Point to Point Weekly 28-1-26

USEFUL PERFORMANCE

Be Useful is an impressive winner under Jamie Scallan at Dungarvan Reports, pages 4-5

DEREK O’CONNOR

‘Eoin Staples has impressed since turning professional at atime when there are so many talented young claimers on the scene’ Page 2

IN FOCUS PATKELLY

‘When IwenttoJim Bolger’sitopened my eyes to adifferent side of racing. It was very professional and very precise’ The former rider and official looks back at his long association with the sport Page 3

DerekO’Connor Straight to thePoint

Time is rightfor NowIsThe Hour to have anothercrack at thefestival

IWASridingatCragmoreon Sunday, whichwas ahappy coincidence because of what hadhappened earlier in the weekwhen NowIsThe Hour wonthe Thyestes ChaseatGowran for Gavin Cromwell and the BDS Syndicate.

Threeyearsago,I saddled NowIs TheHourtowin the older geldings maiden at Cragmore,givingEvan Nugent hisfirst point-to-point winner Iboughtthe Westerner geldingas athree-year-old storeatthe Goffs Land RoverSaleinAugust2020 and it’sfair to sayhehas needed patience.Ididn’trun him until he wassix.Now,atthe ageofnine, he haswon his firstchase almosttwo yearsafter he finishedsecond in a beginners’chase at Cork.

Heavyground is thekey to him.As Gavin said lastweek, it wasthe first time he really hadtestingconditions since he wona Grade 2novice hurdle at Haydocktwo seasons ago.

Eoin Staples,who gave himan excellentride at Gowran, showed a lot of promiseinpoints and has impressed since turningprofessional lastsummer.Hewon abig handicap hurdle on Come On TheLadsfor Gavin at the Galway festivaland has 26 wins this season, afantastic achievementata time when there aresomanytalentedyoung claimers on thescene

NowIsThe Hour hastaken awhile to wina chase. At the same time,this didn’t come outofthe blue since he ranwelltofinish fourth behind Favori De Champdouinthe Paddy PoweratLeopardstown at Christmas.

Thewinnerbackedthat up with a brilliantdisplayinthe Glenfarclas race at Cheltenham on Saturday. He’s enjoyinganew leaseoflife, goingstrongseven years after he was placedinthree races in points for Warren Ewingasa four-year-old.He wonatGrade 2level as anovice hurdler and anovice chaser and has wonnine of his 25 races on the track.

It’s greattosee Favori De Champdou showinghigh-class form as an 11-year-old.Now he hasshown alikingfor goingcross-country,there could be more bigdaysahead at Cheltenham andPunchestown.I’m sure Gordon Elliottand the Gigginstown team will alsoconsider the Grand National.

Meanwhile,Now Is TheHouris eligible for another crackatthe

National Hunt Chaseatthe festival.

He wasonly acouple of lengths behind Haiti Couleurs when falling twoout in lastyear’s race,sohe would have achance if the ground wassuitable

‘EoinStaples has26wins this season, afantastic achievementata time when thereare so many talented youngclaimerson thescene’

It’s hard to knowwhatisinstore for the maiden winnersfrom Sunday’sCragmorecard. I’mhopeful the twoIrodehaveafutureonthe track. Moltezuma, ageldingby Jukebox Jury,was well prepared for his debutby Ellmarie Holden and stuck to histask bravelytoget the better of aduel with the Tony MartintrainedKill Vanhowe,witheight lengths backtothe third.

IrodeCrystal Waves to winthe mares’ maiden for SamCurling.Ifeltshe had made good progress from her first runatDromahane at the end of last month,and thereshouldbeplenty moretocome from her As her name suggests,she’s a daughter of Crystal Ocean, sireof recentCarrigarostig winner Willow Tide,who waspurchased for £200,000

by Fergal O’Brien when consignedby Aidan FitzgeraldatSaturday’s Tattersalls CheltenhamSale

Ipointedout Sam’sexcellentform inlastweek’scolumn and, fortunately, it didn’t knock him out of his stride.Fromthree runners at the weekend, he hadtwo winners and athird, the other wincoming from Time In ABottle in amares’ maiden at the Tyrellafixture on Saturday.

