Four winners for champion O’Neill
IT WAS a miracle that two of the four scheduled point-to-point meetings at the weekend survived the nasty weather, and the Wexford connections took advantage with seven winners in places as diverse as Portavogie, Co. Down, and Dungarvan in Waterford, four of them for champion rider, Barry O’Neill.
At the North Down meeting on Saturday, the champion rider, O’Neill, made the long trip worthwhile with a double, though he lost out to another Wexford runner in the important four-year-old maiden.
Victory in this went to handler, Cormac Farrell (Bunclody), with debutant Holymacapony (Libertarian), under Simon Cavanagh. And there was certainly no fluke about it as he had seven lengths to spare over O’Neill on Colin Bowe’s Grady Hollow, which pipped Jamie Codd on Denis Murphy’s Barrichello.
O’Neill scored by three and a half lengths in the mares’ winner of two on Mt Leinster Gold (Gold Well), trained by Colin Bowe for Celtic Tenor, Anthony Kearns. This was the mare’s third win in four point-to-point runs and she will go on looking for more.
He had initiated the double in the Open Race on Winged Leader for his northern ally, David Christie; it was deserved as Winged Leader had been second in four previous outings.
Young Jordan Gainford from Caim had his fourth winner of the season in a Wexford-dominated five-year-old geldings’ maiden, scoring on Warren Ewing’s Will Carver, ahead of Rob James on Kate Harrington’s God Knows Why and Barry Stone on Jonathan Fogarty’s Furkash.
At Tallow near Dungarvan the next day, the meeting went off without a hitch despite the weather, and Barry O’Neill had his second double in successive days.
This time his combination with Colin Bowe in the four-year-old maiden produced a win for the imposing Glenglass (Ocovango), with a length to spare over Simon Cavanagh on Denis Murphy’s Poppa Poutine, with Rob James third on Matthew Flynn-O’Connor’s Bebraveforglory.
O’Neill completed his double in the older geldings’ maiden on the Richard Black (Bunclody)-trained son of Flemensfirth, Zihuatanejo. This one is now heading for a hurdle on the track, and good luck to the poor commentator!
In the five-year-old geldings’ maiden there were just two finishers from the eight runners, and it was a success for Tiernan Power-Roche on Michael Murphy’s (Redbridge Stables, Duncormick) Recite a Prayer (Recital). O’Neill and Bowe were well back on Sunset West.
Roche-Power and Murphy were second in the Open Race with Better B Quick. Both of these are doing well this season, with Roche now seventh in the championship on seven winners, and Murphy on six.
Barry O’Neill is a clear leader as he bids for his fourth riders’ championship on 26, from Jamie Codd (17) and Rob James, sharing third on 13.
It is remarkable that Wexford trainers fill seven of the top nine places. Colin Bowe is leading on 18, from Sam Curling (14), Denis Murphy (13), David Christie (nine), Donnchadh and Seán Thomas Doyle (level on eight), Ellen Doyle (seven), and Michael Goff and Michael Murphy (both on six).
There are three meetings next Sunday, at Knockanard, near Fermoy; Punchestown, and Lisboney, near Nenagh.