DARA McGill recorded a double on last Saturday’s six-race card at Portrush, getting off the mark in the A. Diamond & Son Timber Ltd five-year-old and upwards mares’ maiden on Springtime Promise who is owned by his older brother, and fellow qualified rider, Orán and is trained by their father Gary.

The six-year-old Fame And Glory bay was having her second run for the Maghera family on Saturday, her first having been in a 14-runner mares’ maiden hurdle in late August at Ballinrobe where she finished a promising fifth.

The bay was previously trained by Ciaran Murphy for whom she placed three times in four point-to-point starts. She last ran for the Co Westmeath handler in February 2022 when seventh of 12 in a bumper at Thurles.

Springtime Promise, who was purchased privately in the early summer, will next run in a winners’ of one at Moira. Gary has one four-year-old newcomer entered at Loughanmore today (the Malinas mare Bishbashbosh) and has a couple of other horses to get out this autumn before the bulk of his pointers, now three-year-olds, appear in the spring. He is also planning a trip to Cheltenham at the end of the month for the Taphouse Syndicate’s five-time winning hurdler, Building Bridges.

Double up

On a day when southern raiders were few and far between, Dara, the reigning Under 21 champion, brought his double up in the following Glenavon House Hotel open where all four runners of the were trained by local handlers.

The winner was the eight-year-old Yeats gelding Jay Bee Why who, in the colours of Shane Wilson, was having his first run for Templepatrick trainer Warren Ewing.

The bay made a winning point-to-point debut this time four years ago at Loughanmore for the Colin Bowe yard and the following month was sold for £68,000 at Tattersalls Cheltenham to Highflyer Bloodstock and Alan King.

Having won two hurdle races in 16 outings on the track since then, he was consigned by King to this year’s Goffs UK’s Spring Sale where he was knocked down for £32,000 to a trio of Wilson, Derek O’Connor and Graham McKeever.

The meeting concluded with the Specialist Joinery older geldings’ maiden where all six runners were trained in the northern region and where Randalstown’s Erin Dunseath recorded her first success on board her own Mountorra.

The Scorpion six-year-old, who is trained by Gerald Quinn, beat the Orán McGill-ridden Coothill by three-quarters of a length.

Erin works with Quinn at the Caherty Stables of Philip McBurney Racing. Also working full-time at the Ballymena yard is Dunseath’s elder sister Megan who made history in Australia last year when she was the first woman to ride a winner over jumps at the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival.

The siblings were very keen on mounted games when members of the Mid-Antrim Branch of The Pony Club and Erin was so set on competing at the Dublin Horse Show in the discipline that she became a member of the Wexford Branch of the Irish Pony Club but, most disappointingly, they failed to qualify.

Twenty-year-old Erin, who rides out some lunchtimes for Sammy Wilson, purchased Mountorra, who she rode twice last season, over the summer. He is the only racehorse she owns but she keeps some hunters and sport horses as well.

Coothill is trained by Colin McKeever for Wilson Dennison who earlier had enjoyed better luck with the Cormac Abernethy-partnered Clashhill, winner of the Tattersalls NH and Bensons Estate Agents five-year-old geldings’ maiden on his third start.

The Ocovango bay, who provided his Loughanmore connections with their first success of the season, is out of the unraced but very well-related Shantou mare Stein Castle.

CONOR McKenna didn’t stay long Down Under following the Australian Rules Grand Final on the last Saturday in September when his team, the Brisbane Lions, were narrowly beaten (90 points to 86) by Collingwood in Melbourne.

Last Friday evening, Conor, who had signed a one-year deal with the Lions for the 2023 season, was at Dundalk Stadium where the eight-year-old New Approach gelding Wajaaha, trained by his father Pat and ridden by Daniel King, finished second, beaten three-quarters of a length, in division two of the apprentice handicap.

While the McKenna family had to settle for the runner-up spot with their sole runner, the Natalia Lupini-trained pair of Barnso and Talia, who were both despatched as favourite in their respective races, finished first and second under Billy Lee. On his first start on the Polytrack and his third in total, the Belardo colt Barnso carried the colours of the MBC Partnership to victory in the seven-furlong Irish EBF Median Sires Series Maiden for two-year-old colts and geldings.

Fourth success

The four-year-old Lope De Vega gelding Ceallach, trained Michael Halford and Tracey Collins for Castlewellan owner Paul Rooney, landed the evening’s mile and a half handicap to record his fourth career success.

The chesnut scored by half a length in the hands of Ronan Whelan who had partnered him to those three previous victories – each time at Dundalk.

Ahead of a winter stint in Australia, Dylan Browne McMonagle continues to partner winners and recorded his 59th success of the home season when the Johnny Feane-trained Greek Flower, a four-year-old daughter of Australia, justified favouritism in the five-furlong maiden at Navan on Wednesday.

Since the start of January and until the close of play at the Co Meath track mid-week, the busy Doengal native had 520 rides in Ireland. He also had 32 in Britain, winning five times.

Over the jumps, the David Christie-trained, Sean Duke-owned and bred seven-year-old mare Paidi’s Passion (Ocobango – Benefitthewest, by Beneficial) brought up a hat-trick on Thursday at Tramore; Derek Fox and Brian Hughes both rode winners at Hexham on Sunday; and the Gail Kidd-bred six-year-old gelding Duke Of Deception (September Storm – Mrs Peachey, by Brian Boru) won his third career race, with a second success over fences at Wetherby racetrack on Wednesday this week.

LOCALLY-based Botanica International and Pat O’Hare Bookmakers plus Irish Thoroughbred Marketing and trainer Willie Mullins were sponsors at last Saturday’s Racehorse to Riding Horse Ireland Show at the Narrow Water Stud and Equestrian Centre outside Warrenpoint.

Among the winners was the former Harry Smyth-trained Guest who, under Michael McGaffin of Diablo Equine, Banbridge, was second in his retraining class on the flat, was reserve champion in the retraining section and was reserve supreme champion of show before rounding off his day with victory in his Intro dressage class.

By Acclamation out of the Montjeu mare Magic Minor, the five-year-old ran as recently as June when he was pulled up in a handicap hurdle at Downpatrick.

The horse who really caught the eye of judge Laura Downey to finish in front of Guest three times in the showing section was the Scorpion mare Westbank.

Back in 2017/’18, when she was trained for Comber’s Elizabeth Hamilton by Stuart Crawford, the now 12-year-old ran in five point-to-point maidens and three times over hurdles, finishing a best-placed third once at Perth.

Westbank, who last ran in September 2018, won her championship rugs, with their beautiful embroidery by Knocklayed Print and Graphics, under 16-year-old Kilkeel Riding Club member Caitlin Trainor.

Narrow Water EC is run by UK Coaching and British Horse Society-accredited coach Michael Boyd who has ridden up to Prix St George level in dressage. More importantly, as far as this column is concerned, he took the twice-raced pointer Getadate up to Advanced Medium level and has a keen interest in the retraining of thoroughbreds.

From a coaching point of view, he caters for everyone at Narrow Water – from children to adults – on riding school horses/ponies, on dressage schoolmasters and on people’s own horses. See page 95 in the Irish Horse World section for a report on Saturday’s show.