Highlightofthe dayatthe northern trackwas the victoryofthe Stuart Crawford-trainedCarnfunnock over the 2022 Irish Gold Cupwinner Conflatedinthe open. Thetrainer combinedwith rider Stephen Connor and owner Largy Bloodstock to share in adoublewith the homebredLargy Silver making awinning debutinthe five-year-oldmaiden.

Thefirst winner is alwaysabig moment, and we hadtwo caseslast weekend. Unfortunately, one of them wasatmyexpense. Riding one of my favourite horses,Its On TheLine,we

were denied in the open at Cragmore by Ella Shanahan on In Excelsis Deo for Enda Bolger.Itwas Ella’s firstride in apoint-to-point, making it extra specialfor her Grace Kelly, who is based in Wexfordand hashad severalhorses placedinrecentseasons,got off the mark as ahandler with the Shane Cotter-ridden Another Classic in a mares’ maiden at Tyrella. She’sout of afull-sister to RiversideCity, a winner of the Troytown for Gordon Elliott, so she shouldn’t be shortof stamina. It wasagood performance to beat awell-fanciedmarefromGer Quinn’snursery

Finally, therewas alandmarkofa differentkind at Dungarvan, where DarraghAllen rode his 100th point winner on the Terence O’BrientrainedMissAppleberry. He went on to complete atreblewithwinson Somethinghonest for Paul Kiely and Vals Charmfor PadraigButler,his only other rides on the card

Retiring official

PatKelly (below) says thesport has raised itsstandards over many years

ISTEPPED away from my role as apoint-to-point official on December7 at Ballycrystal, and while it marked the end of alongchapter of my life, it felt likethe righttime

Ihad been involved in the role since 1999, so around 26 years in total, which is along spell. Beforethat,Ihad spentclose to 19 yearsriding, so between the two, point-to-pointracing took up ahugepartofmy workinglife

Whenyou look back, that’s a lot of Sundays,alot of travel and alot of responsibility. I lovedit, butthere comes astage when you feel you’ve done your time Idon’t miss it,which probably confirms I made the decision at the rightmoment. That said, Ihavenothingbut good memories from my time as an official. It wasaprivilege to be involved in thesport for so longand to see at closehand just howmuchithas progressed IgrewupinLouth in a family wherehorseswere alwayspartoflife.Myfather lovedthem,and Istartedwith ponies when Iwas aboutten or 12.

‘You won’talwaysmake populardecisions,but your jobistobefair andapplythe rules’

From thereitwas showjumpingand abit of hunting, and by the time Iwas 15or16Irealised Ipreferred speed.Iliked goingfast. We hadathoroughbredmarethat coulddoeverything, show jump,huntand hunter trials,although she wasn’t theeasiest to deal with Around that time Iwentto work riding outfor Noel Meade,which wouldhave been around 1979. Noel wasa dual-purpose trainer and hadsome very good horsesthen, and it wasagreat place to learn. Itook outanamateur licence and startedridingin point-to-points,initially with that mare,whichItrained myself,though she wasn’t much good for me

Thenextone worked out better and went on to winat Enfield, whichwas really whereitall beganfor me

Ithen went to work in

Wexfordfor HenryCleary, whereIspent aboutfourand a half years It was a brilliant time.Irodeplentyofwinners and hadmyfirstwinneronthe trackthere, ahandicap hurdle in Wexfordfor Willie Martin

After that, IwenttoJim Bolger’s,which openedmy eyes to acompletelydifferent side of racing. It wasvery professional and very precise, and Ilearnedahugeamount abouthow things should be done properly. Ienjoyed my time thereimmensely Ithen movedtothe Curragh to work for PJ Finn, who was extremely good to me.Helet me ride plenty of horses,both as an amateur and in professional races,and Iwas lucky to ride afew nice winners for him

