A DAY after her Scorpion half-brother, Burning Ambition, won the hunter chase at Down Royal, the 11-year-old King’s Theatre mare Whenharrymetsally recorded her 14th success between the flags when landing the men’s open at Buckfastleigh in Devon on St Patrick’s Day.

The Keith Cumings-trained bay was ridden by Matt Hampton who has been on board the mare for 10 of her wins. A very consistent sort, Whenharrymetsally has finished second 11 times and was third on four occasions.

Burning Ambition and Whenharrymetsally were bred in Co Meath by Peter Byrne out of the unraced Flemensfirth mare Wyndham Miss Sally, a half-sister to the eight-time winner The Culdee (by Phardante) and to the dam of Champagne West.

IRISH-BRED

There were seven races at that Dart Vale and Haldon Harriers’ meeting at Buckfastleigh, all of which were won by Irish-bred horses. Darren Edwards recorded his 250th point-to-point victory when landing the Connolly’s Red Mills intermediate qualifier on the Nicola Martin-trained favourite Pistol Shoot, a seven-year-old Milan gelding.

That afternoon, Gina Andrews landed a double at Brafield-On-The-Green, where seven of the eight winners carried an IRE suffix and the two Irish-bred winners on the six-race card at Friars Haugh were ridden by Kit Alexander. There was a double also that day for Phil York at Larkhill where he won the mares’ maiden on the Shantou eight-year-old Bluebell Sally.

The opening intermediate at that New Forest Hounds’ meeting went to the British-bred Three Sparrow ridden by Kanturk’s Bryan Carver who, the previous day, won the restricted at Cothelstone on another British-bred runner, Manofmanywords. Josh Newman won the three-mile maiden at that Quantock Staghounds’ meeting on the Ed Walker-trained favourite St Barts, a five-year-old High Chaparral gelding.

Four of the six winners at the Hurworth fixture in Hutton Rudby that afternoon were Irish-bred including the six-year-old Rajj gelding Mr Muldoon who, trained by Co Cork native Joe O’Shea, initiated a double for Joe Wright when landing the restricted.

The breeding honours on the six-race card at Parham where evenly split between the French and the Irish with Gina Andrews bringing up a double in the Timico mixed open on the Nigel Padfield-owned and trained Excitable Island who was recording his 10th success from 14 outings in point-to-points.

DOUBLE

Andrews notched up another double last Sunday at Garthorpe where Irish-breds won six of the seven races including the two maidens. The first of these, the three-miler, went to the Gerald Bailey-trained, Tom McClorey-partnered favourite, The Triple Pillar, a five-year-old gelding by Oscar out of Issaquah (by Supreme Leader).

The two-and-a-half-mile maiden for four, five, six and seven-year-olds was won by the Sophie Lacey-trained Staithes. Ridden by Tommie O’Brien, the 2015 Watar gelding is out of the Beneficial mare Corlea, a half-sister to Manus The Man. The bay is due to come up as Lot 14 at Goffs UK’s Aintree Sale next Thursday.

Five of the seven winners at Kilworthy were bred in this country including the Robert Hawker-owned and trained six-year-old Gold Well gelding Five Gold Bars who initiated a double for Will Biddick in the club members’ open maiden. Bryan Carver landed the mixed open at this Lamerton meeting on the British-bred Dicky Bob.

At Ston Easton, where the last race was declared void due to an injured rider lying near a damaged fence, Meath native Martin ‘Fly’ McIntyre joined forces with trainer Claire Hitch to record a double. The pair got off the mark in the three-runner men’s open with the 10-year-old Darsi gelding Im All Set, one of three Irish-bred winners.

There were five Irish-bred winners on the six-race card at Penshurst and half of the six winners at Brampton Bryan were bred here, one contributing to the four-timer recorded by Alex Edwards on horses trained by Phil Rowley. This was the younger horses’ maiden winner The Composeur, a 2015 Mahler gelding out of the Oscar mare Oscar’s Reprieve. This fellow is another heading to the sale at Aintree where he comes up as Lot 8.

On Saturday, at Askham Bryan College, where four of the six winners were Irish-bred, Joe Wright recorded a riding double, while William Millburn saddled two winners. There were four Irish-bred winners also on the six-race card at Llanfrynach where the father and son team of David and Bradley Gibbs brought up a treble in the open maiden with the six-year-old Court Cave gelding Premier Magic.

Co Tipperary’s William Shanahan rode a winner at Overton where there was only one Irish-bred winner and just one of the six races at Siddington failed to fall to a horse bred in this country.

With the bumper splitting three ways, there were nine races at Milborne St Andrew. Martin McIntrye landed one leg of the flat race on the four-year-old Getaway filly Getaweapon and Bryan Carver won another on the British-bred Grumpy Charley before claiming the conditions race on the ever-reliable Irish-bred Navanman.