Point-to-Point Weekly November 30 2022

DerekO’Connor

Straight to thePoint NewsaleatSandown provides chance to showcase Irishtalent

I’M LOOKINGforward to action on and off the trackat Sandown this weekend. The Tingle Creekfixture is oneof the best in thejumpracing calendar,comingata pointwhen the season hasreally taken off This year’s meetinghas anew and very welcomeIrish connection, since Goffs UK hasteamedupwith Sandown to showcase aselect catalogue of 17 horses to be offered for sale in the winner’s enclosure after the last race on Saturday.

With the exception of acouple of British-trainedhorseswho have recently beeninaction at Larkhill, and an Irish entrantwho hasrun over hurdles,thesehorses arethe products of ourautumncampaign.

Thegroup includes severalI’ve mentionedfavourably in the column recently, as well as three winners from Sunday’smeetingatLingstown, and twopromisingrunnersfrom Boulta on the same afternoon.

We’vehad some strong maidens lately, races with real depth and producinghigh-quality performances,markedbygood jumping. I’ve seenalot of horses who have maturedwell and arenow settotakeanother step in their careers,ready to go straightinto bumpers or novice races over jumps. Everyone will have their ownidea of the mostinterestingprospects in Saturday’scatalogue.IfI were a buyer, I’dfind it hard to narrow down the list, butthereare afew I particularly like, includingone from first-hand experience IrodeAnnie Ktowin afive-year old mares’ maiden at Turtullafor Gearoid O’Loughlin. Iwas impressed by the daughterofValirann, who was bred by Ronnie O’Neill outofa Stowaway mare. She’salovely mare with apedigreethat features the name of the brilliantAnnie Power.

Therehavebeenseveral smart four-year-old winners in recent weeks andFlashInThe Park is one who could be special. He putupa quicktime despite not being seriously tested in winningby20 lengths under Brian Lawlessat Knockmullen House.

He’s aMonbeg Syndicatehorse trainedbyDonnchadh Doyle.His pedigreegot anice boost recently when his dam’s closerelation Darrens Hope,herself aBallynoe

winner for BobMurphy, beat the talentedMinella Crooner in aGrade 2novice chaseatPunchestown

Donnchadh wonthe twoheats of thefour-year-old geldings’ maiden at Lingstown. BrookBay,firstleg of a

four-timer on the card for RobJames, is agreat addition to the catalogue He putina aslickround of jumpingand quickenedtowin with plenty to spare from ChatshowTV, a Denis Murphy-trainedhorsewitha good reputation.

BrookBay hasaninteresting pedigreetoo.He’sout of a winningdaughter of the Champion Hurdle winner Alderbrook from the familyofthe greatDesertOrchid, and is by the Sea TheStarshorse Affinisea,who Ithink is going to be abig influence as time goes on.

He also sired the winner of the openingmares’maiden at Lingstown, Only By Night, oneof four maresonoffer at Saturday’ssale.

Dream points return for Troytown winner

ThesedaysIrish point-to-points are mostly aboutthe sort of potential you’ll find at the Sandown auction.

At the same time,it’simportantwe maintain ahighstandardinthe open races.Realistically,thereare not nearly enough of what you could call old-fashionedpoint-to-pointers horses who spend the bulk of their career in points and hunter chases to make things competitive.

Forthis,we’re heavily relianton horses comingfromthe trackfor the final chapteroftheir careers.Many who have made an impactinGraded races or in valuable handicaps inevitably loseanedgeonthe track at the ageoften or 11, buttheir ability canoften be rekindled

David Christiehas specialisedin this typeofhorse and this season Gordon Elliotthas taken this route

with high-quality horsesHardline, Samcro, and TheStoryteller,three Grade 1winners.

On Sunday, it wasHenryde Bromhead’s turn to add to an impressive list of recruits. He sent Chris’s Dream for the Ladies’Openat Moig South, almostexactly three years after amemorable wininthe Troytown at Navan.

Fittingly, he wasridden on Sunday by Maxine O’Sullivan. TheMahler geldingstartedoff with her father Eugene and she hadthe mountfor his debutinthe Goffs Land Rover bumper at the 2016 Punchestown festival.

