Entertaining battle
O’Neill edges out James in Rathnure
THE Bree Hunt point to point meeting was successfully run off at Monksgrange, Rathnure, on Sunday and it was dominated by Wexford riders and horses. After a meeting-long battle, Barry O’Neill edged out Rob James in the last to outscore him by three wins to two, with Harley Dunne picking up the other race.
The opening IRE Wel Pallets four-year-old mares’ maiden was run off in a torrential downpour but it did not stop James and trainer Donnchadh Doyle of Monbeg from registering a third four-year-old win of the weekend with Mega Yeats. James O’Neill was second on John A. Berry’s Caddy Shack.
The first four were all Wexford owned, trained and ridden in the Tattersalls four-year-old geldings’ maiden and here Doyle and James had to accept second with Tactical Move, four lengths behind the very impressive Eden Du Houx (out of Irish Wells), ridden by Harley Dunjne for James Doyle (Monageer) and the Baltimore Stables Syndicate.
This was some compensation for the winners as their Methodto the madness was very much in contention when falling in the first. Third was Havana Hermano under Sean O’Keeffe (Taghmon) for Richard Black (Bunclody) and next was Barry O’Neill on Colin Bowe’s Tanrudy.
It was O’Neill’s turn to make an impact in the third, the Cooney Furlong Grain Ltd Winners of Two as he held on by half a length on Roy Tector’s (Clonroche) Turn down the volume( by Stowaway ), from the fast finishing Makeapoint, under Shane O’Rourke (Foulksmills) for Vincent and Jimmy Devereux, (Rostoonstown).
Buckie Cullen, Denis Hickey’s favourite, was in the thick of it when capsizing at the second last. This was Tectdor’s third win of the season.
O’Neill struck again in the Goffs UK Spring Sale five-yearold geldings’ maiden on board Colin Bowe’s son of Oscar, The Con Man, clear of James on Donn. Doyle’s Old Rascals and Harley Dunne on Denis Mjurphy’s Lough Derg Diamond.
This was a popular success as the winner is partly owned by Margaret Furlong, chair of the organising Bree Hunt.
James hit back in the Nitrofert five years old + mares’ maiden, coming in eight lengths clear on Sean Thomas Doyle’s (Ballindaggin) favourite, Faithfulness (a daughter of Robin Des Champs) owned by Basil Valentine of Kildare. O’Neill was second on Jasper Bear, trained by his Fermanagh mentor, David Christie, ahead of Getawaytonewbay under Shane O’Rourke for the Devereuxs.
The finale was a thriller and O’Neill had the final word over James in the Ballywalter Farms older geldings’ maiden. He forced Mark Cahill’s Soarlikeaneagle up on the line despite some dodgy jumping, to deny James by a head on Colin Bowe’s Captains Run, with PA King third on Daryl Deacon’s (Clonroche) Coach Road.
It was a fitting end to a great day’s sport which saw a titanic battle between Barry O’Neill and Rob James, two men riding at the height of their powers. It capped a great week for O’Neill who also had two winners at the Punchestown Festival.
Next weekend they race on Saturday at Tallanstown, Co. Louth, and Ballindenisk near Watergrasshill in Cork.
On Sunday, the famed Galway Blazers race at Loughrea, and Laois Hunt at Stradbally; the Muskerry Foxhounds run at Dromahane in Cork, and again on bank holiday Monday at Dawstown near Blarney.