THE opening fixture of the northern region’s season coincided with the return of owners to point-to-points and the biggest cheer of the day came in the five-year-old geldings’ maiden, a race won by the Brian Hamilton-trained and Shane Fitzgerald-ridden, Ballydam for the delighted Lonely Poet Syndicate.

The Saint Des Saints gelding was having his first run for Hamilton having previously been trained by Colin McKeever.