All the while,Iwas ridingin point-to-points as well. Inever stopped.Iwas afreelance amateur butrodeplentyof winners on the tracktoo, mostly over jumps. I’dguessI rode around 125 winnersin point-to-points and about30 on the track. Inever rode any bigones under rules,but Igot

greatsatisfactionfromwinning races againstprofessionals

Thereare plenty of days that stand out, especiallyriding a trebleatTinahelyone day. Some point-to-pointvenues have stoodthe testoftime, others haven’t,but theyall hold memories

I hung up my boots at the end of 1998.

At that stage,Ihad been workingfor John Hayden on the Curraghasassistant trainer,and Ihad agreat time with him

We trainedand rode plenty of winnerstogether,and Iwas very involved in the day-to-day runningofthe yard.The natural nextstepmight have beentogotrainingmyself,but around then the opportunity came up to getinvolved with the Curraghtraininggrounds, and Idecided to givethat ago. Ihad my lastrideat Punchestown on theSaturday, and on the Mondaymorning, I startedmynextchapter.I began workingatthe Curragh traininggroundsin1998 under BarryLangan, and after a couple of years,Barry left to

takeupanother role.I progressed from assistant managertomanager and have beenthereeversince

TheCurragh is aworld-class trainingfacility, and people often don’t realisethe scale of it

While the Curraghitself extends to about5,000 acres, we have around 800 acres railed in specifically for the traininggroundsand racecourse,withadditional gallopsatplaceslikethe Little Curragh, Maddenstown and Stepaside

We have nine all-weather gallops,anall-weather schoolingstrip and extensive grassgallops.The gallops open from firstlight andare open until 1pm.The afternoons are spentrepairingthe gallops and preparingeverythingfor the following day.

Becomingapoint-to-point official wasanatural progression. At the time,the Curraghwas under the Irish Turf Club,soasanemployee, youcould putyourselfforward for other roles within the organisation.

Iwantedtostayconnected tothe sport, and it felt likethe rightfit.Myrole wastoensure meetings were runwithin IHRB rules,advisinghunt committees and steppingin when needed.Mostly, it was advisory, butyou hadtobe prepared to make decisions

Thebiggest change over my time as an official hasbeenthe improvementinwelfare and integrity

Coursestandards,fence designand safety measures have allstepped up significantly. Theintroduction of photo-finish and head-on cameras hastransformed the job.

Years ago, you hadtorely entirely on what you sawin real time.Now you have backup,reassurance and far greater consistencyindecisionmaking.

Beinganex-jockeyhelped. Youunderstand the pressures and people respectthat you’ve beenthere.

Youwon’t alwaysmake populardecisions,but your job is to be fair and to apply the rules

Point-to-pointracing has cleaned itself up enormously over the years.Standards are higher than ever,and that’s a goodthing.

Away from racing, I’m married andhavefour children. They have no real interest in horses,which means when Igohome,work staysatwork, and that’s no bad thing.

As for the future, I’ll keep goingatthe Curraghfor now and enjoy havingmy weekends back. Retirementwillcome when it comes PATKELLYWAS TALKING TO DEBBIE McCRELLIS

NEWS AND VIEWS EoghainWard

Allenjoins ton-up club afterDungarvan treble

DARRAGHALLENjoinedan exclusiveclub at Dungarvanon Sundaywhen he reachedthe milestone of 100 point-to-point winners.

TheCorkrider hadbeen tantalisingly closetothe ton sincelandinghis 99th victoryat Qu ak ers to wn in ear ly November

However, it wasa moment worthwaiting for as he sealed his landmarkwinner on the opening legofatreblefor the 31-y ear-old ri der at the Waterfordvenue

Fittingly, it wasinthe older mares’ maidenatDungarvan th at Allen re ac he dt he 100-w inn er ma rk on the Terence O’Brien-trainedMiss Appleberry, because it wasthe same race in which he hadhis firstpoint-to-pointride14 years earlier

On that occasion,his mount Fada’s Jewelcould manage only seventh,but therider has not looked back since Registeringhis firstsuccess

on LenamoreBoy for Denis O’HerlihyatBallindeniskin November 2014, Allen has become one of the leading ridersonthe southerncircuit, theregion in which he was crownedchampion in 2024. He hasnow become the latest ri de rt oreac h1 00 winners, followingonfrom Jack Hendrick,who wasthe last to do so at Borris Houselast March.

