This is a subscriber-only article
It looks like you're browsing in private mode
DOWNPATRICK native Danny McMenamin recorded a double at Ayr last Friday and followed this up with a single success at the Scottish track on Sunday to bring his seasonal total to 33.
On Friday, McMenamin completed his double up in the two-mile maiden hurdle on the James Ewart-trained favourite, Thistle Ask.
Previously trained by Stuart Crawford and having his fifth start over hurdles, this six-year-old Ask gelding was bred by Robert Duncan and is a full-sister to the Crawford-trained Ask Isabella who finished second on her debut in the mares’ maiden at Farmacaffley last month.
Also on Friday, the Roy McMurray-bred nine-year-old Court Cave gelding Caspers Court (ex Kindle Ball, by Kaldounevees) won the near two-mile, six-furlong handicap hurdle at Exeter.
Quinn victory
Caoilin Quinn recorded his 14th victory on Monday at Stratford while, the following afternoon at Sedgefield, Brian Hughes partnered the second of two winners in the period under review when the Donald McCain-trained Forcing Bull landed the two-mile, one-furlong novices’ hurdle.
This Papal Bull gelding won a five-year-old geldings’ maiden at Loughanmore last October when trained by Colin McKeever for Wilson Dennison.
Due to snow, racing at Sedgefield was abandoned after the fourth race, the three-mile, three-furlong handicap chase, which was won by the Tim Easterby-trained Court At Slip. This six-year-old Court Cave gelding was bred by Leo Matheson out of the Aahsaylad mare Lady Fame.
THE second in a series of Treo Eile show jumping clinics sponsored by Randox Health was held on Monday at The Meadows Equestrian Centre on the outskirts of Lurgan.
Three groups came before Horse Sport Ireland Level 3 coach Joanne Jarden with the first being a pair of early retrainers, the Ashleigh Gaston-partnered Dansantini Rose and the Catherine McCaul-ridden Bishops Pool. Both were unraced.
The second group of three were coached over a course of 80cms show jumps. Two of the trio were unraced mares viz, Aughnamallagh Lady, a seven-year-old by Sholokhov, and the year-younger Bonita Bay, a daughter of Alhebayeb.
Bonita Bay was brought up from the Curragh by Carolann Dowling while Aughnamallagh Lady was ridden by Co Monaghan’s Sinead McNally.
Glaslough’s Caroline McQuillan completed this group on the former Patrick Magee-trained You Do You Boo, a four-year-old Mastercraftsman filly. The grey didn’t travel alone as McQuillan also took part in the 90cms-1m group on the unraced Belle Saru.
A seven-year-old mare by Sageburg, Belle Saru was the highest-placed thoroughbred at last year’s Eventing Ireland national championships and was fifth in the Treo Eile EI league.
Also in the final group were Bernadette Curry with the 2011 Teofilo gelding Teo’s Chance, who was third in last year’s Treo Eile league; Emma Thompson on the 2016 Getaway gelding Mauras Way, who was the Treo Eile highest-placed thoroughbred at the recent Baileys Horse Feeds flexi-eventing series at The Meadows; and 15-year-old East Down Pony Club member Jennifer Gilchrist with the seven-year-old Morozov mare Another Struggle.
IN looking back at the point-to-to scene for this week’s column we found that the Iveagh meeting on Wednesday, March 10th, 1993 was held in Dromore where Tony Martin recorded a short-priced first and last race double.
Martin landed the opening eight-runner open on the 4/6 short Joey Kelly and the concluding four-runner winners of two on the 1/3 chance Ardcarn Girl.
Having been beaten in the five-year-old maiden by Warren Ewing on Craigstown, Enda Bolger rewarded favourite backers when claiming the following winners of one aboard Danny Frawley.
18 runners
Another Machine made all the running under Paul McMahon to win the 18-runner mares’ maiden while the two divisions of the maiden went to the James Lambe-ridden Brockish Bay and the Gerry Black-partnered Shattered Illusion. All winners were bred in Ireland.
On Saturday, March 22nd, 2003, there were seven races on the Iveagh card at Maralin as the eight-year-old and upwards maiden was divided. Robert Patton won the first half on Better Blue while the second went to the Gordon Elliott-ridden Shandarr. Elliott was bringing up a double have won the three-runner six and seven-year-old mares’ maiden on board Ellegar’s Cross.
Brian Hamilton also recorded a double on Mocharamor (five and six-year-old geldings’ maiden) and Drumcullenallstar (five and six-year-old geldings’ maiden) and there were wins also for J.T. McNamara on False Tail (confined hunt race) and for Tommy Peoples on Finoel (open). Again, all winners were bred in Ireland.
And so on to Saturday, March 9th, 2013 when the riding honours at Maralin went to Noel McParlan who won four races for four different yards on his way to being crowned Northern Region champion that season.
First up, McParlan landed the five-year-old geldings’ maiden on the Jerry Cosgrave-owned and trained Timesremembered. He then claimed the following five and six-year-old mares’ maiden on the Rodney Arthur-owned and trained Scolboaqueen before landing the open on the Colin McBratney-trained Carsonstown Boy and the seven-year-old and upwards geldings’ maiden on the Mark McNiff-trained Milan Flyer.
Jamie Codd recorded a first and last race double on horses trained by Gordon Elliott. The pair combined to win the four-year-old maiden with Wounded Warrior, who beat the McParlan-partnered Definitly Red by two and a half lengths, and the winners of three with Sowehead. All six winners carried an IRE suffix.
SHARING OPTIONS: