Dunne enjoys fruitful weekend POINT-TO-POINT
THE IVEAGH Foxhounds raced at Moira, Co. Armagh, on Saturday and there were three winners for Wexford connections, as well as two more winners at the Galway Blazers meeting at Loughrea the next day. Harley Dunne (Blackwater) had a winner each day while Barry O’Neill had four seconds and a winner.
James Kenny, 20-year-old son of trainer Liam from Craanford, got off the mark in the concluding Novice riders’ event by a massive 25 lengths aboard the John Kinsella-owned and trained Court Cave mare, Summons to Court. This was a first training win for Kinsella, who has worked with some Wexford yards but is from Rathdrum in Wicklow.
Kenny could make a bold bid for the Novice riders’ championship this season. He was second in a similar race at Loughrea on Sunday on Kinsella’s Niamh’s Oscar.
Rob James, third in last season’s riders’ title race, has had a good start to the new term and rode his third winner in the opening four-yearold maiden on Donnchadh Doyle’s Buck’s Bin, making all with some very good jumping to hold off Blackstairs Lad by a length for the champions, Barry O’Neill and Colin Bowe.
O’Neill had little luck on the day and had two other seconds – trying to follow up on last week’s win with Bowe’s Lively Beat, and then on David Christie’s Eddie’s Miracle.
Harley Dunne (Blackwater) got on the board for the season in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden with the Philip Rothwell-trained debutant, Peter’s Portrait, moving up on the second circuit to win smoothly.
At the Galway Blazers meeting on Sunday, Barry O’Neill’s frustrating run continued with his fourth second of the weekend in the opener on Colin Bowe’s Pistol Whipped on which he tried to make all only to be caught by 10/1 shot, Unexpected Depth.
The tide did turn in Division 2 of the fouryear-old maiden when the Wexford pair did prevail with Monsieur D’Arque, helped by the last fence departure of Jamie Codd on Denis Murphy’s Byrne of Monaseed. Harley Dunne got second on Seán Thomas Doyle’s Tomgarrow.
Dunne got his second winner of the weekend in the five-years-old plus mares’ maiden on Shane C. Byrne’s Time is Honey, three parts of a length ahead of Codd on Harry Kelly’s Meadowview, in a big field of 14.
Next weekend we have the first local meeting of the new season when the Shillelagh and District Hunt race at Fairwood, Tinahely, on Sunday, and they also run at The Pigeons in Athlone and on Saturday up north at Portrush.