THERE’s no doubt that Brian Hughes was the ‘winning-most’ northern-born jockey in the period under review as, from Thursday week last to Wednesday just gone, he partnered seven winners including three at Uttoxeter last Saturday.
Last Thursday week, Donagh native Ryan Treacy joined forces with Portadown owner/trainer Stephen McConville to land the extended two-mile handicap chase at Thurles with Hollybank King.
The length success was just reward for McConville’s seven-hour round trip as his 10-year-old Fruits Of Love gelding had failed to score in 12 previous outings over racecourse fences and also in 14 starts between the flags when in the care of James Lambe.
Quinn wins
In extremely tough conditions at Lingfield on Tuesday, Caoilin Quinn recorded his fifth win of the season – his 11th in total – when landing the opening conditional jockeys’ two-mile handicap hurdle on the Gary Moore-trained Hit The Rocks.
This was just a third successful outside ride for the Downpatrick-born jockey who is attached to the Upper Lambourn yard of Warren Greatrex.
At the same meeting, which was sponsored by Attheraces and Sky Sports, amateur David Maxwell also posted his fifth success of the campaign when guiding his own Philip Hobbs-trained Dolphin Square to victory in the concluding near three-mile hunters’ chase.
On the flat, there were wins for Patsy Cosgrave at Meydan last Friday, for Barry McHugh at Newcastle on Tuesday and for Luke McAteer and Oisin Orr at Dundalk on Wednesday.
Northern points producing winners
TWO of Brian Hughes’s winners in the past eight days, Jungle Jack at Bangor on Friday last and Heartbreak Kid at Uttoxeter the following afternoon, both won their point-to-point maidens first time out at northern region tracks.
Heartbreak Kid’s 2019 success came at Kirkistown where, at last Saturday’s North Down fixture, Noel McParlan recorded a double. This he initiated in the opening Dennison Commercials four-year-old maiden on the Mahler newcomer Broughshane who is trained outside the Co Antrim town of the same name by Gerald Quinn at the Caherty Stables of owner, Philip McBurney.
Double
McParlan’s double came up in the concluding Wilsons Auctions older horses’ maiden where he wore Wilson Dennison’s colours to victory on the Colin McKeever-trained Iddergem. This six-year-old French-bred gelding, who was having his seventh career start, is heading to next Thursday’s Tattersalls Cheltenham Sale, as is the Peter Fahey-trained Sageburg County who, on his debut, won the Tattersalls NH five-year-old geldings’ maiden under Deckie Lavery.
The open at Kirkistown was won by the David Christie-trained, Ray Nicholas-owned Some Man while those at Comea and Knockanard on Sunday went, respectively, to the Rose Boyd-bred Killultagh Vic and the John Kidd-bred Fenno’s Storm.
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