Point-To-Point Weekly 19-04-2023

DEREK O’CONNOR

‘TwoGrandNational winnersinsixyears,costinganaggregate £77,000,bothsourcedfromIrishpoint-to-points.Whatamassive achievementbyLucindaRussellandPeterScudamoreandagreat advertisementforthegrassrootsofthesport’ Page4

Rock y’s Howya hits sevent h heaven on highway to the top

RO CKY’S HOWYA is makinga bo ldbid to be cr ow ne d champion pointer and Declan Qu ea lly’s ge ldin g ma intaine d hisunbe at en re cord be tw ee n thefl ag s by posti ng a se ve nt h su cce ss in the Fi tzge ra ld Familyopenfornovice riders.

A fin e fourthin Cheltenh am ’s Hu nt ers ’C ha se , Rock y’s Ho wy a wa s bounce d ou t inhiscustomar y fron tru nnin g styl e by firs t- time partnerAlan O’Sullivan.

Th e se ve n-y ear-old, re pr ese nt in g Ma rga re t Ki el y from Du ng ar va n, bo und ed cle ar be for e the lastfe nc e tobe at Dashing Perk by ninelengths.

“He’sa cracking good horse andtheplanisto ma ke him champion pointerthis season,” Qu eal ly’s so n,als o Dec lan , said. “HeleadsLa Feline by one nowasshe’s onsix wins.

“He’ll be entered intheopen herenext Sundayandthenthe wi nn ers’ ra ceforhor se s who were maidens at the startofthe season,whichtakesplacehere thefollowing Sunday.”

Mi ck Go ffand Mi ke y Sw ee ne y combine d for a double, thepairopening their accoun t wi th newcomer Fo rtunate Ma n inth e Go ffs Pu nches to wn Sa lefour-y earold geldings’ maiden.

Fo rt un at e Ma n ma de smoothprogr e s s frommiddivisionto ov er tak e Gh ost Hunter after tw o ou t. Th e so n of So ldie r Of Fo rt un e then unleasheda potent turn of foot fromthelasttocontainhis rival by tw o le ng ths , thepair re tu rnin g 12 len gths clea r of thirdhomeProfessor Klump.

“He’s been exceptionalfrom dayone,” Goff saidof Fortunate Man,whose unraced damis a siste r to Grade 3 hu rd les winner Jenkins. “Pat McCarthy, who ow nshim wi thme , wa s away on holiday last weekand we sa id then wewoul d wa it a

week to runhim He’ll be sold now.”

Goffand Sweeney were then onthe ma rk wi th Do uble Di gi ts inthe Ta ttersal lsNH five-year-old maiden.

Ab se nt si n ce finishi ng secondonhisdebut atKinsale in Oc tob er, Do ubleDigits ma dehis wa y tothefron t beforethe lastto seeoffPrimoz by four len gthsinthesilks of the handler ’s wife Catriona.

Do ubl e Digit s, who se da m wasGroup3placedonthe Flat, wa s quicklyadde d as a wildcard to tomorrow’s TattersallsCheltenham April sale.

Th e me eti ng op ened wi th the Honeysucklefour-year-old mares’ maiden, run inhonour of He nr y deBr omhea d’s st ar ma re wh o tookth i sin2018 , andthe Pa ulPie rc e-tr aine d Be llasBrid ge ma de a tak in g debutunder Sean Staples.

Th e Te le sc op e ma re go t on topfromthelast to beat fellow We xford-traine d de bu tan te True Te st imon y by th re e quartersofalength.

LAOI S AT STRA DBALLY SU NDAY

“She’s our bestfour-year-old fillyan d sheba tt le d ha rd ther e,” Pier ce ’s br o ther Andy sa idofthe Bl ackhal l stabl es partnership- ow ne d wi nner,a £10,000acquisition at las t May’s Tattersalls Ascot sale.

Alan Ahern’ s Mi stymal ste pp ed up f ro m his fo urth at Ba ll yk noc k 11 days earlier by wi nnin g the Ra thbar ry & Glenview Studs maiden,a race restrictedto handlerswho have nottraine d te n wi nner s, and whic h ca me wi th a €1,500 bonustothe winning owner.

