Point-To-Point Weekly Racing Post 26-10-22

DerekO’Connor Straight to thePoint Ballyburnand Abernethyare up-and-comingtalents to watch

ASTHE autumn season begins to move into top gear we sawsome good performances in the four-year-old category last weekend.

Ballyburn made abig impression at LoughanmoreonSaturday, well handledbyCormacAbernethy to scorefor Colin McKeever in the colours of Wilson Dennison.

Cormacisa rider with plenty of experience,and his career startedto kick off last year when he rode a couple of winnersonthe track, a novice chaseatDownRoyal anda handicap hurdle at Navan.

He ended lastseason with six wins and 11 places from 51 rides in points, and this washis second successof the campaign,after ridingTullyhill to scorefor theseconnections at Moira.

Thefact that Cormacisgetting a chance to ride promisingyoung horses for such astrongteamcan onlybegood for his confidence.He’s definitelyanup-and-comingtalent on the northern scene

Ballyburn is apromisingsortand hasapedigreetomatch.He’sahalf brother to Noble Endeavorwho won the 2016 Paddy PowerChase at Leopardstownand four other races for Gordon Elliott, andtoMinella Daddy, averyuseful handicap chaser forPeter Bowen.

Sean Doyle’s Annabelle Magictook the four-year-old mares’ maiden in pleasingfashion underRob James, makingalmostall andrecoveringwell from amistakeatthe second-last Thewinner of the five-year-old maiden, MisterPark, also impressed with afront-runningdisplay. Ridden by JamesHannonfor IanPower,the Walk In TheParkgeldingaccounted for apair of Wilson Dennison runnersfromdifferent yards

Irodeanother Walk In ThePark youngster at Umma House. Iwas delightedwith the JonathanFogartytrainedDownMemoryLane, who quickenedingreat styletowin the four-year-old maiden by ten lengths

He wasa€75,000 DerbySale purchase from JimmyMurphy’swellknown Redonder Stud near Gowran and looks quiteanexcitingprospect. Open scene is looking lively Theseason is still in the early stages butwe’ve alreadyhad some interestingadditions to the open category.

Gordon Elliottproducedthe Grade 1novice chasewinner Hardline to winatCastletown Geogheganthis month and reintroducedThe Storyteller,now 11, to takethe ladies’ open under Georgie Benson at Ballycrystal on Sunday.

This time twoyearsago The Storyteller wonthe Grade 1 Ladbrokes Champion Chaseat Down Royal. He hadbeenoff

since lastyear’s Listowel festival but wasgood enough to beat ItsOnThe Line,six years his junior and winner of twohunter chases for Emmet Mullins lastseason.

LastweekIspoke of Brain Power, a winner of the Grand National Hurdle in the UnitedStates,now in action in points for Warren Ewing. After winningatTyrellaonhis final outing lastseason and at Moiraonhis return, the 11-year-old seemedtohaveanother goodopportunityat Umma House. However, he couldn’t match Brooksway Fair,who wonfrom the frontfor Donal O’Connor,a17-year old from Corkhaving his first ride

It’s always good to see a young ridergetting off the mark and specialcongratulations to ayounger Mr D’Connor Brooksway Fair is asix-year-old who wonamaiden at Knockmullen Housefor Denis Murphyinthe early

stages of the 2020 four-year-old campaign

He joined Evan Williams and won anovicehandicapchase last November.After that, he wasa beaten favourite severaltimes,and connections let him go cheaply for £6,000 at aGoffs UK sale lastMay HarleyDunnehas him now, and he’s obviouslyfound his formagain. Beingonly six and abrother to a horsecalled Mahlervous, who progressed into the 130s as awinning hurdler/chaser for Warren Greatrex, he could have afutureinhunter chases or perhapsbackonthe track in handicaps.

Celebrations at Boardsmill

Therehas been plenty for the Flood family, from Trim in County Meath, to cheerabout in the lastfew days

Their influential Boardsmill Stud stallion CourtCavewas responsible for three winners in points at the weekend, and yesterdayBoardsmill employeeStephanie McGinleywas one of eightindividuals who received an Irish Thoroughbred Industry

Employeeaward at the annual ceremonytomarkthe contribution of thosewho work behind the scenes in the industry.

Congratulations to Stephanie and the other sevenworthywinners,a groupthat includes many who have given longservice to the industry. With the help of Godolphin, these awards have done agreat jobof givingrecognition to studand stable staff

It’s wonderful to see,but Ihave one quibble.Ifeelthat the jumping side of the sportwas under representedinthe sharing-out of awards this time

ApartfromStephanie and Imran Haider,amember of theWillie Mullins team,therewas astrongFlat flavour. Bearinginmind that thousands of employees areworking away on the jumpingsideall over the country, many of them in small yards wherethe workload is not widely shared,Ithink some morebalance would be very welcome,with perhapsaspecialcategory for employees of stables of acertain size.

‘The fact that Cormac is gettinga chanceto ride promising younghorses for such astrongteam canonlybegood for hisconfidence’

Ballyburnand

Cormac Abernethycatch the eyewiththeirsuccess in thefour-year-old maidenatLoughanmoreonSaturday

HEALYRACING

SusieDoyle talks abouther latestarting career andfulfillingher championship ambition

RACE-RIDINGwas not somethingI hadevershown anyinterest growingup, despitelivinginaracingyard.

Idid alot of eventing, pony club,showing, and Ienjoyed goingracing with Dad[Pat Doyle, handler], butI never rode outorhad an interestin takingmyrider’s licence out.

SirDes Champs [winnerof 11 of 25 races and €572,000 prize-money] wasthe horse who changedall that. Istarted ridinghim outinthe morning when Iwas 17 or 18 –soI was quite late starting– and that movedintoschoolinghim over fences

Oneday Dadjoked:“Oh,if you hadyourlicence nowyou could ride him in arace.” I took that literally andoff I went to getmylicence,initially toride him once in arace to sayIhad done it

Ihad that firstride in Quakerstown in 2018 and he finishedfourthinthe ladies’ race,and after Ihad done that Ithoughttomyself Imay ride a winner now.

Ihad six rides that season, fouronhim and twoon

‘Whenyou’vebeen thinking about the titlefor years, it meansalot to winit’

Samanntom,and it was Samanntom who gotmethat firstwinner in Turtulla on my firstrideofthe following season.

Turtulla is ourlocal track. It’s only fiveminutes down the road and my brother Jack was home from Americaatthe time.That wasthe first time he hadseenmerideinarace, which wasparticularlyniceas he hadbeenagreat help Samanntom wasjusta brillianthorsefor me.Wewon eightraces together and he took me to the Cheltenham Festival. TheFoxhunterswas only my 13th ever race –which wasmad –but he was absolutelyclass [the 100-1 shot wastoilingbeforebeingpulled up beforetwo out].

He wasrarelyout of the placings and such acharacter too,whichmade it even more special. We were gettingon so well that Iwas at the topofthe ladies’ leaderboard for mostof the 2018/19 season, which wasn’t somethingI hadplanned.

Butthe way that the year pannedout with Samanntom wasgreat. Whenhecame backfrom Cheltenham we gave him a little break andthen he wasin flyingform.

He would runalmostevery

second weekand invariably he would win. Iwas afew clear and then Maxine [O’Sullivan] gota bit closer to me Goingintothe last weekend of the season Iwas still twoahead of her,but sheended up ridinga winner on everyday of the bank holiday weekend and passed me in the very lastrace of the season as Iwas sittingonthe sidelines watching becauseI didn’t have anyrides To getsocloseand miss out likethat wasdevastating. From

theregettingthe title wasmy main aim goingintothe next three seasons.

Samanntom hadhis last race at the ageof14lastseasonand is living outahappy retirement at home with SydneyPaget and Noble Prince,but thankfully Dad’shorses were flyingathome and Iwas lucky enough to pickupsomenice supporttoo

Imanaged to getthe ride on Golden Bald for LouiseLyons and we wonthree races together.PaKingand Evan Dwan used to ride work for Louise, and theywould have known Iwas lookingout for a coupleofolder maidenstoride.

Dadhad said if Iwas to get the title Iwould need to geton an older maiden who mightbe

able to stepintowinners’ companyand pickupa few races

NickyTeehan[owner of Golden Bald] said he hada horsedownthereIcould ride the nextday and see howwe goton.