Ocean carrieson making waves

Ahead of his second crop of four-year-olds takingtothe point-to-point fields in the comingweeks,CrystalOcean hascontinuedtomakewaves within the pointingsphere. CrystalWaves washis latest impressivewinnerwhen she stepped forward from an eyecatchingdebut at Dromahane over the Christmasperiod to wincomfortably at Cragmore on Sunday.

Ownedand bred by the

Liscar roll point-to-point secretarySiobhan Madden, the baymarebecame the 11th offspringofCrystal Ocean to wininthe point-to-pointfields, followingonfromCristal D’Estruval, who gothim off the mark at Lisronagh11months ago.

Cristal D’Estruval proved a bighit in the sales ring after th at de bu tv ic to ry when to pp ing the Cheltenham FestivalSale.

That samesales ring saw another sonofCrystal Ocean provetobeindemand.Aidan Fitzgerald’s Willow Tide,who hadbeenunlucky to fall on his debutatBoulta,madeamends at Carrigarostigthis month, winningbythree and ahalf lengths

That wasa performance which im pr es se dm an y potentialpurchasers,ashe wasknockeddowntoFergal O’Brien for £200,000 at last Sa tu rd ay ’s Ta tt ersalls Cheltenham Januarysale,

turning ahefty profit for Fitzgerald’sCobajayStables team,who hadboughthim for €10,000 at the 2024GoffsArkle Sale

Leading suits you

Hearts And Spades became the firsthorsethis season to win four times when his unbeaten runcontinuedatTyrella

IanMcCarthy’sseven-year-old dominated what on paperhad the lookofacompetitive winners-of-three contest.

However, the four-length winning margin disguised his superiorityovereight rivals at the Down venue, as he scarcely hadtobeasked aquestion by regular riderEoin Mahon to wineasilyand,indoingso, follo wed up victor ies at Peppards Castle,Boulta and Dromahane this season.

Formerly trainedbyColm Murphy, he hasthrived since switchingbacktopointingfor IanMcCarthy, contributingto the Kildarehandler’s 83 per

cent strike-ratethis season, with five winners from six runners

Twelvemonths ago, Winged Leader hadalreadynotchedsix victories by this pointofthe season,which sawhim sittwo wins clear of PrioryPark, and he went on to securethe champion point-to-pointhorse

crownfor asecond consecutive season. This time around,itisa horse who started the season as amaiden who sitsatthe top of the standings,with twoofPat Do yle ’s le adi ng op en performers,Hunters Yarn and MagicSadler, givingchase on three winnersapiece

STONEHALL AT CRAGMORE SUNDAY

ONE ride, one win, 100 per cen t su ccess -r at e. El la Shanahan could be forgiven if she opted to retire from the saddle with a perfect record after a fairytale first ride in public

Not only that, but she beat Ireland’s 11-time champion rider Derek O’Connor, who is a handful short of 1,400 winners and riding a horse who is a Foxhunters legend.

“It was surreal,” said the 22-year-old student, from Clarina, a few miles south-west of Limerick. “We bypassed a couple of fences because of the low sun and I just kept shoving and riding away “I genuinely thought Derek would beat me and I was fine with that, but when I heard over the microphone that I was actually in front, I couldn’t believe it It’s the kind of thing you dream about and for it to actually happen was insane.” Shanahan, who rides out for Limerick trainer Enda Bolger when she’s not studying for a

Star performance

Moltezuma toughed it out on his debut in a race where the front pair quickened clear off a steady gallop

Bachelor of Arts degree at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, partnered the Bolger-trained In Excelsis Deo to her moment of glory at her local track in the Boyce Brothers open against only two rivals The eight-year-old gelding had been gifted to the Bolger yard by owner JP McManus for the staff to ride out.

