Wednesday,December 4, 2024
FIRST SERVE
Hold The Servedelivers an ace on his debut at Borris House to help Rob James to atreble Reports, pages4-5
‘David Christie has aspecia keep veteran horses fit, wel enthusiastic and he’s avery winner of the HRI award’ Pa
ala lla y a
IN F MIC
DEREK O’CONNOR FOCUS CHAEL KENNEALLY
‘My parents fought hard with me to do the Leaving Cert but unfortunately they lost that battle’
The aspiring rider has no regrets about career decisions that have taken him to Newmarket, Lambourn and back to Cork Page 3
DerekO’Connor Straight to thePoint
Flat influences to theforeasa reminder of sport’sspeedyside
ABUSY autumn campaign is nearly at an end and we’ll have a three-weekbreak after the comingweekend’s action at Boulta, Ballycrystal and Tattersalls Farm
Thepresent cycleoffour-year-olds hasproducedsmart performers from dayone lastwinter,and severallateappearingyoungstersare keepingup the standardasweapproach the final weeks of 2024.
Iwas at BorrisHouse on Sunday and wasimpressed by apairof Monbeg horses producedbythe Doylebrothers in the first tworaces Donnchadh saddledHeron In The Park to winthe mares’ race in great style. She’sahalf-sister to several winners, includingGloryAnd Fortune,who wonthe Betfair Hurdle for Tom Lacey at Newbury in 2022. HeronInThe Park’s dam wassired by JimBolger’sIrish Derbywinner St Jovite,although she wasout of a Strong Gale mare with astrong jumpingpedigree.
There’samix of Flat and jumping influenceinthe pedigreeofHold The Serve, aSeanDoyle-trained Jukebox Jury geldingwho completedadouble for RobJames in the first divisionof the four-year-old geldings’maiden.
Hisdam Bisoguet,byDefinite Article,isadaughter of atalented mare called Bilboa,who wasaround at the time Iwas startingmyriding career.Iremember her trouncing Azertyuiop in the bigjuvenile hurdle at Aintreeand she finishedthirdin the Champion Hurdle as afive-yearold.
Bilboa,who wonoveramile and a half on the Flat in France as athreeyear-old, hadsomesuccess at stud too,although she didn’t manage to produce anythingasgood as she was. Best of her progenywas The West’s Awake, who wonsix races for Edward O’Grady.
Youngpoint-to-pointwinners with some Flat influence, likeboth Heron In TheParkand Hold TheServe,are often attractivefor potentialbuyers because there’senoughspeed involved to suggest the progenycan do well over twomiles and sufficient staminatothink longertrips arenot outofthe question.
As we know,it’snot an exact science.For instance,referring to Sunday’simpressive Fairyhouse
bumper winner Koktail Brut,Iwas interestedtohearGordon Elliottsay he hadmorepace than his halfbrother Gevrey,aMunsterNational winner who finishedsecond to IAm Maximusinthe 2023 Irish Grand National.
Koktail Brut wonapoint-to-point for PatTurleyatCastletown Geoghegan in Apriland made €250,000 at the Goffs Punchestown Sale
Oneofthe strengths of thepoint-topointsceneisthe fact that it’s a nurseryfor horses at the full rangeof distances. In additiontoKoktailBrut’s bumper win, Sunday’sFairyhouse card sawthe PatFahy-trainedHistory Of Fashion winthe staminatestofthe Porterstown Handicap Chase (3m5½f)almostexactly four years after winninga BorrisHouse maiden, and2022 Dromahane maiden winner CrokeParktakingthe Grade1 DrinmoreChase (2m4f) Fogarty walking tall TheGoffs Coral Gold Cupsaleat Newburywas abig success, with the
highlightprovided by Kindly Prince, the JonathanFogarty-trained LingstownwinnerboughtbyDavid Mullins for £320,000.
TheFogarty stable’s good runof formcontinuedwhen the Noel McParlan-ridden Walk Tall wonthe second division of the four-year-old geldings’maiden at Ballindenisk on Sunday. TheWalk In ThePark geldingisout of aYeats mare who is acloserelation to the brilliant Hurricane Fly.
