Rivals neck and neck
Trainer Bowe’s 250-winner landmark
JAMIE CODD kept up his relentless effort to retain his Irish pointto-point riders’ title at Inchydoney near Clonakilty in Cork on Sunday, outscoring long-time leader, Barry O’Neill, by three wins to one.
Now O’Neill’s lead is down to just two, 61 to 59, with a maximum of three meetings left next weekend.
O’Neill from Ballindaggin had managed to build a steady lead during the season as Codd often left meetings early to take bumper rides on the track in pursuit of his first amateur riders’ title which he clinched on the last day of the national hunt season at Punchestown, beating Patrick Mullins by one winner.
After racing at Necarne in Fermanagh on May 12, O’Neill had established a lead of eleven, but Codd has been steadily biting into that. So, now it all boils down to next weekend’s fixtures at Kinsale and Ballingarry. Jamie won his second points riders’ title last season, with Barry battling all the way to finish second.
It was also a landmark weekend for trainer Colin Bowe whose winner on Sunday was the 250th of his ten-year career. He is set for his fifth national handlers’ title as he leads on 31, ahead of neighbour Donnchadh Doyle (26) and Denis Murphy (25).
On Saturday at Tralee, Barry O’Neill was not able to take advantage of the absence of Jamie Codd, two seconds and a third being his best efforts. Both were in England on Friday for the international challenge (see below), and Codd got caught up in the flights chaos in England on Saturday morning and missed his flight back.
There were a couple of Wexford winners and an unusual situation where a sister beat her brother in an all-Wexford finish to the 13-runner four-year-old maiden.
Bernadette Murphy (Blackwater) won it by one and a half lengths with Another Barney (Scorpion-Roseabel) under Jimmy O’Rourke, from Touchy Subject, ridden by Derek O’Connor for her brother, Denis (Ballyboy, The Ballagh). Third was Law of Gold under Harley Dunne for Seán Doyle, and fourth was Risky Gold, under Barry O’Neill for Colin Bowe.
Rob James kept up recent good form when winning the five-yearold geldings’ maiden for Tom Keating on Louse Talk, with John Joe Walsh third on Shanoule Wood for Kieran Roche (Adamstown).
Barry O’Neill was just beaten a neck on Donnchadh Doyle’s Oscar World, by Richie Harding on Piece a Cake, and he was thwarted by a length in the concluding mares’ race on Colin Motherway’s Kings Dolly, behind Derek O’Connor on Donie Hassett’s Queen Barack.
Battle was joined at Inchydoney on Sunday and O’Neill struck first in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden on Reuben James (Gold WellDoon Hill) for Colin Bowe, a couple of lengths ahead of Codd on Denis Murphy’s Here comes the boom, and Rob James on Donnchadh Doyle’s King of the Cloth.
After that it was the Codd show. He took the Winner of One on brother Willie’s Imperial Oscar (Oscar-Athy Princess); the five years plus mares’ maiden for Denis Murphy on Pure Affection (Beneficial-Regents Dancer), and the closing older geldings’ maiden on Present News for local trainer, Robert Widger.
The other two races were also dominated by Wexford connections. The opening four-year-old maiden was won by Rob James on Donnchadh Doyle’s Zero Ten (Shantou-Hannah Rose), well clear of John Joe Walsh on Cormac Doyle’s Aero Majestic and two of Colin Bowe’s - Barry O’Neill on Napoleon Blue and Richie Deegan on Oscars Leader.
Seventeen-years-old Andrew Walsh from Duncormick, a Bridgetown Vocational College student, had his second career win in the open race on Better B Quick for his neighbours, Michael and Ashleigh Murphy, repeating his maiden success on the horse at Largy, Co. Antrim, back in April.
All the outstanding issues will be resolved this coming weekend, with racing at Kinsale on Saturday and Sunday, and at Ballingarry on Sunday and bank holiday Monday. It should be exciting fare.
The 38th Irish Field National Point to Point Awards night will be held at Clayton Whites Hotel, Wexford, on Saturday, June 10. There should be big local interest in this, with many of the awards coming to Wexford and the sport thriving in the county.
Tickets cost €65 each and can be got online at P2P.ie, or ring Kirsty on 087-1611067 or Niall at 086-7907676 for information.
Team Ireland dominated the fifth edition of the Anglo-Irish Challenge at Kingston Blount in Oxfordshire, England, on Friday, winning all four of the challenge races, the first time the Irish teams have collected the silverware.
On the team were Jamie Codd and Barry O’Neill, along with Derek O’Connor and Noel McParlan. The Wexford duo combined to pick up maximum points with a 1-2 in race two, and O’Neill also bagged place points in the other men’s race, which was won by Derek O’Connor.
The ladies’ team of Liz Lalor, Lisa O’Neill, Maxine O’Sullivan and Shauna Larkin also won both their races to complete a clean sweep.