“I have to thank my friend Mr McManus as this horse was a present from him for the lads to ride out at home It’s a nice one from that point of view and we’re delighted for Ella,” said Bolger, who could run In Excelsis Deo back on the track when there is some decent spring ground.

The McManus-owned Its On The Line, a narrow runner-up in the hunter chase at the last three Cheltenham Festivals and wi nner of Ai nt re e’s Foxhunters’ in 2024, was made long odds-on favourite to win the three-runner open, but when the last two fences were omitted in the home straight due to the low sun, it meant he was vulnerable to a fasterfinishing rival.

And that was how the finish panned out. In Excelsis Deo, winner of the Grade 2 Silver Trophy at Cheltenham in April 2024 for Harry Fry and seventh on his first points outing at Ballindenisk two weeks earlier, challenged Its On The Line after the omitted last fence and forged ahead by half a length by the line.

O’Connor had won the first two races, opening with victory in the Eleanor Gammell fiveyear-old mares’ maiden on Crystal Waves for leading trainer Sam Curling. Sporting the colours of her

LISMORE AT DUNGARVAN SUNDAY

In Excelsis Ella –fairytale debut for BA student Allen gallops past 100 milestone

DARRAGH ALLEN dominated the meeting with a treble, which also brought up his century of winners in point-to-points

He began with Miss Applebe rr y for lon g-s tand in g supporter Terence O’Brien in the Conor Lannen The Country Store older mares’ maiden.

But the former southern region champion had to work hard on the ex-British bumper performer, who had made a pleasing points debut by finishing fourth in the Boulta adjacent hunts maiden in late November

After edging into a narrow lead on the outer after two out, Miss Appleberry was faster away from the last than the challenging Tiffiny’s Girl, but began to drift around on the run-in.

That allowed Tiffiny’s Girl to hold every chance on the long run to the line, but Allen managed to conjure extra from his mount in the final 75 yards

Star performance

Hunters Yarn produced his customary burst of speed after the last fence to win impressively

to win by half a length in the silks of her trainer’s longstanding British patron Derrick Mossop

It was a memorable day for O’Brien, who was also on the mark with Rusheen in the novice handicap chase at Naas

The 31-year-old rider ’s second winner came on the Paul Kiely-trained mare Somethinghonest in the Al Eile Stud adjacent hunts maiden.

The five-year-old, who was fourth on her debut at Ballindenisk in late November for breeder Michael Ronayne, moved to the front before two out and had two serious challengers coming to the last in

breeder Siobhan Madden, the daughter of Crystal Ocean had caught the eye on her debut at Dromahane over Christmas, and stepped forward from that introduction to beat the newcomer Found It by six lengths

“They went a good gallop and she always tries her heart out,” Curling said “It was a lovely introduction the last day, so we were hopeful. She only does enough. It’s my first winner for the owner and she will be for sale now.”

O’Connor combined with regular ally Ellmarie Holden to wi n the Jo sh’s Ba r and

He inek en five-y ear -old ge ldin gs ’ ma ide n on Moltezuma

Bought for €80,000 at the 2024 Go ffs Arkle sa le by Holden’s father Paul, the grey son of Jukebox Jury showed a great attitude to regain the lead having been headed after the last to beat fellow first-timer Kill Vanhowe by half a length

“He won well, he’s a tough horse,” Holden said. “He was too immature last year after we bought him We were quite hopeful coming here today, and he will be for sale now.”

