O’Neill and Codd neck and neck

THERE WAS a two-day meeting at Largy, Co. Antrim, on Friday and Saturday and Barry O’Neill and Jamie Codd continued their battle for the riders’ title over both days.

Codd had a double on day one while O’Neill had his only win on day two, and at that stage they were tied on 39 each going into Sunday, where O’Neill edged ahead with another winner.

After all the weekend action, O’Neill on 40 leads Codd by one, with Derek O’Connor on 34 and Rob James fourth on 26.

Seán O’Keeffe is leading novice on nine wins, two ahead of Shane Fitzgerald from Cork who works with Michael Goff at Clondaw, Ferns.

Donnchadh Doyle is leading trainer on 22, from Colin Bowe on 21, Pat Doyle (Tipperary) on 20 and Denis Murphy on 14.

On Friday, Seán O’Keeffe (Taghmon) kept his great season going when winning the four-year-old mares’ maiden on Wild Polly (Mahler-Dalzena) for Ashleigh and Michael Murphy from Duncomick, with Crossgalesfamegame coming third for Benny Walsh and Jenny Roche (Murrintown).

Rob James had a comfortable win on Colin Bowe’s Inishbel (Arakan-Schindlers Dame) for Pat McCartan in the five-year-old mares’ maiden, with Codd second on Paul Martin Pierce’s (Killurin) Shelcomeonfordrun.

Codd’s double came on Some Response for Brian Hamilton (Downpatrick) in the winner of one, and on Uluroo for Sam Curling (Tipperary) in the six-year-old geldings’ race, aided by the last fence fall of Barry O’Neill on the favourite, Hill of Keash.

At Largy on Saturday there was little success for the Wexford connections who bypassed the Island Hunt meeting at Courtown. Barry O’Neill scored the only win, guiding David Christie’s Corella Creek to a fourth success in the mares’ winner of three.

The re-fixed Stonehall meeting in Limerick on Sunday was very significant for Wayne Kavanagh from Blackwater who trained his first career winner in the five-year-old plus mares’ maiden, Backintheoldtimes (Olden Times-Tinas Friend) doing it well under Shane Fitzgerald.

Both divisions of the five-year-old geldings’ maiden came to Wexford. Luke Murphy (Inch) took Division 1 for Denis Murphy with Serious Ego (Sholokhov-Sunshine Story), and Division 2 was won by Barry O’Neill on Colin Bowe’s Danny Whizzbang (Getaway-Lakil Princess).

There was a small Wexford presence at Dromahane in Cork for the Doneraile Hunt meeting, and the best run was second in the four-year-old mares’ maiden for Jimmy O’Rourke on Seán Doyle’s Annie Mc, with Mark Scallan third on Seán Osborne’s Its Not Funny.

The big local fixture is the Bree Hunt meeting at Monksgrange, Rathnure, on Sunday, starting at 2 p.m.

They race at Taylorstown (Newry), and Lisronagh (Tipperary) on Saturday, and at Ballindenisk (Cork) and Stowlin (Galway). There will be a lot of attention on both hunter chases and the cross-country race at Punchestown this week.