just didn’t work,” Fitzgerald said. “He did everything right bar win. Today we said we’d take a lead.
“He was very weak as a fouryear-old and has just taken time, but he’s a horse who is going to win plenty of races.”
Kamille Au Kanada registered the widest winning margin on the card with her 16-length victory in the Gain Eq uine Nu tr ition ma re s’ winners-of-two.
Th e Fr ench- br ed ha d opened her account by a similarly wide margin on her debut at Stowlin in May, but after missing a subsequent sa le s en ga ge me nt, the daughter of Tiger Groom do ubl ed he r ta lly for Donnchadh Doyle when Rob James guided her to a defeat of the re cen t Qu ak ers to wn maiden winner Port And Brandy.
“Rob said she missed one or two and wasn’t really enjoying it, but she was full of running straightening up for home,” Doyle said. “She might be happier going back the other way around, but she has plenty of ability and won well last season too.
“She was unlucky going to the sales when she went lame on me, but she’ll get sold now.”
The Coral Gold Cup Sale by Goffs four-year-old maiden was strongly run thanks to the pace-setting efforts of the favourite Lanzhou.
That ensured many of the nine runners had little left to offer climbing the hill to the final fence, but that was not the ca se for Mi ck Mu rp hy ’s newcomer Make Me Smile, as the Frankie Murphy-ridden son of Feel Like Dancing powered 14 lengths clear of L’Aurige
Four-time track winner Galon De Vauzelle lands an impressive 13-length victory under Phidelma Elvin
Jonzac extends handler Aidan Fitzgerald’s run of good form with victory in the fiveand six-year-old geldings’ maiden
GOLDEN VALE AT TURTULLA SUNDAY
O’Byrne’s racing life celebrated as Ambition lands 100th victory
LIFETIME AMBITION came out on top in a mouthwatering clash between a pair of top point-to-pointers in the Phil Purcell Engineering and OMC Technologies open for novice riders
The ten-year-old proved much too strong for the recordbreaking Winged Leader, dominating from the third-last fence under the in-form Emily Costello
Pat Doyle’s charge, who was sp or ti ng the si lks of the partnership between Linda Mulcahy and the late Roger O’Byrne, eased to a 12-length victor y over Jetoile, who snatched second from Winged Leader on the run-in.
“It’s fabulous and sure it would have been wonderful if Roddy was here to see it,” Doyle said. “He was a wonderful man and a great friend He had 99 winners, and this is his 100th, and I was hoping I’d get it in Curraghmore for him. Out of his 99 winners, I’ve trained 33, a third of them
“Lifetime Ambition is a wonderful horse and he won’t appear again until Bellharbour, where he’ll have one run before going back to Aintree again.”
The son of Kapgarde knows his way around Aintree after finishing third in last season’s Foxhunters’. He unseated Sean O’Keeffe in the 2023 Grand National and was fourth in the 2022 Grand Sefton.
Sam Curling’s Sharp As Glass was the only finisher in the Coral Gold Cup Sale by Goffs five-year-old geldings’ maiden.
Placed in a Killarney bumper earlier in the year, the grey was being strongly challenged by Michael Griffin’s Jambon when that rival fell at the last, leaving Derek O’Connor to return alone on Sharp As Glass
There was further success for Tipperary connections when Lucy Wang landed the Gain Eq uine Nu tr it ion and Centenary Co-Op five-year-oldand-upwards mares’ maiden.
Trained in Fethard by Josh Halley, the five-year-old is a rare offspring of Mastercraftsman to compete in the pointing fields and, being out of a half-sister to the 2003 Railway Stakes winner Antonius Pius, her largely Flatba sed pedi gr ee wa s no hindrance as she beat Morning Express by four lengths to give Aine Connolly her first success in the saddle
Morning Express’s trainer
Alice Curran fared better in the INHSC maiden, a race confined to handlers who had not
Star performance
Tendoo was strongly challenged over the final three fences but the Masked Marvel gelding was comfortably on top by the line and clocked a fast time
saddled more than ten winners, when her Rilo Tang dominated
Last seen finishing third in a Cork maiden hurdle in April as a 150-1 shot, the Shirocco-sired six-y ear-ol d wa s a mu ch shorter price for his initial outing between the flags, as favourite backers collected their winnings after his eightlength defeat of Rongoright under Adam Feeney
“Jum pi ng is one of his strongest attributes and he could be aimed at a winners’ race in the next couple of weeks,” Curran said.
“My father bred this horse and Morning Express, who was a runner-up earlier on the card, so it’s been a great day for us.”
Jo in t re ig nin g eas ter n ch am pion Ba rr y St one belatedly kicked off his season when gu iding Tendoo to vict or y in the Ba llinr oe Transport and Local Trainers
fo ur -y ear-old ge ldin gs ’ maiden.
Out of action since his shoulder popped out while riding a finish at Downpatrick in mid-July, the Cleariestown ri der wa st ed little time returning to the winner ’s enclosure as the three-length defeat of Order On Time was his first ride back.
“He’s a nice horse who was bought for €60,000 at the Derby Sale and was running an excellent race at Curraghmore last season before falling two out,” said Mikey Fogarty, representing his brother Jonathan.
“Sean Doyle’s horse also ran a cracker to be second, so I thin k th es e are t wo ni ce horses.”
Snow Is In The Sky showed the benefit of her introductory effort at Ballindenisk in May when landing the Ryan’s Tarmacadam and Noel Ryan’s Pub four-year-old mares’ maiden.
Willie Murphy’s charge avoided much of the early ex chan ge s, wi th Pa Ki ng content to ride the daughter of Snow Sky with patience
Once striking the front at the sec ond-last, she quic kly opened up an advantage over her rivals to beat Louange by ten lengths
Sam Curling’s Sharp As Glass comes home unchallenged under Derek O’Connor in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden
Lucy Wang provides 19-year-old Aine Connolly with her first career success in the mares’ maiden
ESKYLADY,bred by Hugh McDaid,a comfortable winner at Loughanmore last month for Denis Paul Murphy sold to DanAstbury/Martin Gowing/ Mickey Bowen Racing for £260,000
CELESTIAL TUNE,bred by Sean Gorman, won the Listed Mares Bumper forTom Cooper Last year’s winner was subsequent Grade 2 winner SEO LINN (Order Of St George).
Others from his first Coolmore NH 4YO crop include unbeaten bumper and hurdle winner I’M SLIPPY (Robert Tyner), unbeaten bumper winners MIDNIGHTJET (SamCurling) and KATIOSQUEEN (Dan Skelton), Monday’s Maiden Hurdle winner at Leicester HOTTOGO (Nigel Twiston-Davies) etc.
Sire of more Graded winners at the Cheltenham Festival than any other active GB & IRE sire bar WALK IN THE PARK & YEATS