Alsorunninginhis firstbumper that daywas Hardline,who had alreadywon apoint-to-point. Hardline finishedeighth, Chris’s Dream was12th.It’sagood example of howwenever knowhow things aregoingtoworkout with young horses

While Hardline and Chris’s Dream went on to make the grade on the trackand arestill goingstrongsix years later, the winner of the big Goffs Land Roverpot,Coeur De Lion, never ranagain.

Chris’s Dream wasput away for that summer by Eugene,who producedhim in good shapetowin a maiden at Boultaacouple of weeks beforeChristmas.

He wonamaiden hurdle at Limerickthe following season before joiningthe De Bromhead yard.Along with the Troytown,hewon aGrade 2 novice chaseatNavan and the Red Mills ChaseatGowran, and was beaten only aneckbyThe Storyteller in the Grade 1Ladbrokes Chaseat Down Royaltwo seasons ago.

On Sunday,Maxine sent him to the front three outand he stretched right away from Aloneamongmillions.I’m abig fan of the SamCurling-trained runner-up,who gave me aTetratema Cupwin andalsowon the same big Gowran hunter chasefor Pa King last season.

He’s agood yardstick, hasahabit of runningwellwhen fresh,and seemedtobewell fanciedfor his first runsince finishingsecond behind top hunter chaser Vaucelet in the Joseph O’Reilly at Fairyhouseat Easter.

That suggests Chris’sDream put up asmart performance.The open category is hottingupthis season.

‘There have been several smartfouryear-old winnersin recent weeks andFlash In TheParkisone who couldbespecial’

Chris’sDream wasanimpressivewinner of theladies’ open at MoigSouth forMaxineO’Sullivan

Pictures: HEALYRACING

Gearoid O’Loughlin revealshow a switch of yard has changedhis fortunes

IT’Sa very excitingtime formeasIhaveteamed up with afellowClare maninJohn Kelly and we have enjoyedavery successful association in a shortspace of time,with Annie Kour latest point-to-point winner at Turtullathis month

John is averygood friend of my uncle Ger‘Sparrow’ O’Loughlin [twice All-Ireland senior hurlingchampion], and he boughta shareof Whatsyourstatus,who won tworaces for us.Hetookareal shine to the game then.

JD Moorebuys with us at the sales and is agreat judgeofa horsetohaveonboard.

We boughtUppingthe Anti as ourfirstyoung horse, and he finishedsecond in Ballindenisk beforewesold him to Kevin Ross for the Halsall family.

Itswhatunitesus wasthe second horse we gotand we sold him privately. He hasnow wonabumperand maiden hurdle for Gordon Elliott.

Annie Kisnow ourthirdhorse together.

Iwas delightedtosee her winatthe firsttimeofasking

‘I wasdelighted to see Annie-Kwin firsttime. I waspatient anditpaidoff’

because sheisahorseI was very patientwith –and it paid off

Lastyear,Imade the decision when she wasafouryear-old that Iwas goingto leave heruntil she wasfive because shehad grownan inch duringher summer as a four-year-old. In the end, Ihad to leave outall my horses last spring because Icouldn’t get them healthyinthe yard Iwas in.

Ihad runtwo trackhorses and both of them pulledup, so the writingwas on the wall that somethingwasn’t right. I knew therewas no pointin runningher,and forher to pull up too. Iwas happy to takethe patientapproach.

I’ve movedyards since and have beenrentinga barn from CormacFarrell forthe pasttwo

and ahalfmonths,and he has beenveryaccommodating and helpful to both my partner Rebecca andme.

Thepeople around Kiltealy have beengreat and we have wanted for nothingsince we gotdown here.

Rebecca is abig help to me; she is a massivecog in thewheel hereand Donal O’Connor comes into us in the afternoon too.

We have runsix horsessince movingtothe new yard and have hadtwo fourths,a third, asecond and twowinners,so that’s agood sign Annie Kwas actually my

Newcourselayoutat Moig givenapproval

THE Stonehall committeehas received apositiveresponseto the reconfiguredcourseat Moig South for last Sunday’s fixture.

Since its introduction to the calendar in 2018 the coursehad featured astiffuphill climbover twofences tothe winningpost.

However, forthisseason’s fixture at the courseonthe outskirts of Askeatonthe winning line wasswitched to what waspreviouslythe back straight, amovethat hasbeen given the thumbs up “Onthe old layoutthe horses we re ge tt in gq ui te tir ed finishingupthe hill and handlers feltitwas quite tough,”the point-to-point fix tu re ’s se cr etar yJ ohn O’Shaughnessy said.

