DOWNPATRICK native Danny McMenamin was the rider in form during the past week, winning five races in total.

The Cosy Roof-sponsored jockey recorded a double at Catterick last Friday and followed that up with another at Musselburgh the following day, the opening session of the Scottish Cheltenham trials weekend.

That Saturday brace was initiated in the featured bet365 Scottish Champion Chase on the Nicky Richards-trained 2/1 favourite, The Kalooki Kid.

On Wednesday, McMenamin was in action at Sedgefield where he won the second division of the two-and-a-half-mile handicap hurdle on the Ocovango gelding Benefit Ben while the opening maiden hurdle over the same trip was won by the Brian Hughes-partnered Ridin Solo, another seven-year-old gelding by the same sire.

Hughes had also been on the mark on Saturday at Musselburgh where he landed the near three-mile Bet Boost At bet365 Handicap Chase on the dual hurdle winner One More Stroke who was scoring for the first time over fences and did so by a short-head.

On Monday, Hughes travelled to Carlisle where, on board the 7/4 favourite Galunggung, he beat J.J. Slevin riding Stuart Crawford’s charge Bleu d’Enfer by three-parts of a length. All three of Hughes’s winners are trained by Donald McCain.

Fairyhouse win

Sam Ewing was out of luck over the two days of the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown but, on Wednesday, recorded his 55th win of the season in Ireland when the Gordon Elliott-trained Good To Be Alive made a successful debut in the two-mile maiden hurdle. Deckie Lavery notched up his fourth point-to-point win of the season at Ballinaboola on Sunday.

On the level, there were wins last Friday for Luke McAteer at Dundalk (where the Ado McGuinness-trained Clonmacash won the opening seven-furlong claimer in the colours of Mark Devlin) and for Oisin Orr at Newcastle. Darragh Keenan was on the mark at Newcastle on Tuesday.

On the breeding front, there were wins for the Patrick McElroy-bred 12-year-old The Paddy Pie (Beneficial – Salsita, by Fijar Tango) at Catterick last Friday and for the Robert Duncan-bred eight-year-old Thistle Ask (Ask – Thistle Lane, by Exit To Nowhere) at Musselburgh on Sunday.

On the same day, the five-year-old geldings’ maiden at Ballyvodock was won by the Tom Keating-owned and trained Inishcorker who scored by half a length in the hands of Dara McGill.

Berry Farms

The Jukebox Jury bay was bred at her family’s Berry Farms outside Dromore by England-based Irish Olympic event rider Susie Berry. Inishcorker is out of the unraced Presenting mare Feldaline who is dam of the four-time winner Bhaloo (by Sageburg) and comes from the family of Goonyella, Pampalino, etc.

Among the many former Northern-trained point-to-pointers who won on the track in the past week was Ronnie Bartlett and David Manasseh’s Ballyburn who landed the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Novice Chase at Leopardstown last Sunday for the Willie Mullins yard.

Purchased as a foal for €80,000 at the 2018 Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale by Ian Ferguson, the Flemensfifth gelding had just the one run between the flags, winning a four-year-old geldings’ maiden at Loughanmore in October 2022 when trained by Colin McKeever for Wilson Dennison and ridden by Cormac Abernethy.

FORMER pony racing jockey Conan Faulkner, who found himself in hospital instead of on holiday on January 9th having suffered a seizure, was allowed home to Co Derry on Tuesday this week, a day before his 27th birthday.

“I had just gotten into my new jeep to drive to the boat to go to France on a skiing holiday, when, without any warning, I suddenly felt my left side drop down and I can’t remember anything after that until waking up in Beaumont,” said Conan who works for north Co Dublin trainer Ado McGuinness.

Having suffered a second seizure in hospital, Conan underwent a five-hour operation on his brain during which he was woken up at times to talk to the surgeons. Once the latter were happy with their patient’s recovery and prognosis, he was allowed home to be fussed over by his very worried parents, Gerard and Gemma, and his younger sister Keeley, a nurse at the hospital in nearby Coleraine.

“Since the operation, I’ve been sleeping a lot, eating a lot and need to have things dark and quiet. I can go for a bit of a walk around the yard and can watch a small amount of TV but nothing violent or fast-moving,” revealed Conan who has been using social media to keep in touch with concerned friends here and in France where he worked for over three years.

AGREED, they are both racecourses but there is little in common between Downpatrick and Aintree other than the fact that their main races of the year, the Grand National and the Ulster National, are supported by Randox who have renewed their sponsorship of the latter race until 2029.

This season’s Randox Ulster National will be held on Sunday, March 30th, when Downpatrick opens its gates for its 2025 racing season and when the three-and-a-half-mile handicap chase will offer a generous prize-fund of €50,000.

The Co Antrim company will also sponsor 10 additional races at the Co Down track each year.

Previous winners of the Ulster National include Caughoo who, trained in north Co Dublin by Herbert McDowell, won the Ulster National in 1945 and 1946 before going on to land the Aintree Grand National in 1947 while the 1962 edition of the race was won by Laffy who was owned by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.

More recently, when trained by Philip Fenton for Barry O’Connell and ridden by Danny Mullins, the Maresca Sorrento gelding Pineau De Re won the Ulster National by 23 lengths on April 3rd, 2013 and the Aintree Grand National almost a year later to the day when trained in England by Richard Newland.

Exciting time

Commenting on the sponsorship renewal, Dr Peter FitzGerald CBE, Founder and Managing Director of Randox, stated: “This is an incredibly exciting time to be extending our partnership with Downpatrick racecourse for the Randox Ulster National.

“Racing is a sport everyone can enjoy, from all different walks of life, and a partnership with Downpatrick offers us a fantastic opportunity to share our message of preventative health with a wide and engaged audience.

“The past five years, Randox has expanded into a strong and growing network of clinics across the UK and Ireland giving everyone the access they need to unlock their health. We look forward to the next five years of the Randox Ulster National.”

Ruth Morrison, Manager at Downpatrick said: “We are thrilled that Randox has committed to extending their sponsorship of the Randox Ulster National at Downpatrick racecourse for another five years, along with 10 additional races each season. The partnership over the past five years has been fantastic.

“Randox’s involvement in high-profile races such as the Grand National at Aintree highlights their dedication to our sport, we are proud to have them as a key partner in our racing community. We would like to thank the FitzGerald family and team at Randox for their continued support.