Wexford leads in two title races POINT-TO-POINT

IT WAS another very busy week on the pointto-point scene, with six meetings around the country yielding widespread Wexford success.

The battle for the title of top rider is really hotting up, with a Jamie Codd treble at Ballyragget pulling him within one of Barry O’Neill (31 to 30), and eleven times champion Derek O’Connor is sneaking into serious contention on 27. Donnchadh Doyle leads the handlers’ table by one from Colin Bowe, 18 to 17.

The Bree Hunt meeting scheduled for Monksgrange on Sunday was called off during the week and has been re-scheduled for the end of April.

It was replaced by the re-fixed North Kilkenny hunt meeting, where Jamie Codd finished with a flourish to win the final three races.

Codd won the Open by a neck with a surging finish on Rory O’Meara’s Coolnagorna; he had it easier in the Winners of One, coming home ten lengths clear on John Paul Brennan’s (Camolin) Financial Outcome (Financial Rewards-Catríona’s Mare), and he took the concluding older geldings’ maiden with Take Revenge for Martin Brassil (Kildare).

Codd also had a couple of seconds, one of them being in the opening five-year-old geldings’ maiden on Denis Murphy’s Crio Cuervos, with victory going to Liam Kenny from Craanford via Redzor (Shantou-Knockara One), ridden by Richie Deegan (Borris) for Gorey hotelier, Patrick Redmond.

Donnchadh Doyle got on the board in the five-year-old mares’ maiden with Executive Capilano (Milan-Capilano), ridden by James Walsh (Tinahely), ahead of Codd on Denis Murphy’s Cloudy Music and O’Neill third on Bowe’s Ninja Nelly.

At Tyrella, Co. Down, on bank holiday Monday, the long trip paid off for Wexford connections, with a double in the five- and six-year-old maidens.

Barry O’Neill and Colin Bowe combined to win the mares’ race with Its All A Lark, a bay by Oscar, while the geldings’ race was won by the Benny Walsh-trained and ridden Aclassagold (Goldwell-Midnight Classic), for R.J. Cleary and Mark Stafford.

Rising novice star, Seán O’Keeffe from Taghmon, kept up his good run with a fine winning ride on Knockan Run in the older horses’ maiden for Ian Ferguson.

At Moig South in Limerick on Saturday, the Wexford raiders were repelled as Derek O’Connor rode a treble.

The Corrigans were second in the fouryear-old mares’ maiden with Shocona’s Joy, and Mark Scallan was second on Arizona Ranger in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden for handler Brian Jordan (Rathangan) and owner William Bates (Kilmore).

At the Brosna Hunt meeting at Durrow on Saturday, both four-year-old maidens came to Wexford. O’Keeffe struck again in a decent looking geldings’ race, on Treasure Dillon (Sans Frontieres-Treasure Trix) for Pierce Power from The Hook, while O’Neill and Bowe won a Wexford-dominated mares’ race with Larquebuse (Saddler Maker-Sirene Du Rheu), now bound for the sales.

The Boom is Back (Publisher-Wild Coast) won the six-year-old geldings’ maiden under Shane O’Rourke (Foulksmills) for Vincent and James Devereux (Rostoonstown).

He looked beaten but stayed on really well to get back up by three lengths.

On day two of the Durrow fixture on Sunday, there was controversy in the opening five-year-old mares’ maiden. Harley Dunne was first past the post on Shirley Berry’s (Tomhaggard) Burn Baby Burn but was demoted to second after a long stewards’ enquiry, with Shane Byrne’s Devito’sredrobin being promoted.

Mark Scallan (Cleariestown) is more noted as a rider but he had his second win as a handler with Rainbows at Dawn (Black Sam Bellamy-Dawn Breaker) in the older mares’ maiden, with 18-years-old Andrew Walsh from Duncormick giving a good ride to his own horse for his third win of the season.

The Duhallow Hunt meeting at Liscarroll in Cork on Sunday was graced by the presence of President Michael D. Higgins.

The Wexford presence was limited but Rob James did get second in the five-year-old mares’ maiden with Another Theatre of Paul and Andrew Pierce, Killurin.

Another busy week lies ahead with six more meetings, starting with racing at Inch in Cork on Wednesday, March 28; at Loughanmore, Co. Antrim, on Saturday; Castletowngeoghegan in Westmeath, Curraghmore in Waterford, and Quakerstown in Clare on Sunday, concluding with Loughanmore again on Easter Monday.

Advance notice - the Island Hunt race at Courtown on Sunday, April 8.