AS his wife, Katie, received plenty of publicity in this column last Saturday for her Beauabea range of fashion accessories, it’s only fair that we reserve space here this week for Graham McKeever and his point-to-point winner, Brayhill.

McKeever had a most disappointing trip south when the season began on Saturday, September 19th at Ballingarry where all four of his runners failed to complete. However, he had better luck the following afternoon at Oldcastle where Brayhill, his sole representative, finished second.

The five-year-old Sholokhov gelding, who ran five times last season when in the care of McKeever’s father Colin, stepped up on that performance when landing his maiden at Portrush last month and on Sunday at Rathcannon, where again ridden by Michael Sweeney, he claimed the winners of two in the colours of his trainer.

Graham paid just £4,500 for Brayhill when he was consigned by Loughanmore Farms to Goffs UK’s Summer Sale in July but, no doubt, will be expecting a bit more for the bay when he comes under the hammer as Lot 3 at next Thursday’s Goffs UK’s sale of point-to-pointers at Yorton Farm Stud in Wales.

Also heading to the principality from Tildarg Stables is the heretofore luckless four-year-old Westerner filly Rocked Up (Lot 68) who, in her two starts, unseated her rider at Ballingarry before being disqualified after ‘winning’ at Toomebridge having gone the wrong side of a doll.

Other northern pointers heading to the sale include a quartet of four-year-old geldings from Warren Ewing’s Bernice Stables – the winning Fame And Glory bay Bold Endeavour (Lot 49) plus a trio who all finished second last time out, Bold Getaway (Lot 15), Bold Leader (Lot 30) and Cream Of The West (64). From Newlands Farm, Stuart Crawford consigns the five-year-old Mahler mare Well Briefed (Lot 71) who, on her second start, won her maiden at Portrush.

It was good that Brayhill won on Sunday as it’s a long drive from Templepatrick to Rathcannon.

Another northern handler rewarded for time spent on the road last weekend was Derrylin’s David Christie.

On Saturday, he saddled Ray Nicholas’s Some Man to win the open at Curraghmore under Rob James on his seasonal debut.

The seven-year-old Beat Hollow gelding’s nearest rival at the finish, though 10 lengths adrift, was the Crawford-trained Coastal Tiep.