Mi st ymal, re pr esen tin g the ha ndl er ’s si ster- in- l aw No ra h Ahern,tookup the running four ou t for Jo hn ny Ba rr y to den y Wet The Shamrock by a length

Th e Hi ber n ia n Ho tel & Dairygold Co-Opolder maiden sawtheclosestfinishofthe day wi ththe David Ba rr y-traine d Flemens Intrest leading from the lastunde r Da rrag h Allen , andholdin g on va liantlyto deny River Vale by ashort head inthecolours ofbreeder John Cotter from Rathcormac.

O’Su ll ivan double edges her closer to ladies’

A DO UB LE pu t Ma xi ne

O’ Su llivanbac k into po le position in herquestforasixth ladies’title,asshemovedon to the seven-winner mark forthe camp ai gn and,crucially,one wi nner cl ear ofchi ef ri va l Moira McElligott

O’ Su llivanco mb in ed wi th Shark Hanlonforthefirsttime inthe po intin g fields to ki ck st ar t her aft ernoonwhen Sp ea ke r Th omas ga mely madeallofthe running inthe Go ffs Pu nches to wn Sa le adjacent maiden.

Bouncing backfromadisappo intin g displa y at Bo rr is Houselastmonthwhenfailing to ju st ify ma rk et su ppor t, the six-y ear -old pr ov id ed hi s supporters withcompensation ashe be at Ia n McCa rt hy ’s Be lcla re ru nne r- upAr tic Weather by alengthanda half.

“M axine ga ve him a gr ea t, confident rideandthat ’s what

Star performance

thehor se wa nt ed ,” Ha nlon said. “He’ll go forthefarmers’ ra cein Pu nches town He wa s thir d init last ye arandthe ownersarefrom Kildare, so this will puthim rightforit.”

Despite facing the challenge of16 rivals,thevictoryof Littlebig gi e inthe Mc Lo ughlin’s Su per Va lu ma re s’ ma ide n pr ov ed farmor e comfortable for O’Sullivan.

Making her debut at the age of six , theAsk mare proved ina lea gu e of her ow n as Ra y Ha cke tt ’s ba y be at th e va stly mor e experience d six-time place d St ellar Sy mp hon y by sevenlengths.

TheCork rider came withina lengthofaddingathirdvictory toher haulwhen Delta Melody chased home ImperialData in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel sixyear-old geldings’ maiden.

Jo hn Ne ilan’ s Im per ia l Mo na rc h ge ldin g ap prec iate d thedrierconditionsfrequently found at theLaoiscours e, ha vin g be en pu ll ed up in testi ng grou nd at Dro maha ne in December. New ow ners are no w to befo un d af ter Fi nn y Maguire steered himto a onelength success.

Fo cu s Po in t ha d sw ept all beforehim winningthree races in succession by acombined73 lengths,however, he was putin hisplace by Irishdebutant Far

From Ov er inthe Co olrain Concrete winner-of-three

A wi nner of a goo d-grou nd ma iden po in t at Lar khill in February2022whenunderthe ca re of Maurice Li nehan,itis

Li neh an’s br other Brianwho nowtrainsthesix-year-oldand also rodethe Valirann gelding.

The bay tookcontrolon the ap proachtothefinal fence to inflictashock 15-lengthdefeat onthe odds-onfavourite

“We hadhiminthe saleslast ye ar He wo n in Eng landan d wewe re n’tgoin g togiv e him aw ay , so to okhi m home ,” Linehan said.

“If he’s sold,he’s sold,ifnot we’llholdontohim. He’s a big, imm at ur e hor se andhe’ll improve again.”

Local suppor ters had lotsto che er abou t when Snug sboroug h Ha ll str u ck for Mo un trath-based Liam Cusack inthe Nicky& KatieLawlessopen.

A Grade B ha ndic ap ch as e wi nn er at the2019 Pu nchesto wn fes tival,the12- ye ar-old ha d notbe en inactio n si nce finishin g las t in a Ki llarne y handicap hurdlein August

Far From Over impressed on his Irish debut under Brian Linehan

Rocky’s Howya’s ex tends his points record toseven withAlan O’ Sullivan on boardfor the fir st time

Th e re tu r ntoth e po intin g fiel ds wa s immediatel y re wa rd ed asthe Ro ss Be rr yridden Beneficial gelding beat Br ook sw ay Fa ir a ndhi s fir sttime ri derFrankie Mu rphy by fourlengths.

