IT was good to see two local trainers having a winner apiece at Downpatrick’s final meeting of 2024 last Friday afternoon.

First up, the Harry Smyth-owned and trained Portnacoo justified 9/4 favouritism in the Pro Solar NI, Sam Downey Memorial Handicap Hurdle by two lengths under Darragh O’Keeffe.

As mentioned previously, the six-year-old Morozov gelding was also bred in Co Down by Liam Cosgrave out of the Generous mare Lady Shanrod.

The double came up two races later, when Donagh Meyler partnered the 17/2 shot Jimli’s Cave to victory in the Denis Macauley Memorial Handicap Hurdle. Another six-year-old, that Court Cave gelding, who was getting off the mark on his 10th start over hurdles, is trained in Co Armagh by Keith Watson for Geoffrey Ruddock.

Oliver good run

Later on Friday, Andy Oliver maintained his good recent strike rate when Billy Lee partnered the 5/4 favourite Squire Danagher to a head victory in the 12-furlong handicap at Dundalk.

This was a fourth success of the year – and a fourth at the Co Louth track – for Francis Campbell’s four-year-old Australia gelding.

On Saturday at Fairyhouse, the Michael Millar-trained Arctic Craft, who was having his fifth start on the track, landed the concluding ladies’ pro-am bumper under Aileen O’Sullivan. The seven-year-old Arctic Cosmos gelding runs in the colours of Kells native, Neil Gault.

Stuart Crawford hasn’t had many runners of late, but the Larne trainer sent Simor Munir and Isaac Souede’s Aotano to Hereford where, on Monday when making his debut, the three-year-old German-bred gelding won the two-mile ‘National Hunt’ Hurdle by a head. The Soldier Hollow bay, a half-brother to the five-time winner Auenperle (by Aerion), was ridden by Daryl Jacob.

Stateside

We continue to keep an eye on Leslie Young, who had runners at both jumps meetings in the US last week, saddling two Irish-bred geldings to finish first and second in the three-mile maiden timber race at Geneseo in New York State on Saturday. The Freddie Procter-ridden winner was the Vadamos six-year-old Uco Valley, who scored by two lengths from the Kingston Hill five-year-old De Grey Guy, who was ridden by Conor Tierney.

That Co Wicklow-born jockey also had to settle for the runner-up spot in the featured Genesee Valley Hunt Cup on the Mark Beecher-trained Goodoldtimes (a 10-year-old Gold Well gelding), who was beaten into second by the similarly-aged Shantou gelding Withoutmoreado. On Sunday, Young and the one-time Co Down-based Beecher were out of luck at the Virginia Fall meeting in Middleburg.

THE talented Dylan Browne McMonagle continues to notch up wins and, in the period under review, visited the winner’s enclosure six times.

The Co Donegal native recorded his 81st success of the year in Ireland on Monday at Roscommon, where the Joseph O’Brien-trained Prairie Angel followed up her recent Bellewstown victory by landing the 12-furlong handicap by three lengths.

Sent off as the odds of 3/1, the three-year-old Territories filly is owned by her Co Down breeder Sean Sweeney and Kieran O’Hare.

Also on the level, there were wins for Patrick McGettigan at Dundalk last Friday, for Oisin Orr at Musselburgh on Monday and at Newcastle on Tuesday and for Darragh Keenan at Yarmouth on Tuesday and at Nottingham on Wednesday.

Over jumps, Derek Fox partnered winners at Hexham on Saturday and at Wetherby on Wednesday, while Simon Torrens was on the mark on Tuesday at Punchestown.

The Colm McDonnell-bred eight-year-old gelding Neon Moon (No Risk At All - Hidden Horizons, by Winged Love) won the near three-mile Native River Handicap Chase at Chepstow on Saturday.

The following afternoon, the Caolan Woods-owned Marvel De Cerisy returned to Auteuil where he followed up his win in a listed handicap hurdle late last month with a seven-length victory in the extended two-mile, two-furlong handicap chase.

The seven-year-old Masked Marvel gelding is trained for Woods by Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm.

“THAT’s basically the first year ticked off,” commented Ruth Morrison, who moved into the role as manager at Downpatrick racecourse in January and saw the racing season at the track conclude last Friday.

“It was a great year,” continued the mother of two. “Apart from the Randox Ulster National having to be re-scheduled (from Sunday, April 7th to the evening of Friday, April 26th), we were very lucky with the weather.

“We put a lot of effort into attracting British runners to our hunter chase meeting at the end of May and were delighted when Laura Morgan sent over Perfect Pirate. Ian Williams had two runners at our September meeting and then, of course, Rebecca Menzies had four runners here last Friday, winning the final race of the season, which she also sponsored, with John Wade’s Edgewell.

Social functions

“We have a couple of social functions coming up before the end of the year, including a big fund-raiser for Saul GAA club, and this is something I would like to build on next year,” concluded Ruth who, following a racing campaign spent mainly in the office, will be working from home more often during the closed season.

When she took over as manager, Morrison was joined on the Downpatrick administration office team by Kate Shields, who deals with marketing and promotions. Kate, who events Brenda Turley’s Irish Sport Horse gelding Ballinglen Major, is a daughter of well-known National Hunt pinhooker Kieran Shields.

WE’LL briefly step outside the confines of racing to offer congratulations to a rider and breeder in the worlds of eventing and showing.

The rider is Dromore native Susie Berry, a member of the Irish eventing team who won last weekend’s Nations’ Cup competition at a very wet Boekelo in The Netherlands, where she finished best of the Irish in sixth.

Based in Northamptonshire, Susie rode the Irish Sport Horse gelding Clever Trick, who is three-parts thoroughbred being by Financial Reward out of a mare by Bonnie Prince.

Conditions were a lot drier at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham where, on Sunday evening, the Brian Clinghan-bred Mulberry Lane was crowned the supreme horse of the year at the prestigious Horse Of The Year Show. Two days earlier, Craig Kiddier won the middleweight class and the hunter championship on Sue Tennant’s nine-year-old ISH gelding by OBOS Quality while, when the show opened on the Wednesday, Kiddier and the chesnut finished third in the working hunter of the year championship.

It was as a working hunter that Mulberry Lane won the Barberstown Castle supreme horse title at the Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead in July.

OUR good friend Joan Cunningham was recently presented with a lifetime achievement award at the annual Northern Ireland farming awards organised by National World, owners of the Belfast News Letter, Farming Life and Farm Week.

Among those present at the Crowne Plaza Belfast, where Laurelview won the equestrian venue award, were the Minister of Agriculture, the Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir, and William Irvine, president of the Ulster Farmers Union.