BARCLAY Communications are sponsoring the three-mile handicap chase at Down Royal this afternoon and ‘warmed up’ for the occasion by sponsoring the winners of two at Loughanmore last Saturday.

Only four runners went to post but, while the other two were well-beaten, there was a tremendous duel from before the second last between two French-bred geldings, the longtime leader, Ballydam, and Faith Loving.

The latter took up the running between the final two fences but a mistake at the last didn’t help his cause and, caught close home, he went down by a head.

Ballydam, who was once trained at Loughanmore but joined Brian Hamilton’s Downpatrick yard in the summer of 2020, was ridden by Ben Harvey who was welcomed back to the number one spot by numerous, delighted and multi-aged members of The Lonely Poet Syndicate. (see page 60).

Another Downpatrick trainer on the mark was Patrick Turley whose newcomer, Hartur D’Arc, impressively won the Dennison Commercials four-year-old geldings’ maiden by 17 lengths.

The French-bred Diamond Boy bay, who carried the colours of the trainer’s wife, Mary Kelly, was ridden by Downpatrick’s Deckie Lavery.

Colours

Ballydam’s former owner, and host for the day, Wilson Dennison, had his black and white quartered colours carried to success twice at this East Antrim Hunt fixture, the pair providing resident trainer, Colin McKeever, with his first victories of the season.

It was good to see local rider Cormac Abernethy being given his chance to shine on the first of these, the Shirocco bay Ballyblack, who made all to beat the Gerald Quinn-trained Glengeever by a length and a half in the Tattersalls NH five-year-old geldings’ maiden.

The Dennison/McKeever double came up in the concluding Move Right Therapy older geldings’ maiden where the Stowaway bay Loughhill, a rare seven-year-old at the Co Antrim yard, scored by three and a half lengths in the hands of Galway native Stephen Connor who is based at Loughanmore.

Loughhill, who was having his eighth start, is out of the King’s Theatre mare Fashionista and so is a half-brother to the Lois Eadie-bred Bobsworth (by Bob Back) whose 11 wins included the 2013 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

It was good to see these Loughanmore horses score at home and while the yard had no winners the following afternoon at Tattersalls, they did have two placed horses from three runners.

The very much in-form David Christie did have a winner at that Meath and Tara meeting when his own Marinero won the novice riders’ open under Oran McGill.

The 12-year-old Presenting gelding scored by one and a half lengths from the Warren Ewing-owned and trained Brain Power who was ridden by Oran’s younger brother Dara.

Neil Gault joined the list of northern riders to win over the weekend when he landed the unplaced maiden on the long-absent Magheralagan.