Wednesday, January 29, 2025
QUEALLYSPECIAL
Rocky’s Howya seals amemorable week for Declan Queally with victory at Cragmore, ridden by the handler’s son and namesake Reports, pages 4-5
DEREK O’CONNOR
‘Josh Williamson and Harry Swan up in racing but they have to make reputations and deal with being co their famous fathers’ Page 2
have e o
DONCASTER ON SATURDAY
NFO
OCUS SUE O’GORMAN
‘We put in agallop three years ago and then went full-time at it. Nowweare flattothe mat’
Thehandler and hunt secretary talks about her growing success and her work with the Wexford Foxhounds Page 3
Yorkshire Rose Mares’ Hurdle (Grade 2) 1st JETARA FAIRYHOUSE ON SATURDAY
Solerina Mares Novice Hurdle (Grade 3) 1st AURORA VEGA 2nd Dream On Baby PUNCHESTOWN YESTERDAY
Mares Maiden Hurdle 1st MAUGHREEN
WALK PARKIN THE QUALITY RACEMARES
DerekO’Connor Straight to thePoint Training schemesfor youngriders canbring newnames to thefore
IT’Salwaysgood to see people involved in thepoint-to-point world making amarkona bigger stageand Declan Queally’sWaterfordyard made headlines with adouble on Thyestes dayatGowranlast Thursday.
Thestable providedthe bumper winner at FairyhouseonSaturday and roundedoff the weekingreat stylewhen Rocky’sHowya earnedhis passage to Cheltenham by winning the open at Cragmore on Sunday.
Rocky’sDiamond, who rana huge race when thirdbehind Home By The Lee at Leopardstown at Christmas,was an impressivewinner of the Grade 2GalmoyHurdle.He’s only afive-year-old and is alovely long-termprospect.
Neither Rocky’sDiamond nor bumper winnersCarrigmoorna Beechand I’ll Sort That raninpoints However, allthree advertised the abilityofthe father-and-sonteamto produce young jumpingtalent. They areverymuch partofthe point-to-pointcommunity. Declan jnrhad an amazingstrike-rateinthe saddle lastseason, partneringten winnersfrom16rides.Heisedging towardsthe 250-winner mark in points after winningonRocky’s HowyaonSunday.
It washis firstrideofthe new season and asignificantone, because it showed that Rocky’s Howyaisbacknearthe top of his formafter finishingfourthbehind Con’sRoc in themaidenhunter chaseatLimericklastmonth
Thosewho read my column last weekwillknowIwas impressed by Con’sRoc and Terence O’Brien, another trainer whoserunnershave beendoingextremely well under rules lately, shouldn’t be too disappointedbythis defeat.
Therewas abig gapinexperience between thetwo.Con’sRoc was havingonly the fifth startofhis career,while the winner was recordinghis ninth point-to-point successand alsohas had20 racecourseappearances
It wasa good battle,and Con’sRoc should be better for the experience. Rocky’sHowya missed alllast season, butlet’s notforgethewas the outstandingpointer of the 2022-23 season, whichheended with a victoryoverIts On TheLine at Ballindenisk
Seeinghorsesofsuchquality in openraces provides alot of entertainmentfor regularfollowers, and therewas agood race in this category at the EastDownmeetingat TyrellaonSaturday. Victorywentto the StuartCrawford-trained Carnfunnock, afour-time track winner who hasthe makingsof another good addition to thehunter chaseranks
Thenew generation of ridersgot amongthe winnersatTyrella.Young SamHamiltonrodeadouble for his grandfather Brian. He took the mares’ maiden on Camlin Park,a daughter of Affinisea,and gave YewtreeHill agood patient ride to takeawinners’event.
YewtreeHill ranfourtimes in points early in his career without showing much.Hewas then sent eventing, with Samridinghim in competition.
‘Theyare very much part of the point-topoint community andDeclan jnrhad an amazing strike-rateinthe saddle lastseason’
Josh Williamson rode the Cian Collins-trainedCaptain Ptowin the five-year-old geldings maiden,his fifth winner of the season, givinghim aleadofone over Bertie Finn in the race for the under-21 championship
Josh’s father Norman, one of the best riders ever to come outofthe Irish point-to-pointfield,rode18 winnersintwo seasons in the late 1980s,whichincludedaspell riding for the greatPat Hogan.
