ANYONE who studied the point-to-point pages in last Saturday’s issue of The Irish Field would have seen three photographs of Matthew Love following his debut success in the open race for novice riders at the Kildare point-to-point in Punchestown six days earlier.

A member of the gold medal-winning team at last year’s European pony eventing championships in Strzegom, Poland, Matthew’s career between the flags got off to the perfect start when the Ciaran Murphy-trained Down The Highway saw off the odds-on favourite, The Storyteller, by one and a half lengths.

Now out of ponies, 17-year-old Matthew has two mares to event in Juniors this coming season, the nine-year-old Jack Of Diamonds bay DSL Allegra, on whom he was placed three times in four starts last year, and the thoroughbred Daly Dilemma who had two outings at EI100 level last season.

Love, who is in fifth year at King’s Hospital School, hopes to combine race-riding and eventing over the coming months. He is due to ride Down The Highway in the open at Lisronagh tomorrow and has already had five rides in bumpers.

Back at Punchestown last Sunday, the concluding two-mile Up The Yard Challenge Race for stablestaff was won by the Jessica Harrington-trained The Very Man who was partnered to a well-timed two-length success by Emma Redmond. (see page 11)

Well-mounted on the nine-year-old Jeremy gelding, who she knows inside and out as she rides him every day, Emma was a lot younger when a photograph of her last appeared in these pages some years ago.

She was then representing the Carlow Branch of the Irish Pony Club which she did so regularly as she competed in all Pony Club activities, particularly eventing.

Emma competed in two low level Eventing Ireland competitions in 2020 on the Metropole gelding Endless Time while she also did a bit of affiliated show jumping on ponies owned by her father John who always has some point-to-pointers at their Tullow home.

Twenty-six next week, Emma has an early start to her day as she rides out each morning at the Harrington yard in Moone. She then travels back to Co Carlow as she spends her afternoons working with the hunters and youngstock belonging to Clive Corrigan at Lisgarvan House Stud. Like all others who took part in Sunday’s stablestaff race, Emma had to undergo an assessment at the Racing Academy and Centre of Education in Race before being permitted to enter the Challenge.

On the horse front, there was a win at Ffos Las in Wales earlier this month for the former Ross O’Sullivan-trained Ah Whisht who was making her British and track debut.

When landing her mares’ maiden at Castle Irvine, Necarne in December, on her only start between the flags, the 2017 Getaway bay ran in the colours of her breeder Mary McCann.

However, with that success under her belt, Ah Whisht was sold shortly afterwards at Tattersalls Cheltenham where she was knocked down to Ballymaw Bloodstock/Dahlbury for £145,000.

The mare, who is a full or half-sister to four other winners and comes from the family of Altior, is now trained for Dahlbury Racing by Tom Symonds.

On her first start over fences, the Henry de Bromhead-trained, Rachael Blackmore-ridden Queen Jane won the two and a half-mile beginners’ chase at Clonmel last Thursday week. The seven-year-old Mahler mare, who also has a hurdle victory to her credit, was broken for owner Angus Potterton by his sister-in-law, leading event rider Sarah Ennis.