THE first actual racing action in The Irish Field’s harness racing coverage in 2021 was not from the traditional venue at Portmarnock nor the greenery of West Cork but actually the cosmopolitan track at Vincennes outside Paris.

The 2020 winner Face Time Bourbon and the Swede Bjorn Goop made it two in a row in the €1 million Prix d’Amerique. At time of writing, Face Time Bourbon was beaten in a trial race for the 2022 renewal, so the plot thickens.

At home, Double Deuce began the season well for the Coreys from Mallusk, high above Belfast. The five-year-old son of the ill-fated Armbro Deuce won five races through March and April when driven by Jonny Cowden. Later in the season, he added another three with Adam Corey in the bike to claim Pacer of the Year honours.

Kevin Corey’s actual stable star Fairdays Western looked as good as ever in racking up five wins in Ireland and one in Wales. The 11-year-old won the All-Ireland Pace series for the second time, not bad for a horse they had given up on as a four-year-old!

Breeding of Trotteurs Français in this country got a major boost when the overall winner of Trotter of The Year was Harry Knows developed by the Kanes from Trim and named after Tina Kane’s father. Runner-up was another Irish/French-bred the elegant Immaculata from the Meadowbranch outfit.

The stats show that the Murphys from Baltimore held a nice hand of cards in the trotting ranks. Bibi Dairpet (co-owned with Keith McGloin) and Comete des Landes (Murphys/Thomond O’Mara/John Madigan) were third and fourth in the table with seven wins apiece. Both Keith and Thomond are well-travelled on the flat, perhaps more thoroughbred owners might follow suit?

Headaches

Racing got off to a stuttering start in Ireland. As with all sporting pursuits Covid brought many headaches. For the second year in a row the IHRA deserve great credit for keeping the show on the road and liaising with the Gardai in Dublin and Cork.

Some notable performances were in front of deserted stands. Flatteur (Darren Timlin) was impressive at meeting one but did not carry his form through the season.

Early in the year Darren led the drivers’ championship, but ‘a strong squad‘ to borrow a football term, meant that Patrick Kane jnr and John Richardson soon drew clear. You might say that Harry Knows (12 wins) won the title for Kane but in the same breath Immaculata provided eight steering jobs for Richardson.

The Irish Field have sponsored the leading driver silver salver since 2017. The newspaper gained a good few column inches out of this year’s contest as the 35-year-old Patrick Kane wrested the title from John Richardson (54).

Patrick won leading driver two or three times in his early career and would probably have won more titles were it not for driving for the like of Sally Teebon in England frequently.

A sport is only as good as the youth coming up through the ranks. In this regard harness racing is in rude health.

Apprentice

Calvin Broughan who is attached to the Ger Kane yard won the apprentice title on the back of some fine runs from his own Bingo de Connee. Calvin will represent Ireland at Vincennes at a future date.

Eoin Murphy, Adam Corey, Luke Timlin, Jonny Cowden, Troy Mc Aleer and the ladies Erin and Charlie Flanagan all showed their talent over the season.

Churchview Frankel was beaten on seasonal reappearance by an older horse before winning eight three-year-old races across Britain and Ireland for trainer/driver Bernard Nicholson. Rhyds Scoundrel, a two-year-old, almost went unbeaten for Patrick Kane jnr only to bump into The Professor, driven by Vicky Gill late in the season.

Gavin Murdock is fairly selective about where he runs his horses. The Annaghmore-based trainer had a strong strike rate. In August he won The Vincent Delaney Memorial in North Wales with Oakwood Paddy. Murdock has good owners, and the team were active once more at the York Sales in October.

Oakwood Carmelita, a full-sister to Oakwood Annabella, cost Ruairi McNulty £75,000, a new UK and Irish record for a standardbred yearling.

Gavin also picked up several wins with The Gypsy Queen and All Bets Are Off, for owners Clive Richardson and Martin Maughan respectively.

Sean Kane campaigns more trotters than any other trainer. In the early season he couldn’t even stand in the same field as a winner. However, a four-timer in Dunmanway in June opened the flood gates and he finished with 28 winners.

Kane loves the challenge of competing abroad and he won a race for international drivers in Mallorca in November.

Sean’s drive to win on his 60/1 shot, bang last at the bell, is a candidate for ‘drive of the year’ as is Jonny Cowden’s win at Tir Prince aboard Fairdays Western on September 18th.

Springhill Biscuit, a great favourite with the public, was retired in a nice ceremony by the Sheridan family in August.

High-profile Scottish purchase Cash All justified some of his price tag by taking the Barney Gilligan Memorial in September for the Redmond/Flanagan stable.

Struck a blow

Also in September, Oakwood Annabella struck a blow for Ireland when she finished third in the Jugette (the Oaks effectively) in Delaware, Ohio for Limerick-based owner Denis Copse. A good crowd filled the clubhouse at Annaghmore to cheer her on.

The Black Horse Supplements sponsored juvenile series finals were held on October 9th. The plucky English raiders, the Maw family, went home with the prize money and a reported ante-post winning bet when Coalford Sweet Lou took the two-year-old fillies’ division. Local hope Rhyds Scoundrel (Patrick Kane jnr) won the colts’ race.

Oisin Quill from Kenmare was an unlucky second in the European Apprentice Drivers Championship in October in Finland. The pride of Newtown Stud, Newtown Rock, gained big race wins at the M50 weekend and the Tommy Doyle Memorial.

Wayne McNevin from Rathcoole could do no wrong especially in the latter half of the season. He drove eight winners himself and helped his daughter Leah and friend Ray Sheridan to a few as well.

The year closed on a high note as Drimoleague horseman Chris O’Reilly won the race for fully licenced drivers at l’Hippodrome d’Argentan in Normandy on December 19th.

John ‘Boy’ Roche looks to be a driver for the future and the grey Nineteen Forty Seven improved with every run for Joseph Caffrey from Ashbourne.

Laidlers enliven Red John meeting

THE Red John Memorial in Lyre, Co Cork is firmly entrenched as one of the most popular and prestigious meetings in Ireland. The 2021 meeting was enlivened by the all-conquering Laidler stable from Durham.

Driver ‘Rocker’ Laidler and his trainer wife Alexis made the 18-hour journey worthwhile by picking up the Red John Pace final with Merrington Moving Up an orphan foal reared by Alexis.

The Maven Trot is named in honour of a top mare once owned by principal meeting sponsor Bill Donovan from Florida. The final went to the Cooley Magician Martin Loughran with Curly du Layon.

Young recruits acknowledged

AT the Black Horse meeting, a presentation was held for the very young drivers, the children who raced all season with an assortment of Shetlands, cobs, and hackney-type ponies with great enthusiasm and guidance from Nadina Ironia and Mary Gilligan.

Farewell Liam

WE were not to know in August that the appearance in the winner’s circle of Newtown founder Liam Wallace was to be his last at the track. Liam passed away on October 19th, a giant in harness racing.

Livestreams

SECOND season commentator James Griffin and newly installed compere Peter Quirke made a nice double act and the IHRA livestream has come in for compliments from UK harness fans.