When Iwon amaiden on Golden Bald in Rathcannon, NickysaidIcould ride him again in winners’ company and we woneach of his next tworuns.Iwas very thankful to have their supportbecause theycould have gotanyone to ride the horse.

Imanaged to winnine races lastseason to winthe title and, when you have beenthinking aboutitfor acouple of years, it means alot to achieveit.

At the startofthe season I hadbeentalkingtoDad and we puttwo goals together:one wastorideawinneronthe trackand theother wastowin the ladies’ title,and we managed to achieveboth Unfortunatelyfor me,I agreed with Dadthat if Iwon the ladies’ title I’dretire. He held up his side of the bargain so Ihad to keep mine too.

He hadalwaysbeenonto me aboutgettingaproperjob –soweall woninthe end and duringthe summer I joinedthe Irish Horseracing RegulatoryBoard as apointto-pointadministrator.

I’malsoridingout for Martin Brassiltokeepfit,and it’s nice to still be involved SUSIE DOYLE WASTALKING TO EOGHAIN WARD

Queallystartsseasoninflyingformwithtreble

RACING on the Cork and Waterford circuit does not begin until this Sunday’sSouth UnionfixtureatKinsale but Declan Queally is oneofthe region’s handlerswho hasnot wastedtime gettinghis string into topgear

TheCappagh trainer sent out his firstthree runners of the season at Sunday’sIsland hunt fixture at Ballycrystal and each of the trio wonfor afruitful starttothe season

Twoofthem,Rocky’s Howya and Desert Heather,were havingtheir firstpoint-to-point startsfor the stable, having joined Queally from other yardsover the summer

Lastseason Lord Schnitzel wa sa no the ra dd it ion to Queally’syardtoadvertisehis stable,rising through the ranks from an older maiden victoryat Loughrea in mid-October to winaKildorrery open four months later

Queally’sflyingstarttothe season enabledhis regular rider of choiceChris O’Donovan, the 2016 under-21champion, to record asimilar feat.

On theopening weekend of the season his father’s Lights AreGreen wonatCastletown Geoghegan, butwith Joanna Waltonhavingbeeninthe

saddleonthat occasion, Sunday’s Ballycrystal card marked his firstrides of the season, leavinghim to match Queally’s100 percentstrikerate forthe new term.

Newmares’seriesfor Damma House

Next month’sfixture at Damma Housewill hostthe startofthe 2022/23 Gain MaresSeries as it

buildstowards the final at Ballynoe in the spring.

Gain Equine Nutritionand the Ballynoepoint-to-point committeewill provide a €3,000 bonusfor the winner of the final, as well as atonne of feed forfirst,half atonneof feed for second and ten bags of the sponsor’s equine nutrition for thirdplace

Last season’s final waswon

by the Terence Le onardtrained Koyote,who hassince been sold to join leading British point-to-pointrider Gina Ellisand husbandTom Joanne Hurley,Irish country managerfor Gain Equine Nutrition, said:“It’s afantastic se ri es th at we ’v eb ee n delightedtobea partoffor the pastfourdecades.

“Itisa greatopportunity for

us to supportthe grassroots of the National Hunt industry through this initiative.Iwould liketowishall connections the very best of luckfor thepointto-pointseason.”

Sweeney aiming for a quick return

Ca ppo quin ri der Mi ke y Sweeneyisexpectingtomakea swiftreturn to the saddle after

injuring kneeligaments in afall at Tinahely which kept him out of racinglastweekend.

The23-year-old hadopened his accountfor the season when cominginfor praisefor his ride on Charles Keegan’s Autumn Philtreinthe older maiden at Portrush

However, 24 hours later it wasafall from Keegan’sWhen And Where at the County Wicklowvenue that left him sidelined.

Sweeneyisone of several riders who have relocated to Wexfordinrecenttimes andis nowworking with Mick Goff and MichaelMurphy. He is expectedtobebackrace-riding within afortnight.

Mainstown December meeting cancelled

TheIrish National Hunt Steeple chas eC omm it te ehas confirmedthe Kilmoganny Fo xh ou nds fix tu re at Mainstown hasbeencancelled.