Th e Ke vin O’Do nnellow ned,bred andtraine d Re d Hugh wastheday’sfirstvisitor tothe winner ’s enclosureashe againproved hislikingfordrier gr ou ndinthe Ta tte rsallsNH five-year-old geldings’ maiden.

Be at en ju st tw o lengths at Ty re llalas t month , Tr oy Wa lsh’s mo un t re tu rne d fiv e lengthsclearofthedeadheatin g pai r Ol iversTr av els and Illegal D’Ainay.

“He’d be en a bit ri ng -rusty, so thefew raceshe hadbrought himonnicely. He hasa lovely at titude;he ’s lik ea ter ri er,” O’ Do nnellsaid “He’sa re ally we ll-rel at ed hor se whocould go anywhere.”

Cr isis looms as lack of insu ra nce hits fi xt ures

PO IN T-TO - PO IN T fix tu re s this wee ke nd have be en hit by ins ur anceproblems , re su lti ng in the ca ncellatio n ofone meetin g and the reschedulingoftwoothers.

Mu ll ins ma kes a big impact on fi rst points ride

EIGH T days aft er Ch arlie

Mu llin s gu idedAnnami x to wh at see me d anunlikely victoryina hunterchase at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival,the Ki lkenn y ri der ha d his first su cces s inthe po intin g fie ld s acrossthe road fromthe racecourse at Tattersalls

Giventhelegupon Come To Me by the11-year-old’s ownertrainer Trac ey Gilmourin the DeesideAgri Servicesopenfor novic e ri de rs , it wa sa fi rst ap pe arancein points fo r Mu llinsandhe ma dean immedia te impact Com e To Me jumped thelastinfrontand held off the effor tsof Step Up Sonand Down The Highwayto win by aneck.

“Trace y toldmehestays all da y andto ma ke it a tes t,” Mu llins sa id. “I knewwhen I was headed at the second-last he wo uld find plenty for me comingupthe straight. He was alw ay s holdin g onandhe showed great battling abilityin that drivingfinishforme.”

Be rt ie Fi nn ha s re ceiv ed ple nt y of su ppor t fr om Colin Bowe th is se asonandthe 19-year-old Oulartrider repaid that faith by riding his second fo ur-y ear-old ma iden wi nner thismonth for thechampion ha ndl e r inthe Ta tt ersallsNH four-year-old mares’ maiden.

Star performance

Tareze is a white- faced Kayf Tara fill y who gamel y fought of f two potent iall y smar t rivals

andonce st ri ki ng the fr on t early inthehomestraight she alwayslooked thelikely winner astheycrossed thelinealength and a ha lfclearofthe we llbackedfavourite Sharp Object.

“We were expectingabig run because she has beenshowing usplenty at home,” Finn said.

“S hequic ke ne d upsmartly for meandshe’s done it we ll. She would be upthere with our nicest ma re s at themi nu tein thefour-year-olddivision.”

Fi nncouldnotadd to his fo ur su cces se s thi s se asonin th e Ga lileo Ch ro me five-yearold ge ldings’ ma idenas Ho w And Ever came out second best to TossOfACoin

Li am Ke nny’s Fl emensfirth wi nner wa s ap pe arin g for the fo urthtimein ju st ov er a monthand a we ek aft er fin is hin ga clos e thir d at Cu rrag hmore, bu t he re lishe d thequic k tu rnar ou nd wi th a decisivenine-length successin the ha ndsofthe Go re y handler ’s son James.

Like Toss OfACoin, Colline Fleur ie isno w likelyto be off ered for s ale after steppi ng upfromher eyecatching debut

at Li sc ar ro llto landth e Countr y Fresh fiv e-y ear-oldand-u pw ards ma re s’ ma id en for Sam Curling.

Sporting the silks of Cor rena Bowe,a member ofthe team at Cu rlin g’s Sk eh an ag h st ab les whole d up Chelten ha m Fe st ival wi nnerAngel s Dawn , the Hi llstar ma re wa s thr ee lengthsto o good for an improved Lucky Venture.

“Shebatt le d it ou t we lland that wasa good performance,” riderBrianLawlesssaid.