The Macro Stainless Limerick winners-of-one prize stayed

within the county border when Seamus Murnane saddled Dromleigh to land a welldeserved ten-length success

The ten-year-old had been without a win since his maiden victory at Kildorrery nearly three years earlier. However, he had been placed eight times since then and ensured he was not winning out of turn by com for ta bly be at in g the Turtulla maiden winner Rilo Tang under David Doyle

“He deserved it as he ran some very good races without winning,” Murnane said. “The plan is to go for a winners-oftwo race en route to the banks

Wrong Decision and Howyasox

The latter fell and Somethinghonest’s superior speed on the run-in saw her draw two len gths cl ea r of Wr on g Decision.

Allen, who started his career at Dungarvan in 2012, brought up his treble and his 102nd winner on the Padraig Butlertrained Vals Charm in the Murray’s Care Plus Pharmacy older geldings’ maiden.

Vals Charm, having finished in the frame on his two most recent outings, notably when chasing home Benwisken at Ballindenisk this month, travelled well and led after two out to beat Tea In The Park by four lengths

“We bought him as a foal from his breeder, Seamus Kennedy, and he is improving the whole time We’ll run him in a wi nner s’ ra ce no w, provided he’s not sold,” Butler said of his brother JJ’s winner Ladies’ championship leader

Emily Costello rode her eighth winner of the season on Pat Doyle’s Hunters Yarn in the To m Mo rri ss ey Bu ildin g Contractor novice riders’ open.

Hunters Yarn, who had won for Costello at Moig South and Aghabullogue in recent weeks, ch al len ge d Ki ng Al ex approaching two out and although that rival still led at the last , Hu nt er s Ya rn unleashed his trademark devastating turn of foot on the run-in to win by a widening three lengths over Garrett Ahern’s admirable veteran.

“He’s a grand horse, and the track may not have really suited him, but Emily gave him a great ride,” Doyle said of the Simon Munir and Isaac Souedeowned winner

“He’ll probably go for the hunter chase at Naas next month or the Tetratema Cup at Gowran in March.”

The Topline Currans fiveyear-old geldings’ maiden

attracted the biggest field of the day and Alan Ahern’s Jerry The Dreamer stepped forward from his fifth at Aghabullogue two weeks earlier to beat eight rivals

Ridden by Johnny Barry, the Blue Bresil-sired winner, a halfbrother to two Graded-winning British hurdlers, came between horses to lead over 100 yards out to beat Go Down Rockin by a length

Jerry The Dreamer is now likely to be sold, as is the Kieran Roche-trained Be Useful after her success in the Bridgie Terries Restaurant and Gain Equine Nutrition five-year-old mares’ maiden.

Be Useful, who was lying third when falling at the second-last on her Umma Hous e debut in October, picked up the running before two out under Jamie Scallan, and survived a final-fence error to beat Push Push by six lengths

race in Punchestown.”

There was further success for Limerick connections when Ja ck Be nnet t, wh o, lik e Murnane, also trains in Bruff, won the Kerry Farm and Home Store older mares’ maiden with his own Start In The West The Westerner mare had disappointed when beaten at short odds when taking on gel din gs in an un pl ace d maiden at Dromahane last month, however she bounced back to the promise of her Mo ig So ut h ou tin g in November by beating Our Haybob under Cal Shine

Black Dakota atoned for

falling at the penultimate fence at Dromahane a month earlier by landing the 16-runner Goulding’s Fertiliser and The INHSC older geldings’ maiden. Mick Winters’ seven-yearold had looked the likely winner at the Mallow venue last month, but he secured due compensation under Andy Burke Ott by returning six lengths clear of an improved Our Haybob

“He was unlucky to fall in Dromahane when going well,” Winters said. “He is improving with each run. He’ll win three more point-to-points before the season is out!”

EAST DOWN AT TYRELLA SATURDAY

FOR the second year running the Stuart Crawford-trained Carnfunnock landed the Bluegrass and Dengie open.

An eye-catching sixth behind top hunter chaser Its On The Line at Down Royal on St Stephen’s Day, the Largy Bloodstock-owned nine-yearold had another big name to contend with when the 2022 Ir ish Go ld Cu p wi nner Conflated lined up in opposition.

