LUCKILY enough, Frankie Fitzsimons’ 70th birthday celebrations took place a week before Downpatrick’s Keeping It Country raceday so that all guests were able to attend last Sunday’s meeting where the sun shone until after the last.

Organised by daughter Francine and son ‘Junior’, the party was held in the Golf Links House Newcastle, but Frankie had to work for his birthday cake as he on guitar and Clare on keyboards, joined good friends Geoff Drake, Dick Killen and Thomas Cunningham to provide the music on the night.

With his voice recovered from the Dublin Horse Show, where he was on duty as a steward for all five days, Terence McKeag supplied the jokes.

chomping at the bit

Prior to the party, Frankie’s family took him on a tour of Old Trafford but, while he is looking forward to the soccer season kicking off this weekend, he is chomping at the bit for the commencement of the 2016/17 point-to-point campaign, which is scheduled to start with the mid Antrim meeting at Toomebridge on Saturday, October 1st.

Disappointingly for Geoff Drake, who is a member of the Stone Circle Syndicate, their Brian Hamilton-trained Twilight Shadow fell in the mares’ handicap hurdle on Sunday.

The race was won by the J.P. McManus home-bred Teachers Pet whose trainer, Philip Dempsey, was presented with his prize by Downpatrick-born Tony Dobbin.

The 1997 Grand National-winning jockey, accompanied by wife Rose, was on a visit home from Northumbria for his sister Flo’s birthday. The family took a box at the racecourse on Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed their day.

Frankie was surprised to learn that the Arthur Moore-trained Tb Broke Her, who fought back bravely to justify favouritism by a short-head in the Magners Irish Cider Handicap Hurdle, was the last horse to have been broken by the late, great Irish horseman Tommy Brennan. The six-year-old Indian River mare runs in the colours of Pat O’Loughlin, one of TB’s great friends.

There was another tough display at the Curragh on Sunday when 10lbs claimer Robin Smithers recorded his first success on the Michael Halford-trained Castle Guest who, having hit the front well inside the last, held on to score by half a length.

The successful Rock Of Gibraltar gelding, who was posting his seventh victory on his 36th start, runs in the well-known green and black colours of Castlewellan’s Paul Rooney.