“I always knewI wasgoing to wi n by the wa y shetr av elle d underme. Sam hasheringreat formandshe won going away.”

Mo ir a Mc El li go tt ensur ed she re ma ine d wi thi n one winnerof Maxine O’Sullivanin the racefortheladies’championshipthankstothe14-length victor y of Po ur Me A Do uble forher husband Willie Murphy in the Sean Gallagher Lougher Stables winner-of-one.

Fu rt he r su cce ss in wi nn ers’ com pan y wi llno w be so ugh t for the se ve n- ye ar-old,whil e Da vid Christi e wi llals o no w tar ge t the wi nner s’ di vi sion with Sifaka after thegrey won the Coll ege Proteinsolder geldings’ maiden.

Narrowlydenied at Oldcastle a we ek ag o, th e Presentin g ge ldi ng sw if tly ma deamend s wi th a one-and-a-half-length victoryunderAlex Harvey

In anunprecede nt ed tu rn ofevents , theloomin g deadlineofFridaymidnight’s endtoinsuranceco ve r ha s mean t thelos s of Su nd ay ’s Bree Fox ho unds me etin g at Monksgrange

But the North Kerr y fixture at Trale e (a re placement for their Ap ri l 15 fix tu re, ca ncelle d for anunrelate d re ason ), and Me at h& Ta ra’s meetin g at Fa iryhous e ra cecours e ha ve be en save d by bringin g them for wa rd 48 hourstoFridayafternoon.

Th e Ki lleady Su nda y meeti ng at Dromahaneis unaffectedand goesahead.

Fi xt uresin No rt hern Irelandandonthe Cork and Wa ter fo rd ci rc ui t ar e not affected by insurance issues, asthere are separate policies co ve ri ng thos e re gions , so Sa tu rd ay ’s Fe rm an ag h meeting at Necarnealso goes aheadasplanned.

Th is wee ke nd ’s fix tu re hiatus hasarisen because the cur re nt insuranc e po lic y expires at midnightonFriday.

In su ra ncepr oblem s fir st hit po in t- to -p ointin g last se asonwhen fix tu re s we re ca ncelle d whileinsurance co ve r wa s so urce d toco ve r the spor t andthe hunt clubs which stagethefixtures.

Ho pe s we re ra is ed th at a National Hunt Steeplechase, Po in t- to- Po in t and Fi eld Sports InsuranceProgramme (NHSPFS) wo uldpr ov ide so mecertaintyto all ow the sp or t– estim at ed by a 2017 Deloitte report to contribute £34milliontothe Ir ish ec onom y– tobe g in re co verin g after cons ec uti ve tu mu ltuous se asons , firs tly ca us ed by tw o Co vidinterru ptionsand fol lo wed by insurancedifficulties.

Althoughthe sp or t is go ve rn ed by th e Irish National Hunt SteepleChase Comm it te e (INHS C) , eac h po in t- to -p oin t fix tu re is sta ged by differ en t hunt clubs,anditisunderthe hunt committees’insurance policy

that thepoint-to-pointfalls. Ne go tiation s, which have continue d to se cur e fut ur e insurancecove r for mostof thecountry’s hunt clubs, have not bee n complete d intime forthis weekend.

Discussionsarecontinuing totr y to sec ur e insurance cover, butitisunderstoodup tofivemorefixturescould be hit by the endofthe season.

Long-term solution must be found

This secondinsuranceinterru ptionto po int- to -p ointin g inthelast18monthsisa stark warningforall,not just inthis sp or t bu t the wi derIrish ra cin g se ctor, th at a sec ur e long-ter m so lutionis required

The Deloitte report gave an indicationofhow significant the spor t had becomeandit ha s gr ow n fur thersi nc e. Within six yearsofthe publicationofthe report the value of public salesincreased from £14mto£34m last season.

Po in t- to- po intin g in Irelandisno w far to o importanttothe wider sector to have continued insurance uncertainty ha ng in g ov erit , andthepressur e to fin da solution cannotfall solelyon theshoulders ofthe hunting or ga nis at ionsandtheir representatives.

Th islates t hia tu s mu st se rv e as a ca ll for all wi thi n the sporttocometogetherto us e theircombine d brainpower andnegotiating ability to gainlong-term security.