That 12-year-old led the field into the home straight, but Carnfunnock was produced late by a confident Stephen Connor before easily asserting on the run-in to win by six lengths

“I was just saying to the Largy lads, Raymond Scullion and Martin McGrogan, I think that was his best performance to date,” said Connor

“The main aim is Cheltenham now, but whether he ha s anot her ru n in the meantime is up to Stuart I’d imagine he’ll be kept fairly fresh.”

Victory completed a double for Crawford and Connor as they had scored with newcomer Largy Silver in the Dennison JCB five-year-old geldings’ maiden

A half-brother to Largy Star, who was a dual winner for owners Largy Bloodstock in the autumn, the Sholokhov gelding fended off all rivals from the front, and although his stablemate Wings Of Ayrton threw down a strong challenge, Connor’s mount produced the better jump at the last fence which allowed him to draw clear by a length

“We felt we had two very

‘That was his best performance to date’

–

Carnfunnock given Cheltenham target

Star performance

Carnfunnock looked to be value for his six-length winning margin over dual Grade 1 winner Conflated

promising horses coming here and, ideally, would have preferred not to have to run them against each other, but that’s just how it worked out,” said Ben Crawford, younger brother of the winning handler

“We couldn’t have asked for a better result, finishing first and second.”

A hat-trick was not out of the question for Connor when Tony The Pony, his mount in The Morning Star Bar older geldings’ maiden, loomed as a big danger to West Of Idaho entering the straight.

However, the long-time leader had enough in reserve under Barry O’Neill to see it out by a length and a quarter The success allowed the six-yearold to make amends for two late falls in the autumn and to supply David Christie with his

first winner since late October

Grace Kelly’s long trip from Blackwater, County Wexford, proved worthwhile as she saddled her first winner when Another Classic landed the Tattersalls Ireland Winter Sale five-year-old mares’ maiden.

Out of a sister to the 2015 Tr oy to wn Ch as e wi nne r Riverside City, Shane Cotter’s mount took a big step forward from her Tattersalls debut in October, as the Shantaramsired bay overhauled the favourite Sky Blue Ribbon approaching the last to win by three and a half lengths

It was even easier for Hearts And Spades as he brought up a four-timer in the Cosy Roof winners-of-three

Anchor ed in re ar by a confident Eoin Mahon, he easily disposed of the capable Clough Clouds and Bold Fury approaching the last, and never had to be asked a serious question to record a fourlength success for Kildare handler Ian McCarthy.

“I’m delighted with that

performance He’s a big horse with an abundance of ability, but we’ve spent this season teaching him to race properly, switching him off out the back,” McCarthy said.

“He’s a very exciting horse for the future. He does have a mark on the track, but for the moment the plan is to keep him in the point-to-point field.” Sam Curling sourced leading point-to-point mare The Great Unknown from Henr y de Bromhead, and he looks to have another unear the d another fine prospect out of that Waterford stable as Time In A Bottle dominated the James Armstrong Auctioneers and Valuers older mares’ maiden.

Making her stable debut, the British-bred daughter of Castle Du Berlais, who had finished placed five times on the track, eased to a seven-and-a-half length defeat of Romantic Getaway in the hands of David Doyle, and will now likely climb the ranks within the pointing sphere.

OURTRIGGER, an own-brotherto histop-class stablemate GAELIC WARRIOR,was a comfortablewinnerfirsttime out at Gowran on Thyestes DayforWillie Mullins and owners Bronsan Racing & Kirwan Group

“He's averymaturefour-year-old and Iwas hoping he would dothat. Ithink he could beverygood.We'll definitelyenter himforthe Cheltenham Bumper”

Jockey Patrick Mullins

BORDER LAD,wonthe 5YO Geldings Maiden at Aghabullogue by25 lengthsfirsttime outforTom Keating

Sire of more Gradedwinners atthe Cheltenham Festival than anyother active GB & IRE sire bydual Champion NH Sires

WALK INTHE PARK and YEATS