THE results went 4-2 in favour of locally-trained winners at last Saturday’s East Antrim point-to-point at Loughanmore and they don’t come more local than Unionhill who, on his debut, landed the Dennison JCB five-year-old geldings’ maiden.

Trained on the Co Antrim estate by Colin McKeever for landowner and race sponsor Wilson Dennison, the Cormac Abernethy-ridden Soldier Of Fortune bay won by two and three-quarter lengths from fellow debutant Tommys Charm, the only southern-trained runner in the six-horse field. Unionhill’s half-brother by Blue Bresil is being consigned as Lot 663 in the foal section of the upcoming November National Hunt Sale at Tattersalls Ireland.

Only four runners, all trained in the Northern region, went to post for the concluding older geldings’ maiden which was won by Caherty Stables’ nine-year-old French-bred gelding Above And Beyond.

This race was sponsored by Move Right Therapy whose James Jenkins was busy all day as a fence steward, while his wife Shelley was enjoying herself!

The Ballyclare couple are growing their business and will have a couple of point-to-pointers to run this season – as well as the greyhounds of course.

YOU can read all about the upcoming Ladbrokes Festival of Racing at Down Royal on page six but here we are looking further ahead, to Friday, December 8th in fact, when the racecourse is hosting its first Christmas party night.

Inspired by the James Bond classic, Casino Royale, guests will invited to the Shortcross Gin Suite where they will enjoy a three-course meal with wine, casino tables and a live band. The party night, for which the ticket price is £79.50, is being announced as the racecourse opens the doors to its numerous event spaces for private hire and events.

Kathryn Holland, the track’s commercial manager, commented: “We are delighted to be welcoming guests to Down Royal’s first-ever festive party outside of our traditional racing programme. Plans are well underway and we’re inviting groups of friends, families, or colleagues to don their ‘festive finest’ for what promises to be a very fun, atmospheric Christmas celebration.

“Down Royal is a really unique venue with event spaces that can host from 10 to 500 guests, alongside open air expanses with the capacity to accommodate up to 7,000 people. Our versatile and flexible spaces enjoy unrivalled views over the racecourse and surrounding countryside so we really do have the facilities to suit every kind of event.”

For further details on the event spaces available at Down Royal visit downroyal.com/events-sponsorship.

GOING into last Sunday’s show jumping phase of the Mars Maryland 5* event at Fair Hill, we were very much hoping to report that the Woods Rosbotham-bred Cooley Rosalent had won at the highest level in the sport.

Unfortunately, having led from the outset under Britain’s Oliver Townend, the nine-year-old grey Irish Sport Horse mare lowered two fences and dropped to third. Victory went to the 14-year-old British Sport Horse gelding Colorado Blue whose win under Co Cork-born Austin O’Connor bridged a 58-year gap as the last Irish rider to win a five-star event was Major Eddie Boylan who did so at Badminton in 1965.

WITH all the abandonments due to the weather, there were slim pickings for Ireland-born jockeys in Britain recently, particularly over jumps, but Brian Hughes managed to record a double at Sedgefield on Sunday.

The reigning champion jockey completed his brace in the three-mile-three-furlong handicap chase on the Micky Hammond-trained Ballylinch who scored by two lengths at odds of 7/1. The six-year-old Califet gelding ran 11 times in point-to-points here in the colours of Wilson Dennison, being trained first by Jamie Sloan, and then at Loughanmore by Colin McKeever.

When consigned to Goffs UK’s Spring Sale at Doncaster in May, when he changed hands in a private transaction for £20,000, the bay had fallen twice, unseated once, run out once and pulled up once. However, when he completed, Ballylinch finished fifth once, third once, second three times and won a maiden at Farmacaffley in late February in the hands of Dara McGill.

Up until May, Ballylinch had spent all of his life at Loughanmore as he was bred there by Wilson’s daughter Katrina out of the Yeats mare Moll Magee. He is thus a full-brother to the Loughanmore graduate Ballymackie who, having won his last two outings of four between the flags for Dennison and McKeever was sold at that same Spring Sale to Ashley Brooks for £160,000. This is the family of Karello Bay and Marello.

The two-mile, one-furlong maiden hurdle at Sedgefield was won by the Phil Kirby-trained, Sean Quinlan-ridden favourite Tommy Time. This five-year-old Sageburg gelding was previously placed in two bumpers for his present handler who gave €130,000 for the bay at Goffs Punchestown Sale in late April shortly after he had won a Kilbeggan bumper on his only start for Lorna Fowler.

Tommy Time, who was bred on the outskirts of Belfast by Graham Morrow, is the last of 14 recorded foals out of the unraced Be My Native mare Navaro. His highly-rated siblings include Line Ball (by Good Thyne) and Rocco (by Shantou) and the dam of Longhouse Sale while Navaro was a half-sister to Mighty Mogul and to the dams of Court Leader and Ballynagour.

From just three rides in the period under review, which all came at Carlisle last Thursday week, Danny McMenamin partnered one winner and finished second once; Derek Fox had no joy from his three rides at the same meeting but his journey down to Kempton on Sunday paid off as he won the two-mile, two-furlong handicap chase on the Lucinda Russell-trained Corrigeen Rock.

On the flat, Donegal native Luke McAteer had a winner at Dundalk last Friday. Oisin Orr recorded a double at Newcastle and was on the mark again the following afternoon at Catterick. Darragh Keenan partnered a winner at Windsor on Monday.

COMBER’s Leonard Cave, who has to keep up with other equestrian interests around the world – especially in South Africa where his granddaughter Amy is developing her show jumping career – was credited with breeding a winner in France last Sunday along with his son Michael.

Giacosa, who finished third and fourth in two bumpers at Ayr earlier in the year when trained by Stuart Crawford for Ben Halsall, failed to change hands when consigned to the Goffs UK Spring Sale at Doncaster in May.

Still running in Halsall’s colours, the Shantou gelding is now in the care of Sophie Leech, who trains in both Britain and France, and sent out Giacosa to win an extended two-mile-three-furlong conditions hurdle for five-year-olds at Machecoul in western France.

The four-and-a-half-length winner is the third of seven recorded foals out of the Great Pretender mare Ma Pretention who won over jumps at three in her native France where she was also placed 10 times. A number of French blacktype performers feature on Giacosa’s page including the Grade 1 hurdle winner Good Bye Simon.