LAST Saturday, there were North of Ireland-owned winners on both sides of the Irish Sea and we will first visit the ancient city of Chester where the Jason Hart-ridden Shanroe landed the Listed Caa Stellar Chester Stakes at odds of 17/2.

The nine-year-old Multiplex gelding, who was recording his 11th career success and his sixth on the flat, made all over the one mile, six furlong trip to win by one and a quarter lengths.

In doing so, he made a bit of racing history, being the first Irish-trained winner of the Chester Stakes, and marked a personal milestone for his north Co Dublin trainer Karl Thornton who was saddling his first stakes winner.

Shanroe was owned by Thornton’s cousin Brian Smyth, who sadly died last September, and now runs in the colours of Smyth’s executors. Last time out the bay, who Brian purchased for €12,000 at the 2017 Goffs Land Rover Sale Part 2, landed a mile and six conditions race at the Galway Festival. At Navan, the first five-furlong handicap, the 21-runner version worth €6,490 to the winner, was won by the Chris Timmons-trained, Rory Cleary-partnered Step Back In Time who was recording her first success at her 14th attempt.

Delighted breeder

The five-year-old Footstepsinthesand mare, who was returned at odds of 40/1, runs in the colours of her delighted Co Down breeder, Siobhan Tolerton of Tolerton Bloodstock and daughter of the late Wilbert Tolerton. Step Back In Time is the sixth of eight foals out of the Cadeaux Genereux mare Gift Of Time who bred one previous winner, the 2015 Society Rock gelding Gift In Time. This is the family of Rainwatch and Dubawi Gold.

The second five-furlong handicap, which saw seven starters vie for first-place prize money of €13,865, went to the Billy Lee-ridden The Highway Rat (4/1) who scored by a half length from the 85/40 favourite, Silmaniya, and another 4/1 chance, Arnhem. The last-named, a seven-year-old Dandy Man gelding, runs in the colours of his breeder, Leslie Laverty.

The winner, a home-bred gelding by the same sire but out of a Whipper mare, was notching up his sixth success but his first on turf. The bay is trained for his wife Saffron by Andy Oliver whose open morning last Sunday is covered in pages 8 and 25.

The second division of the 10-furlong apprentice handicap was won by Slieve Bearnagh who is trained on the Curragh by Michael Halford and Tracey Collins for Castlewellan owner Paul Rooney. The six-year-old Zoffany gelding came with a well-timed challenge under Jamie Powell to win by a nose.

DONEGAL native Dylan Browne McMonagle has been leading the push for points for Irish jockeys in the Sky Sports Racing League and while he had no winners on Thursday evening at Wolverhampton, on 221 points he has closed the gap on last year’s winner, Saffie Osborne (282), who rides for the Wales and The West team managed by her father Jamie.

Browne McMonagle, who partnered two winners in the previous round of the league at Newcastle last Thursday week, recorded a double at Roscommon on Monday for his boss Joseph O’Brien who supplied the jockey with his 45th success of the Irish season at Cork on Wednesday. Oisin Orr, who lies third in the racing league on 190 points, moved on to the 51-win mark in Britain when landing the opener at Sandown on Saturday. On the same afternoon, Co Sligo-born Darragh Keenan rode a winner at Chester and scored twice more during the week.

Over jumps, Brian Hughes partnered winners at Stratford last Thursday week and at Southwell seven days later while Derek Fox and Danny McMenamin were both on the mark at Hexham on Wednesday.

On the breeding front, there was a first win, on his 14th start, at Bangor on Tuesday for Swift Tuttle (33/1) who landed the extended two-mile hurdle by a neck. The Fast Company four-year-old was bred by Hardys of Kilkeel out of the Trempolino mare Lumiere Astrale who won once and was listed-placed on the flat.

A half-sister to Desert Blanc among others, Lumiere Astrale is dam of three other winners.

The extended mile handicap at Hamilton on Tuesday was won by the Brian and Ann Marie Kennedy-bred seven-year-old gelding Absolute Dream (Dream Ahead – Absolute Diamond, by Monsieur Bond) while the John and Margery Adams-bred four-year-old gelding Yeeeaah (El Kabeir – Red Savina, by Exceed and Excel) got off the mark on his 21st start in the mile handicap at Carlisle on Thursday.