Themeeting wasscheduled for De cem be r4 and its omission from the calendar leavesjusttwo fixturesonthe op enin gw ee ke nd in December, the United Hunt fixture at Ballindenisk and the We st me at h&L on gfor d

EoghainWard

DesertHeather andChris O’Donovancompletethe second legofatreble forthe riderand handlerDeclan Queally at Ballycrystal

HEALYRACING

THE vi ctor y of Ultimate Optimist in the Dennison JCB winners-of-two was a poignant one for David Christie after the death of his father James on the eve of the fixture.

The six-year-old was having his first start for Christie’s Fermanagh yard having beaten the subsequent double track winner Mac Suibhne in a Stowlin older maiden in the spring on the last of four outings for Donnchadh Doyle

Always to the fore, the Fame And Glory gelding answered every question asked by Barry O’Neill as he proved six lengths too good for Wilson Dennison’s recent Moira scorer Gorthill.

“It was a very good race on paper,” O’Neill said of the con tes t wo n by th e Ra y Nicholas and Dr Sam Camp bell-owned bay.

“Coming here to take on two race-fit horses, and being this lad’s first run for David is a big performance He’s just an outand-out stayer and is one to really look forward to this year in point-to-point ranks.”

Dennison enjoyed better

Star performance

Ballyburn could have lost his chance when hampered at the second-last but it’s a measure of his promise he came from an unlikely position to win easily

fortunes in the first of two races he sponsored on the card, when Ballyburn , who is trained by Colin McKeever in the field adjoining the course, opened his account in the Dennison Commercials four year-old geldings’ maiden.

Cormac Abernethy’s mount looked destined for third on this initial outing when Ossifer Hops and Wild Side Of Life had the race between them as they opened up their advantage coming to the final fence

However, Ballyburn had other ideas, despite being badly hampered at the penulti mate obstacle, as he over hauled them on the run-in before powering four and a half lengths clear

“The win was no surprise as

he has been impressing us at home for a long time now,” McKeever said. “He is a real old-fashioned staying chaser and, while that ground was ideal for him, he would handle it a lot softer too. I really think he could be a Graded horse.”

O’ Ne ill als o fille d the runner-up spot in the card’s other four-year-old event, the Jackson’s Butcher Shop & Bakery-sponsored mares’ maiden, when his mount Nt Field Minnesota was put in her place by the eyecatching Annabelle Magic

Rob James’s mount cost only €11,000 at last year’s delayed Tattersalls Ireland May Store sale and that looks money well spent on the basis of her first foray into competitive action.

The pacesetting daughter of Court Cave made a serious blunder at the penultimate fence, an error which saw her surrender the lead and briefly drop into fourth position, however she swiftly regained her composure to beat fellow newcomer Nt Field Minnesota by four lengths

Ian Power has only a select string of point-to-pointers but his horses are rarely out of the money and that continued in the Tattersalls Ireland fiveyear-old geldings’ maiden.

Mister Park, Power’s first runner of the new season, was always to the fore under James

Hannon, and supporters of the Walk In The Park gelding had few moments of concern as he took control of the race along the back straight Ballydesmond tried to close off the home bend but that proved to be short-lived as Mister Park proved four and a half lengths too good.

“This is a very sharp horse who will be very good in bumpers and over hurdles,”

Kimacow-based Power said.

Optimist brings bright moment for Christie Omaha Wish gets Doyle up and running

DONNCHADH DOYLE bided

his time until Saturday’s Loughanmore fixture to send out his first runner of the season and the 2015 jointchampion handler did not have to wait long to get on the scoreboard thanks to Omaha Wish 24 hours later.

Purchased as a yearling for €17,000 at the Arqana sales, the Night Wish mare was taken to the front by Rob James in the Jim Derwin Equestrian fouryear-old mares’ maiden, but she was forced out to pull out all the stops to fend off Paul Gibbons’ homebred Friars Island Lady.

The Monbeg Syndicateow ne d ma re ul t im at el y prevailed by a neck, with a further length back to the race’s only other newcomer Lahinch Wave

“This is a lovely straightfor ward mare,” Doyle said. “She’s always been showing up well.