We sa w durin g Co vid-19 ho w we ll differ en t st ak eholders wi thinthe sp or t coales ce d tolobb y thos e in power atnat ionalle vel for a re sump tionof ra cin g. A si milarcollectiv e effor t is required onthis mattertoo.

Charlie Mullinslandshis fir stwinin points on Come To Me (right) as they hold off StepUpSon

Ac tion from Traleelast year

DerekO’Connor Straight to thePoint Rambler’sNat ionalsuc cess a greatresultfor theg rassroots

TWO GrandNational winnersinsix years, costinganaggregate £77,000, both sourced fromIrish point-topoints.Whatamassiveachievement onthe partofLucinda Russelland Peter Scudamore, andagreat advertisementforthegrassrootsof the sport.

OneForArthur,the2017 Aintree hero, cost£60,000 at Brightwells Cheltenham salein December2013 afterhe wonamaidenatLingstown onhisfifth outing, ridden by Barr y O’Neillfor Liam Kenny.

Corach Rambler,a back-to-back winnerofthe UltimaChase at Cheltenhamonhis waytoSaturday’s brilliantwin, hasturnedoutto be a seriousbargain,pickedupthe Goffs UK Septembersalein2020for just £17,000. By coincidence,italsotook himfivestartsto wina maiden, scoringatMonksgrangeforJohn Walsh,ridden by Sean Staples.

Fourof Saturday’sfirstfivestarted offin point-to-points,theexception beingtheFrench-bred thirdGaillard Du Mesnil.Sam Curling (Vanillier), Donie Hassett(lastyear ’s winner Noble Yeats),and Aidan Fitzgerald (The BigDog) canbeproudoftheir formercharges.

Sligo-born DerekFox ,who has ridden Russell’s twoNational winners, hadashort spellin points as ateenager,partneringthree winnersbeforeturningprofessional. He’s builtanamazingrelationship with CorachRambler,aboardforall his13 racesunder rules,winning sevenofthem.

Overthethree days at Aintree formerIrish point-to-pointerstooka bigshare oftheheadlines.I’ve seldom seenamajormeetingat whichtheinfluence wassostrong.

Onedetailatthe beginning of Saturday’scardprovideda good examplewhen Jonbon wonthe Grade 1Maghull Novices’Chase and West Balboatookapremier handicap hurdleforthe Skeltons40 minuteslater.

Iknewthat West Balboa,who finishedsecond to StageStarin last season’sChallow Hurdleand won theLanzarote Handicap Hurdle at KemptoninJanuary, wasan ex-pointer,but Igot abitof asurprise when Icheckedwhereshe had started. Theanswer? Shewas second

in afour-year-old mares’ maiden at Dromahanein November2020, ridden by Harley Dunnefor Aidan Fitzgerald.

So what, youmight ask? Well, half an hourlaterI rode Jonbonto win thefour-year-oldgeldings’ maiden onthesame card.Rollonto April 2022andtheretheywereagain, thistimeonthebigstage, racingoneaftertheother.

Asit happens,wewereracingat Dromahaneon Sundayandthe coincidence mademe wonderwhat liesin store forthe youngsterswho wontheopeningtwo races.

On the dayafterhisformermount wontheGrand National, Sean Staples rodethe PaulPierce-trained newcomer BellasBridge toland themares’maiden. The daughterof Telescope battledwell, andit was agood sign to see the firsttwo finish well clearofthe Colin Bowe-trained favourite Ireckonwesaw a lovelyprospect inthe geldings’maiden.

FortunateMan,thefirst legofa doublefor handler Mick Goffand jockeyMikey Sweeney,impressed in beatingGhost Hunter,awell-fancied runnerfrom the Declan Queallystable.

FortunateManis by SoldierOf Fortune outofanunracedAzamour mare, Lady Azamour,whosemain pointofinterestisthat she’sasister to Jenkins,who wonsix racesfor NickyHendersonand wassecondin aGoffsLand RoverBumper.

Lady Azamourisalsoahalf-sister to CanalEnd, aPeter Fahey-trained five-year-old by Walk In ThePark, wholooked promisingwhen winning amaiden hurdleinthe JP McManus colours at Fairyhouse’srecentEaster meeting.