Theseyoung menhavegrown up in racingand obviouslythat gives them advantageswhen they’re startingout.Atthe same time,they have to make their ownreputations, and alsodealwiththe fact –as happens in almostall sports at some time or another –that people are often goingtocomparethem with a famous parent.
More mature now, he returnedtothe point-topointfield with asecond place at Kirkistown in November,then gave Samhis firstwin in an older-horses maiden for novice riders at Tattersalls Farm
He seems an ideal horsetogiveraceridingexperience to Sam, whocan also benefit from the advice and supportof his father,Brian jnr, one of the top amateur riders in Ireland in his day and twice regional champion on the northern point-to-pointcircuit
On the same father-and-sontopic,
Josh alsohas agreat racing pedigreeonhis mother’s side as she isamember of theHydefamily. His great-grandfather TimHydewon the 1939 Grand National on Workman and the 1946 Cheltenham Gold Cup on Prince Regent, andhis grandfather Timmywas asuccessful professional jockeybeforebecoming one of the biggestnames in the bloodstockworld.
This is the sort of tradition that is so importanttoIrish jump racing, as you cansee with so many families involved for generations.Another example at the momentisJosh’s cousin, HarrySwan, whohas ridden three winners in points this season and 14 in total, as well as riding around 60 winnersunder rules.
That canalsobring acertain amountofpressure, so there’s sometimes adownside too. Like all young riders,theyneed race-riding experience to develop their skills
While many of thetop names in oursport have hadthe advantage of comingfromaracingbackground, many others have climbed the ladder without ahistoryoffamily involvement, by sheer hard work, dedicationand,ofcourse, natural talent.
Oneofthe most importantthings for the futureofpoint-to-pointingis that we should have suitable training programmes for young riders, whatever background theymay come from.Withany luck, family traditions will not die out, butatthe same time we need to make surethat new names cancome to the fore.
CAROLINE NORRIS (RACINGPOST.COM/PHOTOS)
Rocky’sDiamond (right)lands the Grade2 Galmoy Hurdle to kick off adouble forDeclan Queally’syard at Gowran last Thursday
IN FOCUS
Hunt secretary SueO’Gorman (below)talks abouther growing success as a handlerand the effort behind making apoint
OUR first winner thisseason was the nice five-yearold mare Forcetoreckonwith at CurraghmoreinOctober
She wasbredbyher then owner,our neighbourAndy English,who sent herhereto be broken as athree-year-old Shefinishedsecond on her debutasa four-year-old but she wasjusta bitweak and backwardsowegaveher a break.Bythe time she was ready to runagain lastspring the ground wasagainst her,so we gave her the summer to come around again.
Shemade £30,000 at the Tattersalls Cheltenham November salesafter herwin Andy wasverypatient with her and we were delighted. Itook outmyhandler’s licence in 2013 to run the mare Duplicate Daughter.She wonand then we bred from her.Ihad a gapinmy licence then from 2016 until renewingitfor the 2022-23 season as we hadn’t anything to runourselves, although we hadafew shares in horses in Sean Doyle’syard.
‘Wesoldthe cows in Octoberand nowweare full time at thehorses’
sold them as stores. We ended up havingtokeepa few.
My dad alsoowned afew racehorsesonthe trackover the years,the likes of Dabiroun, who wasintraining with Paul Nolan, andSnowy Morning, who waswithWillie Mullins
When Irenewed my licence, we wonwithone of Duplicate Daughter’soffspring, Speranza Wilde on herdebutatTyrella, before sellingher at the Tattersalls Cheltenham Sale Therewerealwayshorses hereathome,mydad Donal O’Gorman boughtfoals and
NEWS AND VIEWS
Imet my husbandPatrick O’Sullivan 15 yearsago at Paul Nolan’s yard.Hewas ajockey at the time and Imet him through visitingthe yard with my dad. Patrickisfrom Kerrybut endedup movingto Wexford. Patrickthen went workingfor Sean Doyle in Ballindaggin and Iwentthereto ride out. That’s when we gotintothe point-to-point scene
We then startedtodoour ownfew from home in the afternoons.Weput in agallop threeyears ago, then went fulltime
Nowwe’re flattothe mat. We have 30 horsesin, mostly breakers and pre-trainers Around ten of thoseare our owntorun in point-to-points
After my leavingcertI did a psychologydegree. I’manonly child and Ihad to make the decision to have agoat workinginpsychologyor come home to the family farm. Idecided to come back home to farm; we hada dairy herdhereatthe time as well as dabblinginthe horses.
My dad retired just last year, and we sold the cows in October. We arenow full time at the horses
Things aregoingwelland I can’t complain. We arelucky whereweare in Wexfordas thereare so many horses around the county.
Howeverthereare not many
people doingwhat we’re doing. Youhavethe big-time trainers and mostofthem train their ownpointers. It’s sucha bigadvantage if you have your horsepre-trainedbeforegoing to atrainer
We do alot with ourhorses and when theyget to atrainer, theyare perhapsonly eightto 12 weeks off arun at that stage Alot of ourownershave bred their horses themselves or boughtthem as foals.They send them to us as two-yearolds and we do abit with them then bringthem backinas early three-year-olds and do a bit morebeforeletting them have their summer break
When theycome backin theyare ready to rock on. We do mostofthe ridingout at home ourselvesand then use some of the locallads to school or ride work for us in the afternoons
Igot involved in the Wexford Foxhounds through my parents. Both my parents hunted and it wasthrough the hunt club that theymet when theywereteenagers They hunted as kids and I wasbroughtuphuntingtoo.I became acommitteemember of the hunt lastyear when I waselected as secretary.
My mamBrigid is hunt secretaryfor the autumn
point-to-pointheldat Knockmullen HouseinNew Ross andItookoveras secretaryfor the spring meetingatBallinaboola
My role as hunt secretary involves organisationof sponsors,preparing the race card andall theadvertising that goesalong with that. In addition,Iorganisethe racedayvolunteers and ensure all the vets,ambulances, doctorsand sound engineer arebooked, alongwith facilities such as theportaloos and marquees
Ialsosendout complimentarytickets to all the landownerswhoselandwe hunt over duringthe year
We have afantastic bighunt club that’s well runwith a supercommittee. Thetwo point-to-points we hold each year areour biggest fundraisers
Fundingisabig thingfor hunts. We getsomefunding from HRI, butwithout that and runningour twopoint-topoints each year we would struggle,especiallywith insurancebeingsoexpensive forhunts.It’simportant that we cankeepthat level of fundingorevenincreaseit. We do what we canto promote ourpoint-to-points by erecting signsand advertising. It would be nice to attract morenon-racingfolk to ourpoints.For €10, it’s good value for agreat dayout We arebusythis week settingupthe course at Ballinaboola.Wehavebeen usingthesefieldsfor afew years nowand it’s only a matter of markingout the courseand getting the fences up without causingdamageto the landowner’s fields. Ourvolunteers aregreat at settingupruns smoothly. We hostone of the firstfour-yearold contests of the spring season on Sunday. It’s the first in the county, so we arereally lookingforward to racing. Racingstarts with the fouryear-old maiden at 1.00.
SUE O’GORMAN WASTALKING TO DEBBIE McCRELLIS
Doyle’sFrenchforay rewarded by Klondikestrike
THE appearance of Frenchbred horses in the winner’s enclosureatIrish point-topointfixtures is not anew phenomenon. With agrowing number of importsfeaturing at the storesales eachsummer it is no surprisetheyare making their presence felt
Unlikemanyhandlerswhose purchasesare limitedtothe sales ringsatGoffs and Tattersalls,Donnchadh Doyle is buyinghorses directfrom France
That tactic bore fruit with Klondike, who scored at the second time of askingat CragmoreonSunday
Ason of Group2winner Bathyrhon, the Harasdela
Hetraie stallion’smostnotable offspringontheseshoresare the Willie Mullins pairBunting and Batman Girac, whoboth contestedGrade 1juvenile hurdles lastseason.
Doyle’s approach means he is responsible for all four sons of Bathyrhon to have featured in the Irish point-to-pointfield, while Eoin Seymour raceda daughter of the French stallion lastseason.
Doyle’s results have been encouraging. FrereD’Armes finishedsecond in an Oldcastle maiden in 2021, apositionthat Valgrand and Patriotik matched in 2023,beforeK londike became his firstwinner in this sphere last weekend.
That hasgiven Doyleahead st ar ta sn oo ff sp ri ng of Bathyrhon featuredatanIrish or British store sale until last summer,when his first setof storestobeoffered in this market were snapped up by well-knownnames such as ColinBowe, JamesKenny, Ab bie O’Co nno r, Patr ic k Turley, RobJames and Jim O’Neill.
Dungarvan blown over to this Saturday Lastweekend’s actionwas reducedtoasingle card on each dayafter the Lismore HarrierscardinDungarvan fell to the stormy weather An inspection hadtaken
plac ea tD un ga rv an on Saturday, when thegoingwas mainly yielding. However, heavyrainthroughout the second half of the dayleftparts of the course unraceable and the decision wasmade to cancel the fixture that evening. Thankfully, it wasswiftly rescheduledfor Saturday, with theoriginal 87 entries standing. Thepostponementled to last Sunday’ssolecardinCragmore receivingaboost,with58 runnerstakingtothe trackat the Limerickvenue,agood turnout from 89 initial entries Bellharbour promises dayout to remember ThestartofFebruaryiskeenly
awaited by point-to-point supporters as it marksthe start of anew year of four-year-old maidens
As is customary,Ballinaboola andBellharbour arethe venues to hostthe firstraces in that division in 2025, with the Ballinaboolarace over the shorter two-and-a-half-mile tr ip and theBellharbour maiden contestedoverthe traditionalpoint-to-point distance of three miles
Whilethat openingfouryear-old maiden will be the highlightofthe card at the County Clarevenue,the organisingcommitteeare pullingout all the stops to ensureitwillbe aday to rememberfor all the
family, whether the yare passionateracing supporters, or once-a-year racegoers
Thelistofactivities on the dayincludes adog show, pony rides,face painting, ahorseshoe-makingdemonstration, a kids’jumping zone,funfair, and an appearance by theLiam McCarthy Cupwon by the Clarehurlers last year
Therewillalsobecoverage from Leopardstown of daytwo of the DublinRacingFestival, while racegoers at Ballyvodock on the same afternoon will also not missany of the action from Foxrock, as the Leopardstown races will be shownonabig screen at theCarrigtwohill and PigeonHill races
Eoghain Ward
Theteamsetting up Ballinaboolafor thefirst timein2010: (fromleft) JohnRoberts (chairman), MichaelRedmond,Padraig English,MartinMarshall,BrigidO’Gorman, Mark Roberts, JamesPower
SEASON’S LEADERS
EAST DOWN AT TYRELLA SATURDAY
Joiner Hamilton dovetails snugly with grandad Brian for first pointing double
IT WAS a day to remember on home turf for Sam Hamilton when the Downpatrick firstyear-apprentice joiner rode the first double of his career
The 17-year-old rider had his first winner at Tattersalls last month, doubling his tally when teaming up with Camlin Park, trained by his grandfather Brian, in the G Curran & Co Accountants five-year-old mares’ maiden.
Produced from off the lead, the Affinisea-sired mare, who was placed on her debut at Loughanmore last year, quickly asserted once striking the front off the home be nd and galloped clear to beat Castlegore by ten lengths
“She won very well, jumped clas s th e whol e way and missed only one or two; other than that she was brilliant and kept galloping right to the line,” the winning rider said.
It wa s a sec ond family
Star performance Carnfunnock took advantage of a dream run up the inside of rivals to gain his first victory in just under two years
success that completed his double when Yewtree Hill, a Kalanisi gelding owned and trained by his grandfather, sprang a surprise to land the James Armstrong Auctioneers and Valuers winners-of-three.
The eight-year-old had opened his account three years after making his competitive debut when winning at Tattersalls in December, but his task was simplified when Jim The Wolf’s bid for his third victory ended at the second-last.
Yewtree Hill still had five lengths to make up on the pacesetting Bold Fury at that point, but he ran down his rival
to win going away by a length
“He’s such a simple horse and has been in brilliant form,” Hamilton said. “I know him so well and he picked up effortlessly when I asked him and stayed on to the line That’s my third winner and he’s a great fun horse for me.”
Cian Collins supplemented a Fairyhouse double on the same day by adding the Dennison JCB five-year-old geldings’ maiden with Captain P
The Jet Away gelding cost his trainer €12,000 at the 2023 Goffs Arkle sale and returned to the pr omis e of his Dromahane debut by beating Following Orders by a length and a half
“That was my first time sitting on him and he did it well, he jumped very well,” Josh Williamson said. “He’d had a couple of runs, so the bit of experience definitely helped him get around here. He felt a
bit flat out going across the back the final time but when a horse came to my girth he picked up again.”
The favourite Doctors Hill, who cost €240,000 at the 2023 Tattersalls Ireland sale, could manage only third in that ma iden, bu t his ha ndler
Caroline McCaldin did not leave the Down venue empty
handed as she landed The Mo rnin g St ar Ba r older geldings’ maiden for the second straight year. Expectations were high for Hurlershill, a horse owned by her father Wilson Dennison, as the six-year-old was last seen chasing home the dual Grade 2 winner Handstands in a Moira maiden in October 2023.
Rocky’s Howya returns to his best for
ROCKY’S HOWYA ended a week to remember for the Declan Queally stable when he returned to winning ways in the Stonehall Harriers open under the handler’s son and namesake.
The Dungarvan-based team landed their first Grade 2 success three days earlier when Rocky’s Diamond won the Galmoy Hurdle, one of two successes for the stable on the high-profile Thyestes card at Gowran, the other being Carrigmoorna Beech, before also collecting the bumper at Fairyhouse with I’ll Sort That Sporting the Galmoy Hurdlewinning colours of Margaret Kiely, Rocky’s Howya reversed
Star performance
Rocky’s Howya avenged his Limerick defeat by Con’s Roc with a top-class effort from the front
for m wi th his Li mer ic k conqueror Con’s Roc, to gain his first victory since wrapping up the 2023 champion pointto-pointer title with a win at Ballindenisk in May 2023.
“I think he’s a better horse going left-handed,” Queally jnr said, having guided the nineyear-old to his ninth victory. “He was very good today. He’s not been 100 per cent wound up yet this season and hasn’t had many races as we are
wo rk in g bac k fr om the Hunters’ in Cheltenham.”
Claire O’Connell was the only handler to leave the Limerick venue with a double, and Glenmalure Lady was first to strike for the Meath trainer in the Kerry Farm and Homestore older mares’ maiden.
Br ed by th e wi nn in g ha ndle r’s hu sb an d Pa ul O’Sullivan, the six-year-old sta rt ed her ca re er wi th Donnchadh Doyle, however, she could beat only one rival home from a combined three starts for that Wexford handler last season.
Returning to O’Connell during the summer break, a career-best effort at Tattersalls
in December offered promise, and she fulfilled that under Barry O’Neill to beat Enda Bolger’s newcomer Honey Be Good by two and a half lengths
“We bred this mare, sold her as a foal and then bought her back,” O’Connell said.
“She’s a half-sister to Glen Ava, who won plenty for us and, like her, she’s just taken time to come to herself and is improving with age.”
O’Neill, the joint-reigning champion rider, rode the €180,000 newcomer Occupational Force for his boss Colin Bowe in the Macro Stainless Li mer ick older ge ldi ng s’ maiden, but the favourite could ma na ge onl y se ve nt h as
Patsy’s Pride sprang a big surprise under Johnny Barry to complete a first double for O’Connell.
The Califet six-year-old had been pulled up in previous two outings but he left those noncompletions behind when beating Beg To Differ by six lengths.
“We can’t believe it as we don’t have many winners, so to get a double is unbelievable It’ll shorten the road home to Meath anyway,” O’Connell said.
“He’s another homebred from the same family as our earlier winner He’s just been a big, backward, weak horse who has taken time Hopefully, he’ll
Rob James heads the riders’ table with 21 winners
Absent since then, and making his first appearance for the McCaldin team, he was two and a half lengths too good for the Tinahely third Squire Ohara.
“He’s a keen sort but Noel McParlan let him go on and he seemed to settle and do it well from there,” McCaldin said.
“He’ll go to a winners’ next and hopefully he’ll settle better
That was his first run in a long time, so he was fresh to be out.”
In the Cosy Roof open Carnfunnock backed up a pleasing first outing in open company at Portrush where he chased home the reigning champion pointer Winged Leader Ridden patiently behind previous course winner Dento Des Obeaux, the eight-year-old
was still only in fourth entering the home straight.
However, Stephen Connor’s mount swept through on the inside of his rivals at the last to beat Milan Forth by a length with Dento Des Obeaux half a length back in third. The stewards demoted recent Clonmel hunter chase winner Milan Forth to third having
revenge on Con’s Roc
head on to our local point-topoint in the Folly for a winners’ race.”
Miss Doyenne enhanced the pe rf or ma nce of Afan cy Getaway on her debut, as having trailed in 23 lengths behind that impressive winner at Dromahane at the end of December, Miss Doyenne won the Eleanor Gammell five-yearold mares’ maiden for the father-and-son team of Roger and Michael McGrath.
“She’s a lovely mare who has improved a lot since her first run,” McGrath snr said after the one-and-three-quarter length victory.
“Her work at home has improved a ton since her first
run and she knew her job a lot more today.”
Donnchadh Doyle sent out his fifth winner of the month when Klondike, his only runner on the card, landed the He ineken and Jo sh’s Ba r Ask ea ton fiv e-y ear -old geldings’ maiden.
Sourced in France from the Arqana sales ring as a twoye ar-old , the Ba th yr hon gelding was sent to the front by Rob James at the second-last from where he proved to be two and a half lengths too strong for newcomer Apache Tribe.
“D onn ch adh’s ho rs es weren’t right when this lad had his first run in the spring,”
James said. “I fancied him today as he’d been going well at home He did it all professionally and is a chaser in the making.”
The margin of victory was a lot more comfor table for Nibbles, as the eight-year-old returned to the promising form which had enabled him to run well in a Clonmel hunter chase a year ago, running out the 16- len gt h wi nner of the Gouldings Fertiliser winner-ofone A fir st su cc es s of the campaign for rider-handler Tu rl ou gh O’ Co nn or, t he Dromahane maiden winner will head back to the track for handicap chases
decided he caused interference to Dento Des Obeaux, and placed that one second.
“He got a cut and infection after Portrush so he had time off,” Connor said, “but he was probably short of work, so to be able to go and do that today was even more impressive and he should improve for it
“E ve ry one is pr oba bly
thinking of a big hunter chase for him, but he’s got to win another open first, so that’ll be the next goal.”
Th e connections of Ballerina Boxer were unable to sell the seven-year-old for £1,000 when she was offered at an online auction in November, but she repaid their decision to switch her to the pointing fields by scooping first prize of €1,225 in the Bluegrass and Dengie older mares’ maiden.
Meath rider Matthew Love brought his mount to the front early in the home straight and she was able to repel the challenge of Lucy Jordan by a head to supply Dublin handler William Harvey with his first winner of the season.
Captain P leads on the way to claiming the five-year-old geldings’ maiden for rider Josh Williamson
Michael McGrath scores on Miss Doyenne for his father Roger in the five-year-old mares’ maiden
GEORGE’S LAD, bred by Grove View Stud Ltd., won the maiden hurdle for Emma Lavelle and will now be aimed at the £80,000 EBF Final at Sandown on March 8th
t“still on the bridle when leading on the run-in and looks an exciting prospect as a staying novice”
tSTORMING GEORGE, bred by Neville Reid, won the bumper first time out for trainer/owner Neil King
“could hardly have made a better start and his already impressive performance can be marked up as he enjoyed anything but a clear passage when making his effort”
Other exciting bumper winners from his first crop include FUTURE PROSPECT (Willie Mullins), SPINNINGAYARN (Gordon Elliott) and SEO LINN (Paddy Twomey)
The Colin Bowe-trained THE GREAT NUDIE ran out a 7-length winner of the Novice Hurdle at Punchestown to record her third win over obstacles.
t“She loved the heavy ground, she jumped great and the way she has won there, you’d have to believe blacktype is well within her reach.” Sean Flanagan, jockey
Epsom Derby winner from the MONTJEU sireline.