Star performance

Down Memory Lane looked a bit special as he breezed to an effortless debut victory

Rob was delighted with her even though the race probably didn’t play to her strengths.”

Doyle would have hoped to double his season’s tally in the following Tattersalls NH four year-old geldings’ maiden with the €56,000 newcomer Fever Dream, but second was the best his charge could achieve as he was no match for the impressive Down Memory Lane

Th e boo kin g of De re k O’Connor to ride for Wexford handler Jonathan Fogarty was a notable factor and O’Connor was confident throughout on the Walk In The Park gelding, who eas ily br ee ze d to a

nine-and-a-half-length victory on this debut.

“From day one we felt this lad was a smashing horse and it’s great he showed that today,” Fogarty said. “We couldn’t be happier and hopefully he’ll go on to bigger and better things now.”

Doyle’s Monbeg team also had to settle for second in the Brian Dunning Farrier & Sean Dunning Victuallers five- and six-year-old geldings’ maiden as From The Clouds found Adrian Murray’s Lisnamult Lad six lengths too good.

Murray’s runners on the Flat have been faring particularly well this year, and his in-form Rathowen yard was respon sible for the first of two popular local successes on the card when the Court Cave gelding made the best possible start to his ca re er und er De clan Lavery.

Local supporters were also

on hand to welcome in Heather Kiernan’s Cappajune Lady after she bravely fought off her sole rival Lincoln Burrows in the O’Roarke Bros adjacent hunt winners’ race

The Mark Davies-owned eight-year-old had shown up encouragingly at Castletown Geoghegan on the opening weekend of the season when chasing home Lights Are Green, and she put that experi ence to good use when Tom Geoghegan steered her to the third success of her career by a length and a quarter.

“That’s superb,” Kiernan said. “She’s such a consistent mare; she never runs a bad race Mark Davies is here today and he and his family have got great enjoyment from her We might look at a mares’ open now.”

Kalnoo was disqualified despite passing the post in front at Toomebridge on the

opening day of the season when judged to have taken the wrong course.

There were no such dramas this time as she turned the Ai dan Fl an ag an & So uth Westmeath Pony Club fiveyear-old-and-upwards mares’ maiden into a procession.

Left in front when the pace setting Swift Sonnet came a cropper with a mile to race, Pa King never saw another rival from that point, as the Kalanisisired five-year-old returned 41 lengths clear of When And Where

Donal O’Connor enjoyed a day to remember when he steered Brooksway Fair to a shock victory in the Des Nally Developments open novice riders contest on the 17-year old jockey’s first ride Despite the presence in the line-up of four-time Grade 3 winner Snow Falcon, the recent Moira winner Brain

“I considered running him in a bumper as he’s so sharp but I also knew he would stay He’s very forward-going and I’m delighted he’s done that.”

Those punters who braved inclemen t we at her we re rewarded when the well-backed My Girl Katie upset form horse Drumlees Pet in the Waste Collection five-year-old-andupwards mares’ maiden.

Power was still sent off odds-on favourite However, the pair raced some way adrift of Brooksway Fair, who was able to comm and a nota ble advantage

Although Brain Power and Snow Falcon began to reel in the runaway leader inside the final half-mile, it proved too little too late as the ex-Evan Williams winning chas er returned six lengths clear of Brain Power.

“That’s magic for Donal,” winning handler Harley Dunne said “I didn’t give him any instructions at all, only go out and enjoy himself Making the running was all his own initia tive and he gave the horse a super ride.”

Down Memory Lane and Derek O’Connor on their way to landing the four-year-old maiden at Umma House

Ultimate Optimist and Barry O’Neill land a poignant win for trainer David Christie

Queally and O’Donovan have a day to remember

DE CL AN QUE AL LY wi ll forever have fond recollections of his first visit to Ballycrystal as he saddled three winners, all partnered by Chris O’Donovan.

The pair began the day with well-touted newcomer Desert Cave in the Chris Hatton & IRE Wel Pallets four-year-old auction maiden.

Desert Cave was always posi tioned at the head of affairs and, having blundered at the third-last, the winning son of Co ur t Ca ve wa s clos ely attended by Idy Wood from two out.