“Switchingtothis layout is moreconducive to giving young horses anice introduc tion.

“I think it rode well.I was talkingtoPaKingand acouple of the experiencedriders and theyall felt it wasfaster and waseasier for horses

“Therewas agoodcovering of grassand thehorsesseemed to finish outthe races well too. We hadonly onefaller across thesix races and overall it was received well.”

Backing for Killinick’s traditional banks

Thephrasehorsesfor courses is an aptdescription for many of the regulars whoturn up year after year to takeonthe bankscourseatLingstown

LastSunday’srace proved the continuedpopularityofthe race with all 12 initial entries standingtheir ground and, comingtothe final fence,itwas twowho have thrivedoverthe mix of obstacles who proved their love for the test.

RichardO’Keeffe’s Vital Island took nineattemptsto winhis maiden but, just two days afterthat breakthrough in March2018, he found his niche by making asuccessful step into opencompanyoverthe banksatLingstown

He is nowafour-time winner over the banksatthe venue.

However, he concededa fifth victorytoanother whoseform is significantly upgradedwhen tacklingbanks– Loggan Lady.

In twoprevious outings this season she wasbeaten37 lengths by Samcro at Tinahely beforepulling up in amares’ open at Lisronagh.

Theswitchbacktobanks broughtanimproved displayas she wonher second race at the trackthis year

HerstablemateSinging

Banjo is on course to takeon Cheltenham’s cross-country course nextweekand is a primeexample of thegreat levellingeffect of theseraces.

The88-rated chaser finished ashorthead behind 157-rated Delta Work in theRiskOf Thunder ChaseatPunches town ten days ago.

TheKillinickcommitteehas to be con gr at ula te df or preservingthe tradition of banksracing, whichgoesback to thesport’searlyoriginsand provides aspherefor these specialisthorsestoexcel.

Constitution Hill the perfect advertisement

Constitution Hill continues to dominatethe headlines after a hugely impressive 12-length defeat of stablemateEpatante in theFighting Fifth Hurdle

Although the performance reignited the debate about wherethe five-year-old stands amongthe hurdlinggreats, his emergence to join Honeysuckleamongthe top two-mile hurdlersisapricelessadvertisementfor Irish pointers.

Both begantheircareers with northern-based pointing handlers in Warren Ewing and GerryCosgraverespectively.

firstwinner from hereand she is going to be offered at the sale at SandownonSaturday. Therehas been alot of interest in hersince her winin Turtulla,whichisa good sign,and it is nice to see it work outasI pickedher out at the store sales

Number one for me is workingwith these young horses and bringingthem along, that is my true love in the game

Growingup, my grandfather used to buyand sell ponies He would buyfoals and sell them as four-year-olds, so I supposegoingaround to

martsand fairssince Iwas nine lookingatstock hasstood to me

Igot an opportunity with Chris Jones to work with his young horses acouple of years agoand it grew from thereto train on the trackfor him too.

It wasunbelievable and we hadsomenice successestoo, butbuyingand sellingyoung horses,stores and point-to pointerswas always the side that Iloved andwantedto pursue

Chris wasverygood to me, butitwas time to flywith my ownwings and hopefully Ican sell him one of mine now!

Idohaveaselect groupof trackhorses for very supportiveownersinDominic Jones,NoelHayes and Gina Heap and Iamverygrateful to have their support.

It wasbrilliant to winat Gowran on Saturdaywith Koponfor Dominic.I’m thankful he gave me the horse to train and she did it well for him

Seeingwhat Upping The Anti and Itswhatunitesus have gone on to achieveis everythingtome. That’s what it’s allabout,that theygoonto improvefor the person who buys them

John and Ihaveanicefew foals and yearlings coming along and IhaveaniceCourt Cave four-year-old horse who will go to Ballindenisk on Sundayfor the same maiden we ranUppingThe Anti in.

