WHILE National Hunt racing resumes in Ireland on Monday evening at Limerick, the revised jumps season in the US got under way last Saturday in Middleburg, Virginia where there were two northern-bred winners on the 10-race card.

First of the pair to strike behind closed doors was the Colin Kennedy-bred Critical Data who, trained by Richard Valentine and ridden by Tallow native Kieran Norris, landed the four-year-old maiden hurdle over two miles and one furlong in the colours of Runnymoore Racing.