POINT-TO-POINT fixtures around the country would not happen without the groups of volunteers scattered throughout local communities in all four corners of the island.

Committees up and down the country freely give their time in the weeks and months leading up to a race meeting, transforming agricultural land into once-a-year racecourses fit for subsequent Grade 1 stars.

Their work is not confined to the preparation of the course itself, with many committees now putting on extra family attractions to ensure that for racegoers, their point-to-point fixtures rival those organised by full-time paid professionals on racecourses.

This foundation of volunteerism underpins the sport and is part of its charm, which still attracts so many people to point-to-pointing.

Gerty Murphy was one such volunteer, a woman described by many as the driving force behind Tallow point-to-point.

Introduced to the committee by the late Bill Ronayne in 2011, the daughter of former Clonmel trainer Willie Treacy, she became the first female committee member in the process, where she quickly rose to the position of chairperson and was heavily involved in the success of the annual fixture until she passed away in March last year.

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of her passing, the Tallow committee members will mark her outstanding contributions to the fixture by running the adjacent hunt maiden in her honour next Sunday.

Forward-thinking

“Gerty was very forward-thinking and very passionate about getting the young people involved,” Neilus Mulcahy, the long-standing Tallow point-to-point secretary, recalls.

“She would organise an art competition for all the local schools, and she would have a prize for everyone that entered. She also introduced a dog show to the point-to-point and a most appropriately dressed competition as she was a real stylist herself.”

Anyone in attendance at the point-to-point seminar at the Hotel Minella in 2017 will have noted Murphy’s contributions to the committee’s decision to think outside the box. They had turned to country markets and local traders for their food stalls and approached local businesses and factories, selling tickets to them, which they could then, in turn, give to their employees for a local day out.

“She was very involved in the community and the community rose to her when the point-to-point came around,” Mulcahy adds.

“If on the morning of the races, we were short a person or two for a position, she would ring people up who might not be racegoers and she would find volunteers from within the community to help us out. She was just a fantastic person.

“Jimmy Mangan would have described our committee as Dad’s Army. But Gerty brought life into it when she got involved and made us all young. It’s very seldom you get someone like that, and we all really loved working with her.”

New chairperson

Eddie Collins has stepped into the role of chairperson, having first been asked by Murphy herself to get involved with the committee.

“I would have known Gerty for 40 years; she was a fantastic operator and was determined to get everything done,” he explained.

“Jimmy Mangan suggested the hunt race be run in her honour because the local hunts will have entries for that race. All the local hunts would have known her really well, so it is great that the adjacent hunt race is being run to remember her.

“Her brother Billy is also putting up an extra €500 bonus for the winning connections too.”

The race is open to horses with a West Waterford, United, Kilworth & Araglen, and Lismore hunter certificate, and entries will close on Tuesday.

A NEW year of four-year-old maiden races gets underway tomorrow at Ballinaboola and Bellharbour, attracting 19 and 18 entries respectively.

However, we must now be closing in on a time when the sport’s regulator no longer insists on waiting until the first weekend in February before permitting a four-year-old maiden race to be run.

Already this year, four races in British point-to-points have already featured four-year-old horses, while a request last year from the Point-to-Point Handler’s Association on this side of the Irish Sea to include four-year-old races in the month of January was rejected.

The winds of change are only blowing in one direction at present, with the introduction of two-year-olds at store sales and academy hurdles later this year, it has to be hoped that those in positions of power will keep the sport on the front foot.

Tomorrow’s card at Ballyvodock may not feature a four-year-old maiden, but the Pigeon Hill and Carrigtwohill committee have to be singled out for particular praise.

As mentioned in these pages last month, the committee will offer a bonus of €1,500 for the older maiden, and their initiative has been richly rewarded, with the race attracting 34 entries.

That is the joint-highest entry for any of the 24 point-to-point races to be run this weekend. It has been a very long time since an older maiden has been credited with that title, which makes the achievement all the more noteworthy.

Point-to-point ratings

AS Workahead, the 2023 winner of the five-year-old geldings’ maiden at Cragmore is being readied for a Grade 1 target at next month’s Cheltenham Festival, last Sunday’s renewal looks to have produced two individuals to follow with Klondike (89+) getting the better of the newcomer Apache Tribe.

There were no hiding places in this particular maiden, and it was after the climb into the home straight that this pair asserted their class, with Klondike, in particular, running right through the line. He has the physique to develop into a nice chaser in time.

The open on the card pitched two potential Cheltenham contenders against each other in a rematch of the maiden hunter chase at Limerick over the Christmas period. Con’s Roc had come out on top on that occasion, but a back-to-form Rocky’s Howya (113) took his revenge as the pair pulled 26 lengths clear of the remainder.

Ultimately, less than a length covered the two principals here and they rank among the top open performers this season thus far.