THERE are likely few families more synonymous with point-to-pointing at present than the Doyles of Monbeg Stables.
Since Sean Doyle saddled his first runner in the sphere with Clever Bird at Camolin back in 2004, two of his brothers have followed in his footsteps, with Donnchadh and, most recently, Cormac becoming handlers in their own right.
Between the trio they have accumulated over 500 victories in the sphere, and they will now soon be joined by a fourth brother, as Eamonn Doyle is set to saddle runners in his own name in the very near future.
No stranger to point-to-pointing, Eamonn has long been a significant cog in the various Monbeg operations of his brothers stretching back across a number of years.
Zagmeister, the first horse that his brother Donnchadh saddled as a handler at Tallow in February 2011, ran in Eamonn’s own colours and, since then, he has been a regular visitor to the winner’s enclosure at fixtures across the country having had an involvement in some of the biggest names that that the Monbeg family have become so famous for producing.
No surprise
Given that experience, it was no surprise that the lure to branch out on his own proved attractive.
“It is always something that I have been thinking about,” he admits. “I have been lucky enough to be associated with a lot of the good horses that my brothers would have had through their hands, the likes of Topmangame, Bravemansgame, Gentlemansgame, and American Mike.”
Having built a barn with 20 stables in his homeland, Doyle will begin the next chapter of the family’s association with the sport, as he has initially taken out hunter certificates for nine horses, seven four-year-olds and two five-year-olds who are being readied for action in the weeks ahead.
“The horses will be running under the Mossy Fen Stables banner. Mhuine Bheag is the Irish name for Monbeg and it means Mossy Fen. The name Mossy Fen has so far been a good name for us.
“Mossy Fen won his maiden at Loughbrickland and went on to win a Grade 2 in England for Nigel Twiston-Davies, and more recently, we have had Mossy Fen Park and Mossy Fen Road, who both won their maidens and look smart horses.
Horse to follow
“Mossy Fen Park was bought as a foal and won his maiden last year. He was second in a Grade 2 at Easter, and then Mossy Fen Road won first time out at Ballyragget last season. He is now with Harry Derham, who really likes him, and he is probably a horse to follow on the track this year.
“The barn is full now between point-to-pointers and horses for pre-training, and hopefully, all going well, I’ll have my first runner next weekend.”
EXCITEMENT is building for all involved within the Island hunt ahead of tomorrow’s point-to-point, as they unveil a new course.
Located just north of Kilmuckridge in Wexford (Y25 HY96), Peppards Castle is a left-handed course set across two fields, and it has attracted a total of 77 entries, including 28 horses for the opening four-year-old maiden at the inaugural fixture.
“It is not easy to find new tracks, so we are very grateful to have this. The course is on the family land of our hunt secretary, Belinda Walsh, and we are really looking forward to it,” John Gahan, point-to-point secretary, explained.
“We are lucky to have the support of a number of local handlers which has been a great help. It is all quite new, but we are working hard, figuring out where to put everything, with the parking and things like that.
“We are just trying to have everything set-up as best as we can for the first time there and hopefully the weather will be in our favour.
“We have a big screen booked for the day, which will hopefully also add to the day for spectators to give them a better view of the racing.”
Instinct catches the eye at Loughanmore
SPARE a thought for those connections who thought they might have found a nice opportunity in the older maiden at this afternoon’s fixture in Loughanmore when, with just 10 minutes to go until the closing of entries, there were just four entries.
By midday on Tuesday, the entry for the finale had increased marginally to six, but contained within that sextet was an eye-catching newcomer.
Instinct D’Ainay could carry the silks of leading owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede if the son of Authorized is declared later today to make his belated racing debut at the age of six.
Out of a Dom Alco mare who was a multiple winner at listed and Grade 3 level in France, Instinct D’Ainay commanded a fee of €140,000 when he was purchased by connections at the 2021 Derby sale. It once again highlights the quality of horses that can crop up across all age groups within the point-to-point fields at present.
Point-to-Point ratings
GER Quinn’s season opening success at Toomebridge with Shabalko D’Herm served as quite the warning for what was to come as his stablemate Kovanis (95++) certainly set the new season alight with a blistering debut victory in Portrush last Saturday, writes Eogháin Ward
There were few hiding places in the 11-runner maiden, which was run to a good tempo throughout, and clocked by far the quickest time on the card.
However, that proved to be little of a test for the Philip McBurney-owned French-bred, who easily kicked into an extra gear after jumping the penultimate fence to swiftly put the race to bed with a 10-length success.
It is still a very early juncture to what should be a bumper autumn campaign in the age category, but by Christmas, this will still likely rank amongst the pick of the performances that we will have seen.
The corresponding four-year-old maiden at Loughrea 24 hours later was run in a very different style.
A slow gallop did not increase until too late in the race to allow the principals showcase their abilities, with Un Sens A La Vie (90+) battling best as less than five lengths covered the first six horses home.