Special New Year’s Day for Murphys

THE FINAL point-to-point meeting of the year was staged at Dromahane near Mallow in Cork on Wednesday, December 28, by the famed Dunhallow Foxhounds, and the first of 2017 was run off at Boulta in East Cork on New Year’s Day, but it was not a great week for Wexford connections.

However, Sunday’s Boulta meeting proved to be a red letter day for the Murphy family from Inch as father, John, scored his first-ever success as a handler and the impressive horse also gave his son, Luke, a first career win in the saddle.

Bloodstream (Scorpion-Gala Festival) had been second at the same venue a little over a month ago to the highly-rated Rosie McQueen, and made no mistake this time to score comfortably by five lengths in the fiveyear-old mares’ maiden.

The horse is owned by John and his wife, Miriam, to complete a real family success.

Barry O’Neill added to his tally at the head of the riders’ championship with another win on his old friend, Maple Mons, who made David Christie’s long journey from Fermanagh pay off.

The Wexford connections had a lean time of it at Dromahane, with Jamie Codd being the only winner, coming home in front in the four-year-old mares’ maiden aboard Cabaret Queen for northern handler, Warren Ewing.

Many times champion, Derek O’Connor, showed he is getting back in the swing after his injury lay-off with a double for Robert Tyner, and he added another on Sunday to increase the pressure.

He is twelve behind Barry O’Neill’s 21 winners, and nine behind Jamie Codd in the riders’ title race, but he can still be a force by season’s end if he remains fit.

The sympathies of all point-to-point people go out to Derek and his family on the death just before Christmas of his mother who was also well known in the racing world.

Codd was second to O’Connor in the fouryear-old geldings’ maiden on Double Portrait for David M. O’Brien, with Rob James third on John Paul Brennan’s Indian Hercules.

Racing next weekend sees the Shillelagh and District Hunt fixture at Fairwood in Tinahely which always attracts lively Wexford interest. They also run at Aghabullogue in Cork.