Mentionof NickyHenderson bringsus backtoAintree where Jonbon washisthirdGrade 1winner ofthe week. At this stagethere’snot muchto add abouthim,or Constitution Hilland Shishkin,all three amongthe best horsesto have come outofIrishpoint-to-points duringmycareer, withConstitution Hill potentiallythe outstanding productsincethree-time Gold Cup winner Best Mate.

Friday’scardbroughtanother threeGrade 1winsforhorseswho startedoffin points.Iwasimpressed by theformerColin Bowe-trained Lingstownwinner Gerri Colombe, who madeupforhis Cheltenham defeatand hasthe makings ofa seriousGold Cupcandidatefor Gordon Elliottnextyear Inthepocket, fourthinthe Supreme Novices’, wonthe2mGrade 1for Henr ydeBromhead. By Constitution Hill’s sireBlueBresil,he wonatMoig Southduringthe2021 autumn campaign for Paul Cashman.

LUCINDARUSSELL’S

Arctic CosmosmareApple Away producedatough stayingperformance to winthe Sefton Novices’ Hurdle.She wasbredbyTerence Leonard,who saddledherto wina maiden atBallyknockayearago

She’sout of amarewho wononly oneofher12 startsin pointsand was pulleduponheronly racecourse start. Pedigree isn’talways everything. She’sanattractivemare whocould make thegrade at thetop level overfencesintime.

Bill Baxter,who wonthe Topham for WarrenGreatrex ,could be a Nationalhorse fornextyear.He’sone of Denis Murphy’sgraduatesand was secondin astrongmaiden at Moira duringthe2020 autumn campaign, finishingtenlengthsinfrontof Banbridge,who waswithColin McKeeverthenand wasa Grade1 winnerfor Joseph O’Brienin Aintree’sManifesto Novices’Chase Dysart Enos,boughtbyFergal O’Brien at the Goffs Aintreesale12 months agoafterfinishingsecond at Ballyraggetfor Harley Dunne,wasa fittingwinneroftheGrade 2mares’ bumper.

Therewasnot much luck forthe Irish runnersinthe Foxhunters’,with theexceptionofthe Denis MurphytrainedLough Derg Spirit,who rana blindertofinishthirdunder Jack Hendrick.

Now, with Cheltenham, Fairyhouseand Aintreebehindus, we have Punchestown to look for ward to,alwaysagreat meetingto mark theendofthe season. Withanyluck, we’ll see plentyof ex-pointersamong the winners. The resultsfrom Aintreehaveset avery high standard.

‘G er ri Colombe ha sthe makingsofa ser ious Gold Cupc andidate for Gordon Elliot t next ye ar ’

MARKCRANHAM(RACINGPOST.COM/PHOTOS)

Corach Ramblerwas just oneofmanyformer point-to -pointer stofindsuccessoverthethreedaysatAintree

Coltex LastOfTheBunch,damofGrade1 CheltenhamChampionBumperwinner RELEGATE OwnedbyRMcCarthy.

Coltex LaBellaRoma,half-sisterto VEGASBLUE andout ofahalf-sisterto BELLSHILL,whosesecondfoalby WalkInTheParksoldfor €100,000 lastNovember. OwnedbyFrank&PaulMotherway.

,fromtheimmediatefamilyof STRONG FLOW and CARRIGMILLIE.OwnedbyMissJaneMangan.

fromthefamilyof BLACKQUEEN and

German Derby-Gr.1 winner,defeating‘Arc’ winner Torquator Tasso, andanecksecondinthe following year’s‘Arc’

By leadingsire ADLERFLUG,out of a GermanOaks-Gr.1 winnerandan own-brother to anotherGroup1winnerandGermanChampion

Coltex MissGinsburg

Coltex UrcadeLima,winner ofabumperandoverhurdles. OwnedbyRonanEly.

Contact: DavidMagnier, AlbertSherwood, DavidO’Sullivan, AndrewMagnier & CatherineMagnier:025-33006.

RobertMcCarthy, BobbyMcCarthy & Peter Kenneally:058-56254. TomGaffney, JoeHernon, PaddyFleming, CathalMurphy & Barry Kennedy:025-31966.

Coltex Henry’sGirl

BOLDSIRBRIAN.OwnedbyCallunaHouseStud.