Desert Cave, 5-4 favourite, was marginally the faster in the air over the final fence and the two principals raised their efforts on the run-in. It was Desert Cave who prevailed, with just a short head sepa rating him from Idy Wood

Star performance

Ryan’s Rocket was never far off a strong pace and picked up strongly in the home straight to win in good style

of the Margaret Kelly-owned Rocky’s Howya.

“He stays well and has been working with Lord Schnitzel at home. He’ll run in a winners’ race now and will also go for a hunter chase at some stage.”

track scorer who won at the 2018 Cheltenham Festival and landed the following month’s Grade 1 Champion Novice Chase at Punchestown, picked up the running before three out before gamely fighting off last season’s dual hunter chase winner Its On The Line by a short head under Georgie Benson.

“It’s good to see him back and Georgie gave him a great spin,” Elliott’s representative Simon McGonagle said. “He could go for the hunter chase at Down Royal over Christmas.”

There’s nothing quite like winning at home and Matthew Flynn O’Connor, whose family own the course, struck with Ryan’s Rocket in the Tatter salls NH four-year-old maiden.

Ballycahane last term on his only outing, picked up the running three out for Brian Lawless before overcoming a penultimate-fence error to beat Ihandaya by four lengths Ih an d ay a ha d fi nis he d sec ond at Ti na hely the previous Sunday and Sean Doyle’s Old Style Humor, yet another runner-up at the County Wicklow venue the previous weekend, was also turned out quickly as he landed the Ornella Under writing Bl oods to ck & Eq uine In su ra nce f iv e-y ear-old geldings’ maiden.

maiden when Drumlee Lake, who had been down the field in a Downpatrick maiden hurdle over the summer, turned the finale into a procession.

“He’s a tough horse who has always worked well and he was just a bit green there,” said the winning handler of Desert Cave, a €15,500 graduate of the 2021 Goffs Land Rover sale who re pr es en ts He nr y

Gordon Elliott, who experi enced another stellar weekend highlighted by his double at Cheltenham on Saturday, has a top-notch points performer in The Storyteller, who made a winning hunt racing debut in the Connollys Red Mills & Casey Concrete ladies’ open.

The Storyteller, an 11-time

The Cullen House Syndicateowned Ryan’s Rocket, a €48,000 Derby sale graduate by Jet Away who had pulled up at

The ultra-consistent Old Style Humor struck the front two out with Jack Hendrick to beat long-time leader Sergeant Moss by three and a half lengths The Monbeg Partner ship-owned Old Style Humor could now be prepared for banks

Thraces. e Ocovango mare was making her debut but she belied her inexperience and delivered a performance which connections had clearly been expecting as Oran McGill guided her to a two-length defeat of the returning Moig South third Drumlees Pet.

The latter’s team, Noel and Sean McParlan, went one place better in the Barclay Commu nications older geldings’

The County Wexford raider Gray Rock attempted to make a race of it with the seven-year old Watar gelding off the home bend, however Drumlee Lake swiftly brushed that challenge aside to win eased down by seven lengths

Gettings

Queally and O’Donovan quickly followed up with Desert Heather, also owned by Rathcormac-based Gettings, in the Baltimore Stables, Liam Kenny & Gavin Kinch five-andsix-year-old mares’ maiden.

Having had her initial outing for Cappagh-based Queally when fifth in a Downpatrick beginners’ chase in late August, Desert Heather gained reward for the consistency with which she had finished placed five times in points

Dis pu tin g the ru nnin g throughout, she asserted approaching two out to put three lengths between her and recent Castletown Geoghegan runner-up Ballinclay Court.

“She deserved that and she had been working well at home,” Queally said. “We’ll keep her to points for now and we might run her in handicap chases later on.”

Rocky’s Howya completed the Queally-O’Donovan treble with a bloodless, front-running success on his points debut in the Cooney Furlong & Kenneth Davis older maiden.

Having finished a creditable fourth in a Galway beginners’ chase in September 2021, Rocky’s Howya made light of a 13-month absence by forging clear three out to beat the only oth er fin isher , Wo rt h Presenting, by 18 lengths

“He’s a horse with plenty of ability and he should have a profitable season,” Queally said

Jack Hendrick drives home Old Style Humor (left) to get the better of Sergeant Moss and Simon Cavanagh in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden