O’Neill rides again
Barry’s second point to point award
AT the Horse Racing Ireland annual awards Barry O’Neill (Kiltealy) took the point to point accolade for the second year in a row after retaining his riders’ championship. Wexford trainers Colin Bowe and Donnchadh Doyle were also nominated. O’Neill achieved a notable milestone at Borris on Sunday when he rode his 500th career winner between the flags.
Perennial winner, Aidan O’Brien, was beaten this year for the overall flat racing award, but he won’t have shed any tears as the victor was his youngest son, Donnacha, champion jockey with 111 winners in Ireland and three classic victories.
Willie Mullins, not surprisingly won the top National Hunt Award for e milestone another remarkable season where he became champion trainer again with a record 212 winners and the most successful ever Cheltenham Festival trainer with 61 wins.
There was a Wexford link to another Mullins milestone – he achieved his 3,000th career winner when his Timi Roli (4/1) romped in by over eight lengths at the Bettyville track last June.
At Clonmel on Thursday Jamie Codd kept up his recent good run on the track with a maiden hurdle success for Gordon Elliott on Western Honour (2/1); Sean Flanagan was second in the handicap chase on the Dessie McDonagh trained Maighnealta (7/1), jointly owned by the trainer’s wife and Jim Bolger’s wife, Jackie.
Wexford success was scarce at Sunday’s two meeting in Ireland. Jamie Codd had a point to point treble at Fairyhouse before dashing to Punchestown for the bumper where he had to take second on a Gordon Elliott hotshot, Santana Plessis (4/6), behind Joseph O’Brien’s Embittered (9/2).
In a 23-runner maiden hurdle at Cork, Jonathan Moore was second on Noel Meade’s Union Gap (8/1), with JJ Slevin third on Joseph O’Brien’s Band of Outlaws (10/3), both beaten by Maze Runner (13/8) for Willie Mullins.
Joseph O’Brien sent over Camile to contest a pretty lowgrade mares’ handicap hurdle on Thursday at Leicester, and with the considerable assistance of his first cousin, Tom, in the saddle duly won by over two lengths at 7/4.
Daryl Jacob was scrapping for winners with single rides at a few meetings – he cruised in on hot-shot Adjali (4/5) for Nicky Henderson at Market Rasen on Thursday and scored on Torpillo (4/1) for Nigel Twiston Davies at Sandown on Friday.
Tom O’Brien had just two rides at Sandown - he was down the field in the opener but his two and half hour wait for the closing novices handicap hurdle was worthwhile as he drove home Paul Henderson’s Shaw’s Cross (9/2) by half a length.
O’Brien had five rides at Aintree on Saturday; he was unshipped in two and his most lucrative was third on Ultra Gold (12/1) in the £150k Becher Chase over the Grand National fences.
Sean Doyle from Ballindaggin sent over Crosshue Boy and he ran well but tired in the heavy ground to finish midfield.
Jacob was in action at the big Sandown meeting and his best effort was second in the valuable listed handicap hurdle on Nelson’s Touch (11/2), behind Man of Plenty (8/1)
PJ McDonald had five wins in the week, some of them at very good prices.
He spent most of his time down London way; he won at Kempton on Weds on Juanito Chico (11/2) and he had a first and last race double at Chelmsford on Thursday, aboard Deep Intrigue (9/4) for Mark Johnston and outsider, Poppy May (10/1).
He had two rides at Kempton on Friday night and picked up a nice maiden win on debutant Astonished (9/1) for Jim Tate, ands won again at Kempton on Sat. evening on Tagle (8/1).