We have alot to look forward to

Eoghain Ward

GEAROID O’LOUGHLIN WAS TALKING TO EOGHAIN WARD

Brook Bay takes the Shishkin route to glory

THER E we re sh ades of Shishkin as Wexford rider Rob Ja mes , on ho me tu rf at Lingstown, rode the third four timer of his career

He landed both divisions of the Ta tte rsalls NH & DR Logistics and Warehousing fo ur-y ear-ol d ge ldi ng s’ ma id ens on a pair of Donnchadh Doyle-trained eyecatchers

Th at wa s the ra ce the 29-year-old rider won in 2018 on the now four-timer Grade 1 winner Shishkin, and in Brook Bay, who made a winning debut in the opening division, connections look to have unearthed another exciting performer

A €20,000 purchase last year, the Affinisea gelding was always to the fore and once James sent him to the front off the home bend he picked up sm ar tly to be at fe llo w newcomer Chatshow TV by four lengths

“He is a very nice horse and did that well; he was very good,” Doyle said “He’s a horse

Star performance

with a big future and goes to the sales now.”

Doyle is also set to offer Simple Getaway for sale after he completed a double for the Monbeg Stables operator in the second division in the four year-old geldings’ maiden on his first outing since March.

The €52,000 store had disap pointed on his Ballynoe debut when se nt off favou ri te, however with the stable’s runners under a cloud at the time, he proved himself to be a different proposition on his return.

James again used positive tactics as the Getaway gelding ra ce d in the fr on t ra nk throughout before proving eight lengths too good for Cian Hughes’s Charming Fortune in a race in which just three of the

eight runners complete the course.

The three-day suspension that James’s great friend and rival Barry O’Neill picked up on the previous weekend at Kirkistown proved to be in his favour as he deputised for the reigning champion on Colin Bowe’s Kayf Hope in the Gain Equine Nutrition & Keating Transport five-year-old mares’ maiden.

The Kayf Tara mare had found one rival too good on each of her opening two starts at Tattersalls and Necarne, but deservedly gained a break thr ou gh su cces s when confirming her Tattersalls defeat of Killybegs Jet Lady by again beating that rival by five lengths

James completed his after noon’s work when teaming up with Tom Dreaper’s former track performer Lar’s Lass to win the Rathangan Bar older maiden.

The pair still had to master the fa vou ri te Gr ay Ro ck approaching the final fence

WEST WATERFORD AT BOULTA SUNDAY

However James Kenny’s mount met it all wrong, handing the initiative to Lar’s Lass, who seized the opportunity to force the fa vou ri te to fi l l t he runner-up spot on his third straight run.

“She is a lovely mare owned by lovely people and she is named after the late Lar Skelly, the senior of this family,” Dreaper said.

“It might be only an older maiden on a Sunday, but it means an awful lot to them If she never wins another one, she has done her job today getting that photo.”

Gary Murphy had saddled Affordale Fury to win his maiden at Ballycahane in the spring, and although that horse fell at the final flight while holding the lead in the Grade 3 Monksfield Novice Hurdle at Navan on Sunday, he was in the Lingstown winner’s enclosure when taking the Goffs Tingle Creek Sale & Cooney Furlong

The

quickened clear of the always-prominent On Cloud Nine

The banks course at the Wexford venue remains a real fans’ favourite and the 2022 edition of the Neville Hotels op en pr ov ide d fur ther evidence

Bioluminescence sparkles in impressive

GAVIN CROMWELL stayed closer to home to supervise his runners at Navan but the Meath-based handler featured among the winners at the 21st anniversary Boulta meeting.

He sent out Biolumines cence to make a winning debut in the Goffs Tingle Creek Sale & Beeches Stud four-year-old mares’ maiden.

The Walk In The Park mare, who took the eye in the prelim inaries, did well to survive serious interference when the leader, Micks Jet, fell at the second, bringing her to a virtual standstill, but she was soon back on an even keel and moved ever closer from four out.

Bi olu min es cen ce took command immediately after the second-last fence and, although eased from 50 yards out, she still beat long-time leader Lily’s Choice by 20 lengths

Star performance

Bioluminescence

“She’s a very straightforward filly and she was as cool as a breeze in the parade ring beforehand. She’s now for sale,” Cromwell’s representa tive, Alan Hannigan, said.

