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FOLLOWING on from Downpatrick’s hugely successful two-day fixture last weekend, the focus now turns to Down Royal where the second session of its Summer Festival meeting takes centre stage today.
Some will have already decided on their outfit for the Younique Aesthetics Clinics ladies’ day best dressed lady competition but I feel one can never leave it too late when it comes to buying clothes so, if you are reading this column online on Friday night or in print early on Saturday morning there is still plenty of time to get out there and get shopping.
There are others, of course, for whom best dressed competitions are a distraction at best and who are more interested in the on-track action where the BoyleSports Irish EBF Ulster Oaks Fillies and Mares Handicap and the Boylesports Ulster Derby (Premier Handicap) will be the focus of much attention.
Siobhan Rutledge, who won the Oaks last year on the Tom Gibney-trained Atavique, joins forces today with Templepatrick trainer Paul Traynor who saddles one of the bottom weights, Fiver Friday, in this year’s renewal.
Curragh trainer John Feane and Jamie Powell won the Derby 12 months ago with Urban Oasis and this time travel up with Letiza. Dylan Browne McMonagle has a ride in both feature races and in the five others on the card.
MANY congratulations to the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board’s senior medical officer Dr Jennifer Pugh who, for services to horse racing in Northern Ireland, was made a Member of the British Empire in King Charles’ birthday honours list.
Living in Kildare for some years now, the Co Down native was presented with Horse Racing Ireland’s Contribution to the Industry award in December 2021 for the role she played in ensuring that racing could continue safely during the pandemic.
Jennifer’s name has appeared in these pages since her days as one of racing’s Kidd twins when she and sister Jackie rode successfully in point-to-points, mainly for their father Mayne. Jennifer shared the national lady riders’ title in 2009 with Liz Lalor.
Commenting on her most recent award in general, Jennifer stated: “We’re one of a few sports to make a huge success of an all-Ireland approach and I think for racing and the thoroughbred contribution to Northern Ireland to be recognised is hugely important.” On a more personal level, she added: “It’s a nice nod to racing in the north and to the Kidd family.”
THANK God for Liam McKenna is all I can say as otherwise not a single race over the two days at Downpatrick last weekend would have been won by a North of Ireland-born jockey or trainer.
(Now based in Co Meath but we won’t say that too loudly), McKenna won the Dunlop Homes Rated Novice Hurdle on the Sunday on board the Noel Meade-trained Charlie Luciano who had run on the flat at Leopardstown just three days earlier. Happily the track continues to attract great support from its loyal sponsors and the top trainers in the south.
16th success
McKenna also rode a winner at Wexford on Wednesday to notch up his 16th success of the season while other locally-born jump jockeys to win beyond Downpatrick were Brian Hughes (at Aintree on Friday), Danny McMenamin (at Hexham on Saturday), Jody McGarvey (at Wexford on Tuesday) and Hughes again (at Stratford on Tuesday).
On the level, Dylan Browne McMonagle had a winner at Leopardstown last Thursday week which he followed up with a double at Fairyhouse the following evening while Patsy Cosgrave recorded a double at Bath on Saturday.
Of course, horses have to be bred first and on this front there were wins for the Brian and Ann Marie Kennedy-bred six-year-old gelding Complete Fiction (Make Believe – Purple Tigress, by Dubai Destination) at Leopardstown last Thursday week; for the Joseph Cunnngham-bred six-year-old gelding Mole Court (Court Cave – Running Wild, by Anshan) at Worcester the same day; for the Nigel O’Hare-bred and owned two-year-old filly Ms Brightside (Magna Grecia – Rope A Dope, by Bungle Inthejungle) at Fairyhouse on Friday; for the McCracken Farms-bred four-year-old gelding Menelaus (Galileo Gold – Empress Rock, by Fastnet Rock) at York also on Friday; and for the Colin Kennedy-bred eight-year-old gelding Danzan (Lawman – Charanga, by Cadeaux Genereux) at Thirsk on Tuesday.
Trainers
Then, unless you are going to do it yourself, these horses have to be trained by someone such as Natalia Lupini who ran two horses at Cork last Friday evening and won with both of them.
Craig Bryson’s Running Cool followed up his win at Fairyhouse at the start of the month when landing the five-furlong handicap under Wayne Lordan who was also on board Angelo Matta’s Talia in division two of the seven-furlong handicap?
And where would the sport be without owners such as Pat Sloan whose colours were carried to victory at Wexford on Tuesday on the Gordon Elliott-trained Pats Choice.
THE not-for-profit thoroughbred rehoming and retraining organisation Treo Eile is holding a Randox Health-sponsored thoroughbred showing clinic on Wednesday week, July 5th, at The Meadows, the McCusker family’s equestrian centre on the outskirts of Lurgan.
North Co Dublin’s Kevin McGuinness, who has worked in racing and has judged show horses throughout Ireland and Britain and further afield in South Africa and Australia, will be taking the clinic along with local show rider and judge, Julie Donaghy Simpson. Baileys Horse Feeds’ Judy Maxwell will also be on site to offer advice on feed.
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