NATALIA Lupini claimed the training honours in the period under review, sending out two winners, both of whom were ridden by Billy Lee.

The first of the pair to strike was Barnso who, last Thursday week, stepped up from a mile to win the 10-furlong handicap at Fairyhouse by half a length. The three-year-old Belardo gelding runs in the colours of the MBC Partnership.

The Banbridge trainer was also on the mark the following evening at Down Royal where Angelo Matta’s Talia justified 10/3 favouritism in the seven-furlong BoyleSports Money Back If 2nd to SP Fav Handicap by a head from Red Heel. The McConville family’s Hijo De La Luna was a further short-head back in third.

Two local trainers saddled winners on Sunday, Paul Traynor doing so on the flat at Hamilton where Philip Gilmore’s Fiver Friday, a four-year-old daughter of The Gurkha, just held on to win by a short-head, a nose and a head under Brandon Wilkie in the nine-furlong fillies’ handicap.

At Kilbeggan, the Leanne Breen-trained Reserve Judgement won the three-mile, one-furlong handicap hurdle on his first start for the Warrenpoint handicap. The eight-year-old Ocovango gelding was also running for the first time in the colours of Dromahair’s Ryan Kerins.

LOCAL racing enthusiasts are spoiled for choice at this time of year with regular fixtures at Downpatrick and Down Royal.

The latter track held an evening meeting last Friday and the team there are now looking forward to the BoyleSports Summer Festival of Racing on Friday and Saturday, June 21st and 22nd.

Before that however Downpatrick is holding a two-day meeting next weekend, again promoting the Sunday fixture as an ideal way of celebrating Father’s Day.

The turnstiles open at 12 noon both days which will give younger racegoers even more time to enjoy the face-painting and kids’ corner. Children and adults alike will surely enjoy the street performers and live music and, of course, there is also the racing!

Polo Field

If not everyone wants to go to Down Royal on Saturday June 22nd, they could drop those who do at the track and then head across to Tyrella House where the Northern Ireland Polo Club is holding its annual club tournament at the Polo Field.

Some might be tempted to attend with the thought of picnics, champagne and strawberries and cream.

Today, as there is no local meeting on, or polo tournament, people could perhaps visit the Armagh County Agricultural Show in Gosford Park where the equestrian programme includes a qualifier for the racehorse to riding horse class at the Dublin Horse Show in August. There are also qualifiers for the two Dublin side-saddle classes.

THE 2023/’24 British point-to-point season reaches its conclusion today with the Torrington Farmers’ meeting at Umberleigh in Devon where there is a good-sized entry for the time of year.

Last weekend there was one meeting on Friday, none on Saturday and one on Sunday which was at Bratton Down, also in Devon, where Irish-breds won four of the card’s six races.

There was an exciting finish to the three-runner intermediate where 16-year-old Edward Vaughan, the campaign’s leading novice rider, initiated a double when getting up close home on the 11/10 favourite State Of Fame.

Owned and trained by the rider’s father Tim, the eight-year-old Fame And Glory gelding, who was winning for the third time this season, was bred by Amanda Torrens out of the Kornado mare Nirphanaia.

The following seven-runner men’s open also went the way of the favourite, Ninth Wave, who scored by six lengths in the hands of Callum Pritchard. This was a fifth win at the track and the 11th in total between the flags for the Teresa Clark-trained September Storm gelding. The 10-year-old was bred by Martin McCaughey out of the Cloudings mare Royale Pearl.

By the by, Amanda Torrens has kindly given permission for the 2024 Killyleagh Show to be held on her property on the Ringdufferin Road, Toye, on Saturday, June 22nd, when there will be classes for horses and ponies both on the flat and over jumps (working hunters). This was the site of the former Ringdufferin Golf Club.

WE’RE always happy to note when John and Margery Adams breed a winner, and such was the case at Lingfield last Thursday week when the Marco Botti-trained, Oisin Murphy-ridden So Obsessed rewarded favourite backers in the five-furlong handicap.

The three-year-old Invincible Army filly, who was winning for the first time on grass following two successes on the all-weather, is out of the 2014 Exceed And Excel mare Red Savina, an own-sister to the listed-placed winner White Bullet and a half-sister to four other winners.

Over jumps, the Justin Landy-trained Do No Wrong landed the extended three-mile handicap chase at Southwell on Tuesday by one and a half lengths. This was a fifth track success for the eight-year-old Sageburg gelding who was bred by J.P. King and Patrick Turley out of the Dr Massini mare Uncommitted.

There was a rare winner over jumps last Saturday for the Mick Halford/Tracey Collins training operation, and for Castlewellan owner Paul Rooney, when Slieve Bearnagh landed the two-mile handicap hurdle at Tramore.

This was a first success over hurdles for the Zoffany gelding and for his partner, Halford’s amateur son, Josh, whose two previous successes were recorded in bumpers.

Orr takes four

On the jockey front, Oisin Orr deserves all the plaudits, a four-timer at Wetherby on Monday evening – all for his boss Richard Fahey – being preceded by one, also for Fahey, at Hamilton the previous afternoon.

Also on the flat, there was a welcome win in Australia last Friday week for Martin Harley while, later the same day, both Luke McAteer and Dylan Browne McMonagle partnered winners at Down Royal, Dylan following up with a treble at Listowel on Sunday.

Over jumps, Simons Torrens rode a winner at Tramore last Friday week, Sam Ewing followed suit at Listowel the following afternoon, and across the water Brian Hughes recorded his ninth win of the season in the opening two-mile handicap chase on Legendary Day.