The mare, a half-sister to two wi nner s inc ludin g Jo nj o O’Neill’s Dollar Bae, is owned by the Danestown Racing Part nership

Bioluminescence’s rider, Derek O’Connor, added a second winner when teaming up with Sam Curling to collect the three-runner Kenneally Steel open on La Feline Successful on her return to Bioluminescence

action at Lisronagh three wee ks earl ier, La Fe lin e controlled the slowly run race and con tai ne d ga llan t runner-up Thekingofconne mara from before the last, even though the winning margin was only a length

“She’s a lovely mare and her owner John O’Leary really enjoys his point-to-points,” O’Connor said

La Feline is a Limerick mares’ maiden hurdle winner who was recording her fifth success from 13 starts in points in the last two seasons

O’Connor experienced the other side of the pointing coin when his mount Doughmore Bay, a newcomer trained by his brother Paurick, was leading when falling two out in the Tattersalls NH four-year-old geldings’ maiden.

As the pursuing Champagne Admiral from the Roisin Hickey stable also came down at the

same fence, it paved the way for Paul O’Connell’s well touted Court Cave debutant Yes Day to beat The Blue Thrill by a length in the hands of Darragh Allen.

“I ’m deli gh te d for my parents, Margaret and Billy, who own this horse with my brother David and me,” said O’Connell, who sent out Laser Light to finish second to Robin Roe in a division of this race in November 2015.

“He was ready to run last season and I didn’t sleep much last night,” O’Connell added He’ll be sold now.”

There was also plenty of drama in the Kelkab Ltd & The Winners Enclosure, Conna five and six-year-old geldings’ maiden as Ballyvaughan Bay, ab se nt si nce finishin g a respectable ninth of 21 in a Punchestown

April,

at the last when leadin g by tw o len gths ,

put in a fine display under Derek O’Connor

Runners stream over one of the Lingstown banks in the Neville Hotels open won by Loggan Lady and Barry Walsh

festival bumper in

fell

created a big impression when breezing to an easy 20-length victory on her debut

Donnchadh Doyle sent out Shishkin to win his maiden at this fixture in 2018 and looks to have another exciting prospect in Brook Bay

four-year-old mares’ maiden with Only By Night.

Affinisea bay had come to grief in each of her two opening runs in Monksgrange and Umma House, but there were no signs of the jumping frailties which had blighted her initial efforts as she

has festival on the horizon

Vital Island has developed into a standing dish at the coastal venue and he jumped the last of the 28 obstacles in front as he went in search of his fourth consecutive victory in the race

However, he was overhauled by another course specialist in Loggan Lady as she backed up her banks win at the venue in March for the father-and-son team of John and Barry Walsh “I didn’t think she was going to get there; they went a real good gallop,” the winning handler said.

“We’ll head back again to the Ladies Cup at Punchestown.

keep her to these types of races and she’ll be back here in March.”

Daniel Murphy sent out his second runner of the season when James Jet made his debut in the Fintan Carroll & Sons and Kilmore Potatoes fiv e-y ear -old ge ldin gs ’ maiden and, just like Hashtag Bo um at Ta tt ersall s la st month, he too returned victo rious to preserve a 100 per cent strike-rate for the Cork handler

point debut

bringing down Flash Conroy, who was in third.

Hey Brother, who was lying second, was left in front but he was overtaken in the closing stages by the Damian Murphy trained Rockwiththetimes, who came through to win by a half-length under Harley Dunne in the afternoon’s closest finish

“He was wrong last season,” Murphy said of the Shirocco gelding whom his wife, Jane Foley, shares with Catherine Cashman. “I’d imagine he will be sold now.”

Ballyvaughan Bay’s owner trainer John Murphy and rider Adam Feeney still kept their supporters happy as they com bine d to colle ct the Glenview Stud winners-of-one with recent Rathcannon third Kitsilano

An authoritative Bandon adjacent hunts maiden winner last season, Kitsilano took

command from three out and he powered clear before the final fence to beat Dundaniel by 35 lengths

“Kitsilano needed the run in Rathcannon,” Feeney said in the absence of John Murphy. “He did that very easily and is one to look forward to.”

Jimmy Kelly, who operates from nearby Glengoura, will have an excellent reason to recall this meeting as he achieved his first training success with just his second runner when Dul Ar Aghaidh won the Dave Allen Engi neering & McDonnell Bros five-year-old-and- upwards mares’ maiden.