SamCurling wasanother handler who hadsuccessinthe sales ring at the weekend. Theyard’sBoulta winner Real Quartz changed hands for £190,000 on Saturday.
Thenextday CosmosD’Ainay won the second division of the four-yearold geldings’maidenatBorris House.
Colin Bowe’s Quakerstown winner Suburban Legend fetched£160,000 at Newburyand thechampion handler saddledhis 19th winner of the season with aBorrisHouse successfor Jump Style,athirdwin on the card for RobJames.
Well done, David
Finally for this week, congratulations to David Christie who wonthe pointto-point awardatthe HRI ceremony on Monday.
David hadagreat 2023/24 season, with Winged Leader winningan amazingnine races in arow in the lastfew months of the campaign,becomingthe stable’s thirdchampion point-to-pointer in recentyears.
‘David
has aspecial skillinhis abilitytokeep veteranhorses fit, welland enthusiastic andhe’savery deserving winner of theHRI award’
In all, David wasresponsible for 19 open wins lastseason. Winged Leader haslookedasgood as ever in keepinguphis winningsequence in the autumn and he’s nowwithin shoutingdistance of the longstanding20th-century record held by the Bryce-Smith family’sStill William Igrewuphearing about the achievements of the greatPat Hoganwith horses such as Under Wayand Ah Whisht, and Iremember beingtold about Corryvreckan, who wonsomething like 30 races for Gus O’Brien. They were legendarynames in our sport.
Winged Leader haswon more races than anypointer duringmy career.David hasa specialskill in his ability to keep veteran horses fit, well and enthusiastic andhe’sa very deservingwinner of the HRI award.
Afterbad luck in hispreviousoutings,the SamCurling-trained Cosmos D’Ainaybounced back to landthe second division of the four-year-old geldings’maiden at BorrisHouse
Michael Kenneally (below) on taking his experience from Flat racing into point-to-pointing
I’M NOT from ahorsey background as my father is amechanicand my mother is asocial worker
Igot into ponies when Iwas aboutfourthrough aprimary school friend, Jill O’Gorman. I startedgoingovertothe O’Gormans after school and at weekends to ride their ponies and Iended up doingasmall bit of huntingwith the local UnitedHuntand some hunter trials,but wasnever much into showjumping.
WhenIwas about11I rememberwatchingaGold Cupwith Kauto Star and Denman; that’s when Ireally caughtthe racingbug.Iwas at my friend Paudie Harney’s houseand his mother brought us to the bookies and gave us moneytohaveabet.Iloved watching the racing, Iloved everythingabout it and Ijust wanted to be there.
WhenIwas 17, Iwentover to MichaelBell in Newmarket as an apprentice at Christmas time duringmyLeaving Cert year.Myparents foughthard with me to do the LeavingCert
NEWS AND VIEWS
‘The best bitofadviceI wasgiven waslistentwice as hard as youspeak’
butunfortunately theylost that battle
My very firstride wasa winner on ahorsecalled Kylladdie,anoutside ride that my agenthad gotmefor the trainer SteveGollings, at NewmarketinMay 2014. Iremember Ihad to push him from start to finish and he just gotupon the line for me That wasthe perfectstart, butI soon got an eye-opener that racingwas not an easy game; it took another six months beforeIrodemysecond winner
thereand Ilearnedanawful lot that standstometoday As time went on,the Flat game wasn’ttobeasmy weight went wrongvery quickly. Iwas in Britain for around fiveyearsbackand forth.
In all, Irodethree winners as an apprentice while at Mr Bell’s.Iwas probablyabit young and immaturebut I thoroughly enjoyed my time
Ialsodid astintwith Nicky Henderson. That’s whereImet my fiancee, Shannon. Iwas planningto takeout my conditional jockey’s licence,but when we were startingafamily, we decided to come backhome to Cork It took awhile to getgoing again when Ireturned home, and duringthe Covid outbreak Ilefthorsesaltogether and worked as an electrician for a couple of years
Iended up hatingthat. Whenthe manIworkedfor gave it up,Icame backto horses and thankfully things aregoingwell.
Ifeelthat the experience of ridingonthe Flat givesyou a morepolishedridingstyle Ridingonthe Flat is quite differenttoridinginpoints Youneed alot morebottle in points for astart. Everything happens very quickly when ridinginaFlatrace,whereas in the pointsyou have more time to think and make your decisions
Iowe alot to James Sheehan. He wasincredibly good to me growingupand gave me agreat grounding. He taughtmehow to ride racehorsesand Ican’tthank him enough
He broughtmeracingand I waslikea pimple on his side Everyone Ihavemet alongthe wayinthis industryhas been
goodtome. Thebestbit of advice Iwas ever given was that you have twoearsand one mouth for areason, listen twice as hard as youspeak
Currently, Idivide my week ridingout betweenfour differenttrainers.Iride outfor Denis Ahern in Dungourney. He’s aneighbour of mine and we getonverywell. I’ve known Denis alongtime. My two pointswinners this season have beenfor him and we have the same ideas when it comes to training.
Ialsoride outfor Josh Halley in Fethard, JohnnyHurleyin Middletown andColin
MotherwayinYoughal. I school plenty duringthe week for other trainers too Ihad my firstride in points in December2023 and rode my firstpoints winner on Can Daddy Dance in March2024.
Thereare almostten years betweenmyfirst winasan
apprentice and my firstpointto-pointwinner. Ifinishedlast season with three winners and it’s greatthat Ialreadyhave twopoints winners on the boardthis season.
Ialsohad atrack winner,in aqualifiedriders’handicap chasefor Colin Motherwayat Punchestown in October on Pebble Bleu.
It wasprobably the highlight in my racingcareersofar.She was18-1, butwefanciedher goingthere. It gave me agreat buzz to winatelevised race at one of the biggesttracks. It’s the bigdayslikethat which makesall thehardwork worthwhile Iamgettingmorerides and better establishedinthe pointto-pointingspherebut the long-termaim for me would be to train one day.
MICHAEL KENNEALLYWAS TALKING TO DEBBIEMcCRELLIS
EoghainWard
Christie caps memorableyearwithHRI award
DAVID CHRISTIEwon the point-to-pointcategory at the 2024 HRI awards ceremony held on Mondaynight at Dublin’sMansion House.
It wasayear to rememberfor the Fermanaghhandler after his Wi ng ed Le ader wa s crownedchampion point-topo in th or se ,h av in gp ut together awinning runofnine consecutivevictories from FarmacaffleyinFebruaryto Taylorstown in May.
Theten-year-old became the thirdhorseChristie hadtrained to winthe HRI prizeinthe last fiveyears,following Eddies Miracle in 2020 and Some Man in 2022.
Th at wi nnin gr un ha s continuedintothis season for Winged Leader,ashehas remained unbeaten in four startsinthe current autumn campaign
Hislatest victoryatMoig Southextended his 2024spree to 13 consecutivewins,and he could push that further if in action this weekend.
Hisvictories have seen him shoot up the all-time listofthe most successful point-topointers, his total of 26 victories leavinghim in sixth position, sixadrift of record-holder Still William Thosevictories forWinged
Leader contributed to his trainer’s totalof21winners last season, and Christie’s impact within the pointingfields was particularly evidentwhen six of the riders who collectedprizes at lastseason’s point-to-point awards,did so havingridden wi nners for him –B ar ry O’Neill, RobJames,Susie Doyle,Maxine O’Sullivan, Sh ane Cotter an dA lan O’Sullivan.
In collectingthe HRI award for the firsttime,Christie fendedoff tough competition from O’Neill, James Cotter and fellowtrainer EmmetMullins.
Fogarty’sgoldenspell rollsontoNewbury
Aw ee kt orem em be rf or JonathanFogarty concluded with the Wexfordhandler havingconsigned toplot at the Goffs Coral Gold Cupsale at NewburyonSaturday. Sixdaysearlier,his Gaynestown stud team hadsentout their firsthat-trickwith Jenny France,SineQua Nonand Kindly Prince,and it wasthe la tt er Fr ench- br ed wh o secured tophonours when David Mullins signed for the sonofGreat Pretender at £320,000.
