Ten local winners at four meetings
IT WAS a busy point-to-point weekend with four meetings over two days, and there were ten Wexford connected winners.
The main contingent headed for the Kildare Hunt fixture at Punchestown where there were four local successes as Barry O’Neill and Jamie Codd continued their battle for the riders’ title.
The reigning champion rider, O’Neill, had his second four-year-old maiden win in successive days when partnering Donnchadh Doyle’s Madiba Passion (Al Namix-Birsheba) to a head victory in a thriller over Ontheropes under Harley Dunne for Denis Murphy.
It looked like being a frustrating day for Codd as he had two seconds, but he ended on a high note with a double in the concluding two races, with O’Neill second in both. O’Neill leads on 25 winners, Codd is on 23, and Derek O’Connor is third on 16.
Codd’s wins came on Caravation for Kildare’s Philip Dempsey in the five-years-old plus mares’ maiden, and Oscar Contender for Tipp’s David Harry Kelly.
Benny Walsh (Murrintown) and Codd fought out the finish of the Farmers’ Hunt Race on a pair of Peter Maher (Kildare) runners, with Walsh prevailing on 13-years-old Enniskillen, ahead of the favourite, Alpha Male.
Walsh is a regular pilot for Maher in banks races and they will head now for The Ladies’ Cup at the Punchestown Festival.
At Knockanard in Cork on Saturday, Colin Bowe and Barry O’Neill won the four-year-old maiden with Shadow Rider (Martaline-Samansonnienne) for Walter Connors. He had six lengths to spare over the favourite, Full Time Score, under Rob James for Seán Doyle.
Craanford handler Liam Kenny and his son, James, both got off the mark for the season with Joe Whelan’s Our Henrietta (Winged Love-Nut Eile), in the mares’ winner of one.
Michael Goff made the long trip from Clondaw, Ferns, to Cragmore in Co. Limerick pay off on Sunday when he won the first four-year-old maiden he has contested this season with Sams Profile (Black Sam Bellamy-Luckylou), in his wife’s colours, ridden by stable jockey Shane Fitzgerald.
Young Seán O’Keeffe from Harveystown, Taghmon, had his third win of the season and his second aboard Denis Hickey’s (Foulksmills) owned and trained Buckie Cullen (Craigsteel-Carrolleena). Conditions were heavy and there were less than 40 runners at the meeting.
There was a rare enough dead heat for first in the Duhallow Hunt meeting at Kildorrery, Co. Cork, on Sunday, with Donnchadh Doyle’s Diger Daudaie (Tiger Groom-Stone Again) under Tinahely’s James Walsh sharing honours with Eugene O’Sullivan’s Stung for Cash in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden.
Shane O’Rourke (Foulksmills) rode his second winner of the season on debutant Goffsbridge in the four-year-old maiden for Ian Power from Slieverue, an impressive looking type.
Roy Tector’s (Clonroche) Turndownthevolume was second under Eddie Keating (Gusserane) in the Winners of Two race.
Next weekend they race at Farmaclaffey in Armagh on Saturday, and on Sunday at Tinahely for the Bray Hunt Fixture starting at 1 p.m., and at Bandon in Cork with the Carbery Hunt.