Brian Dunleavy sent Dul Ar Aghaidh straight to the front with The Gifted Syndicateowned winner making all the running to beat Dixies Girl by 60 lengths in a race in which Lady Kate fall at the last when looking likely to finish second.

TWO years ago Chris’s Dream narrowly missed out on a Grade 1 success when beaten a neck by The Storyteller in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase.

His Down Royal conqueror has already won a pair of open lightweights this season and Henry de Bromhead’s 11-year old made a similarly successful sw itc h to po inti ng whe n landing the Roches Feeds Limerick ladies’ open.

Re uni te d wi th Ma xi ne O’Sullivan, who rode the Mahler gelding on his competi tive debut in a Punchestown bumper in 2016 when trained by her father Eugene, the pair were able to swiftly dismiss the challenge of the dual Tetretema Cup winner Aloneamongmil lions by 22 lengths

“That was br illiant. He seemed to really enjoy it and Maxine said he gave her an armchair ride,” Rob Acheson, son of winning owner Brian Acheson, said.

“We’ll keep to opens but the long-term target is the Hunters’ Ch as e at Cheltenh am in March.”

That 22-length winning margin wasn’t the largest of the day. That honour went to the returning The Blind Piper, who turned the Cois Sionna De smond Cr ed it Un ion Askeaton winners-of-two into a procession.

Star performance

Chris’s Dream is a Grade 2 Red Mills Chase winner and he clearly retains plenty of ability on the evidence of his 22-length victory

Absent from the pointing fields since his second success at Bellharbour in February 2020, the nine-year-old had contested four maiden hurdles before making the most of his return between the flags

Pa King sent Eddie Power’s Robin Des Champs gelding to the front with three to jump and they extended their lead to 60 lengths over All About Lucy

“He did that very well and has always shown us he’s a good horse at home, it’s just he ’s ha d the wo rld of problems,” Power said. “He’s really well in himself at the minute and a winners-of-three is what we’ll aim at now.”

Fromheretoeternity could also be poised to contest a winners’ race after the Brett Merry-owned favourite made the breakthrough in the Brian Collins Bookmaker Askeaton mares’ maiden.

The Doyen mare made every inch of the running on her debut to supply Dungarvan handler Declan Queally with his seventh winner of the

season from only nine runners

“That’s a nice success to get as her dam won four races in Britain for Brett’s mother Brett’s a mighty owner to have in the yard as he has great pedigrees We might look at a winners’ race for this mare now.”

Fromheretoeternity’s rider Ch ri s O’ Do no va n al so combined with the now Temp lemo re -bas ed Ma ik e Magnussen to land the Goffs Tingle Creek Sale five-year-old ge ldin gs ’ ma iden wi th Getoverthathill

The Getaway gelding took full control of the race from before the penultimate fence to inflict a 12-length defeat on the favourite Connors Cross.

In doing so the Noel Casey owned bay, who will be offered at next week’s Tattersalls Chel tenham December sale, was supplying Magnussen with a second win on successive Sundays

“I’m delighted for Noel as he’s been a very good owner to me,” Magnussen said. “This horse was always showing us plenty last spring. The little break did him the world of good.”

Daniel Fitzgerald got his new season off to the perfect start when the 18-year-old Killeagh rider guided Grange Island to victory in the INHS Committee & Ha nle y Fa mily older

geldings’ maiden for novice riders on his first mount of the season.

Placed in a Clonmel bumper last year, the six-year-old got the better of Love The West after a protracted battle from the penultimate fence to beat the favourite by two and a half lengths

“I’m thrilled to get another winner for his owner Marty Fleming, from Castlemartyr, who has been with me for many years but isn’t here today,” said winning handler Liam Burke.

“He’s 85 years old now and will get a tremendous kick out of that win.”

Finian Maguire has been a more frequent figure at pointto-point fixtures in recent weeks and the Grade 2 winning rider opened his account for the season when his only ride, One Big Bang, came out on top in a tight finish to the Tatter salls NH four-year-old maiden.

Paul Tobin’s Masked Marvel gelding had been out of luck when carried out at Ballyarthur in the spring, but he battled gamely to gain compensation when holding off last season’s Tralee runner-up Lazer Wolf by a neck.

‘That was brilliant. He really enjoyed it’ – Chris’s Dream

We’ll

Chasing the pot of gold: runners parade at Moig South under a double rainbow