He wasone of four Irish pointers to fetchsix-figure
sums,with SamCurling ’s Boulta winner Real Quartz jo in in gD an Sk elt on for £190,000, Paul Nichollswill no wt ra in Colin Bo we ’s Qu ak ers to wn wi nn er Suburban Legendafter he was bought for £165,000, and bloodstockagentGerry Hogan secured Jackpot Cauveliere. That followed the first sale of the season on Irish soil,when Go resbridg eturne dover €581,000, with Eamonn Doyle’s Milo Miller claiming topspot havingbeensold to Charles Byrnes and RichardDownes
for €62,000.
Theformer Ballyragget adjacentmaidenwinner had twicefinishedsecond this season in aDammaHouse winners’ race and apoint-topointbumperatFairyhouse.
On both occasions, Youlita finished immediatelybehind him,and Byrnesand Downes puttheir faith in that formby als os ec ur in gt he so no f Youmzain for €46,000.
Murphycelebrates CrokeParkGrade 1win Denis Murphy’sBallyboyyard
wascelebratingits latest Grade 1graduatelastweekend when CrokeParkbravely clungonto the BarOne RacingDrinmore Novice ChaseatFairyhouse.
Thesix-year-old hasalways beenahorsewith areputation to deliver,havingcost€150,000 at the 2021 Derbysale after Murphyand fellowtrainer, ColinBowe, jointly signed for him
Th eir in ve st me nt wa s rewarded when he wassoldfor £400,000atthe Goffs UK Aintreesaleten months later, havingwon his four-year-old
ma ide nf or Mu rp hy at Dromahane in the interim CrokeParkisthe second individual Grade 1winner for the Wexfordhandler in the last 12 months after his Lingstown winner GrangeclareWest landed theNeville Hotels Novice ChaseatLeopardstown last Christmas.
IHRB newyear reminder
This weekend’s action will bringthe curtaindownonthe autumn season and, after a brief hiatus,actionbetween the fla gs wi ll re su me at Dromahane for the traditional post-Christmas fixture on Monday, December 30. Th eI HR Bh as advis ed handlers that hunter certificatesneedtobesubmittedby the closeofbusiness this Friday, December6,inorder to be eligible to runatthe fixture, for which entries will closeon Tuesday, December17. In order to be eligible to run at Tinahely or Ballindeniskon Su nda y, Ja nu ar y5 ,t he deadline for hunter certificates is Friday, December13, with entries closingonnew year’s eve, Tuesday, December31. Hunter certificates must be lodged by Friday, December27 to be eligible for the January12 fixture at Aghabullogue.
CrokePark (centre) on hisway to taking the DrinmoreNoviceChase at Fairyhouse
King’s Bucks could be another sales-topper for rising talent Doyle
FRESH from consigning the top lot at the Goresbridge sale in €62,000 Milo Miller, Eamonn Doyle added a first four-yearold maiden to his burgeoning training career when King’s Bucks landed a narrow debut success.
It came in the first division of the Tattersalls Cheltenham December Sale-backed race in which Harrowhill led from halfway before King’s Bucks struck the front at the secondlast
But he quickly came under pressure between the final two fences from Barry O’Neill on the Colin Bowe-trained Ace Brannigan, who produced a faster leap over the last.
They edged into a fractional advantage on the run-in but were collared in the last few strides by King’s Bucks, who won by a head, with ten lengths back to the third-pl ace d Malayalam
“He’s a gorgeous, big horse and we’ve always loved him He’ll now go to a sale,” Doyle said of the €85,000 graduate from the 2023 Goffs Arkle sale who is out of a half-sister to the Paul Nicholls-trained Grade 1-winning chaser Cyrname King’s Buck’s rider, Jamie Scallan, made it a double on the Sean Doyle-owned-andtrained Between Waters in the Commercial Vehicle Components mares’ winners-of-two.
Between Waters, who started off with Doyle by winning a four-year-old Lisronagh mares’ maiden in Februar y 2022 before finishing second twice ov er hu rd les for Ni ck y Henderson last winter, supplemented her success at Tinahely last month by asserting from three out.
The winning daughter of Walk In The Park had 32 le ng th s to sp ar e ov er Hathaways Cottage
“She’s really enjoying life and
Star performance
Between Waters emphatically brushed aside last year’s winner Hathaways Cottage in the winners’ race
is high class She’ll run in another point and we might even go back to the track with her,” the stable’s representative, Graham Breen, said.
The John Gleeson-trained Boss Robin, who recorded the most prestigious of his two hunter chase successes last season in the Joseph O’Reilly at Fairyhouse, made a victorious re tu rn to acti on in the 17-runner Chanceit.ie open.
He surged to the front under hi s trainer ’s 24 -y ea r- ol d nephew Patrick Gleeson before the last and kept West Of Carrig – whose rider lost his irons – at bay to win by a length in the colours of Aidan Archdeacon.
“We couldn’t run him until now as he’s a horse for soft ground,” his trainer said. “I rode him cub-hunting a few weeks ago. If the ground is soft, he could go for the hunter chase in Down Royal over Christmas.”
Paul Cashman saddled a third individual winner of the se as on wi th n e wc ome r Romany King in the Gallag her ’s Ga st ro Pu b and Heineken Ireland five-year-oldand-upwards geldings’ maiden. Romany King, having done well to survive a first-fence error, made virtually all the running for James Murphy. Altho ugh ch al le ng ed by runner-up Mags Nelson from two out, the winning son of Clovis Du Berlais had the faster jump at the last and had threequarters of a length to spare over Ciaran Fennessy’s charge Cashman indicated that
King – who is owned by his mothe r mother
Catherine and is a half-brother to Jedd O’Keeffe’s five-time winning mare Miah Grace –would now be sold.
Noel McParlan partnered his first winner for the in-form Jonathan Fogarty in newcomer Walk Tall in the sec ond division of the four-year-old maiden.
The Walk In The Park-sired gelding, whose dual winning da m is a ha lf -s is ter to Hu rri ca ne Fl y, as su me d command before two out to beat Absolutely Doyen by two and a half lengths
Hay Baby made light of a near 14-month absence by leading before two out under Br ian La wles s to be at Annacassar by a length in the five-year-old-and-upwards mares’ maiden. Matthew Flynn O’Connor’s runner will now contest a winners’ race
Owner-trainer Pat Healy’s Drive On Jimmey fufilled the promise of his fifth-placed debut at Dromahane in April last year by leading close home for Eoin O’Brien to deny the gallant Trooper Carton by a head in the five-year-old-andup wa rd s adj ace nt hu nt s maiden.
Romany
Debutant King’s Bucks gives trainer Eamonn Doyle the first four-year-old maiden success of his career
Between Waters scores a 32-length victory in the mares’ winnersof-two to give rider Jamie Scallan the second leg of a double
CARLOW FARMERS AT BORRIS HOUSE SUNDAY
JOINT-REIGNING champion rider Rob James once again dr ew lev el wi th fello w champion Barry O’Neill at the top of the jockeys’ leaderboard with a treble
And it was regular allies Colin Bowe and the Doyle brothers, Donnchadh and Sean, who provided the ammunition for him to fire at the County Carlow track, taking his tally to 14.
Heron In The Park won the opener, impressing on her debut in the Jukebox Jury and Sea Moon at Burgage Stud and Gain Equine Nutrition fouryear-old mares’ maiden.
A vendor buy-back when offered at last year’s Goffs Arkle sale, potential purchasers will now rue not buying her after the half-sister to 2022 Betfair Hurdle winner Glory And Fortune boosted her value when beating twice-raced Princesse Milania by nine and a half lengths
“S he is a sm ar t filly,” Donnchadh Doyle said. “She was doing everything right at home and was good there. She will be sold now.”
Ne xt up for Ja me s wa s another newcomer, Hold The Serve, in the first division of the JS Horse Trucks and Darren O’Dwyer Bloodstock four-yearold geldings’ maiden.
Trained by Doyle’s older brother Se an, the so n of Jukebox Jury jumped into a share of the lead at the thirdlast fence and, despite showing
James goes joint top of riders’ table with treble
Star performance
Heron In The Park stamped her class from the second-last to win as she pleased on her debut
his inexperience with two farfrom-fluent leaps over the final two fences, proved two lengths too good for the Quakerstown runner-up Crossgales King.
“H e’s a nic e hor se , an exciting type,” said Gearoid Doyle, younger brother of the winning handler “He would have no bother dropping back in trip and looks to have a bright future.”
James’s third winner was Jump Style in the Tattersalls Cheltenham December sale and Ballyhane stud five-yearold geldings’ maiden, giving the 31-year-old Tamona rider his second treble of the season.
Colin Bowe’s French-bred got his head in front after two previous placed efforts, the Ma sk ed Ma rv el ge ld in g brushing off the attentions of Ta tt ers alls ru nner-up D Journey Man off the home
bend and, although Slade Shore closed to within two lengths, he ran out a comfortable winner
“He is a grand, consistent sort and deserved that,” Bowe said. “He was good there and will go for a winners’ race now.”
In-form James was also runner-up in two other races.
In the second division of the four-year-old geldings’ maiden his mount Catchintsavo found Cosmos D’Ainay two and a half lengths too strong.
That Sam Curling-trained French-bred had pulled up at Lisronagh a month earlier, but under Derek O’Connor he bounced back to the form that saw him finish a close third at Loughrea behind the subsequent £180,000 seller Un Sens A La Vie.
“He has been very unlucky,” Curling said. “He fell in Ballysteen when probably going to win and the saddle slipped in Lisronagh. We think he is a good horse and it’s great to get today over with.”
Prior y Pa rk ma tch ed Winged Leader by becoming the second horse to reach the
fo ur -w inner ma rk after remaining unb eaten this season with victory in the Cooney Furlong open for novice riders
Continuing his successful partnership with Duncormick rider Eoin Staples, the Edward O’Grady-trained eight-year-old was strongly challenged by Er Dancer from the penultimate fence, but it was a challenge he was able to repel by a length and a half
“I was a bit worried that it was a bit quick from his last run,” O’Grady said. “That was a good race They went a good gallop and Eoin said he ended up getting to the front too soon and idled.
“He’ll go to Down Royal on St Stephen’s Day and that will determine what happens for the rest of the season.”
Fresh from his first hat-trick at Lingstown the previous Sunday, Barry Stone continued his winning momentum when Menas Miracle supplied him with his 11th victory of the season in the George Mullins Transport five-year-old mares’ maiden.
Teaming up with his uncle Benny Walsh, the Cleariestown rider sent the Jet Away-sired five-year-old to the front, and from there sh e re tu rned unchallenged, beating the Rob James-partnered Beckley Love by 13 lengths.
“She is a homebred for Peter Aspell,” Walsh said. “If there is a winners’ race coming up quickly she will probably head there before going to the track.”
Conna rider Brian Barry landed his first success of the season when Slieve Annilog, his only ride of the day, won the Wa lsh’s Ho meValue Hardware older maiden.
Absent since mid-January, the Mount Nelson gelding took a big step forward, as having failed to beat a rival in his two previous starts, Riceal Dunne’s six-y ear-o ld ca me home strongly to defeat At Mangan Br idge by tw o lengths in deteriorating conditions
“We didn’t expect it, as he was sick after his last run and we let him off,” Dunne said. “There is no plan now, but he could be one for the track.”
Rob James rounds out his treble by scoring aboard Jump Style in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden
“I have been reallyimpressed bythe athleticism ofthe Crystal Oceans I’ve seen and am genuinely excited about his prospects as a sire.”
Junior Bumperwinner by8½ lengths
WATAMU scoredfirsttime outfor Pat Murphy
t“Order ofSt Georgewas the busiest sire in 2024… The champion stayer has always been popular…but an encouraging displaywith hisfirstfour-year-olds drove demand even higherthisyear.”
tListed Bumperwinner at Cheltenham
Thewell-backed SEOLINN scored by5 lengthsfor PaddyTwomey