THE four-year-old maiden division has certainly had a flavour of green and gold about it these past few weeks.

With just one more weekend of four-year-old maiden races to go to bring the opening month of races in the age group for 2024 to a close, the Derek O’Connor and J.P. McManus combination has certainly been making their presence felt.

A weekend double in the division at Oldtown and Knockanard, has already brought their tally of wins together this month to three.

The mare That’s Nice struck at Bellharbour on the opening day of four-year-old maiden races in 2024, and her defeat of the boys has set the tone for recent weeks.

O’Connor was mob-handed at Oldtown last Saturday, as he saddled a trio of McManus-owned runners in the four-year-old maiden on the Ward Union card, with his pick to ride, Thatsdwayimthinkin, ultimately running out an impressive winner.

The bay picked up strongly in the long home straight to win the two and a half-mile contest by three lengths and, in the process, marked himself out as likely to follow in the footsteps of Jinkgo Blue and Asterion Forlonge, two winners from the four most recent editions of the race.

Continue tradition

With his siblings Limerick Lace, Inothewayurthinkin, Ilikedwayurthinkin, and Spades Are Trumps all winning on the track for Gavin Cromwell, the Meath handler, who sponsored the open on the card, will likely be hoping the McManus’ continue that tradition and this impressive four-year-old is also added to his string in the months to come.

These successes are building upon the roots of a process which began last season when O’Connor gave eight individual McManus-owned four-year-olds their competitive debuts in the pointing fields.

No Flies On Him was the only one of the octet to get his head in front, and that has remained the case in their subsequent efforts under rules following his maiden hurdle victory at Leopardstown at Christmas.

The early evidence of recent weeks suggests that it is an altogether stronger crop in 2024, and a further four four-year-olds for the pair feature among the entries at Lisronagh tomorrow.

They are among the 15 four-year-olds that have received hunter certificates for the pair as of the beginning of the week.

New approach

It marks a new approach for the Martinstown team, as prior to O’Connor’s first batch of pointers for them last season, the green and gold McManus colours had not been seen in a four-year-old maiden in the pointing fields for nearly a decade.

That was Thecraicisninety, who won a four-year-old maiden on debut for Enda Bolger at Dromahane in 2015.

The Limerick handler also achieved four-year-old maiden success with the subsequent superstar hunter chaser On The Fringe and the dual Grade 2 winner Ballyoisin, who feature among the 22 individual McManus-owned horses that have run in a four-year-old maiden here in the past 20 years.

Strikingly, 13 of them have come in the past year alone, highlighting how, after an absence from the age division for much of the last decade, there has clearly been a significant gear shift in the camp.

TALENT spotters may have their focus primed on younger age maiden races as the new year of four-year-old maiden contests continue at a rate of knots, with another six races in the age division down for decision this weekend.

However, rewinding to last weekend’s track action serves as a further reminder of the respect that has to be given to other races on the card.

At Haydock, Now Is The Hour proved to be in his element on the heavy ground as he turned the 10-runner Albert Bartlett Prestige Novices’ Hurdle into a procession, claiming the Grade 2 prize by 17 lengths.

The seven-year-old had only started his career a little over a year earlier when claiming an older geldings’ maiden at Cragmore in a similarly emphatic fashion.

Then under the care of Derek O’Connor, unlike many maiden winners at present, he made the step up into winners’ company by contesting a winners’ of two event at Belclare last March.

There he came up against none other than Asian Master, with the pair fighting out a thrilling finish up the home straight, with just a neck separating the pair in favour of the Shirocco-sired Asian Master.

The latter has since progressed to win back-to-back races over hurdles since joining Willie Mullins and holds a pair of Grade 1 entries at the upcoming Cheltenham Festival next month.

It serves as a timely reminder that future graded performers can emerge from anywhere on a point-to-point card at present.

THE Carbery Hunt will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of their point-to-point taking place at Kilpatrick, Bandon, when the white flag is raised for the fixture on Sunday week, March 3rd.

Star performer Whyso Mayo will always be associated with the venue, with the 2006 Cheltenham Foxhunters hero a three-time winner of the open race at the course.

In 2005, he first won the race just four days after he had landed a maiden hunter chase in Gowran Park, which preceded his memorable 2006 campaign, where he completed the Cheltenham-Aintree double.

Open wins

Whilst in the veteran stage of his career, he returned to Bandon to win the open in back-to-back years in 2011 and 2012, the last of which was the final of his 18 career wins, and recorded at the age of 15.

At the other end of the scale, the five-year-old geldings’ maiden on the card has also produced a subsequent Cheltenham Festival winner with Benefficient, the three-time Grade 1 victor having won there in 2011 when trained by John O’Brien for owners Debbie Hartnett and Tim Linehan.

It promises to be another memorable afternoon next weekend for the committee as they celebrate this significant anniversary.

Point-to-Point Ratings

THERE was no shortage of smart performances last weekend, which was kickstarted in style by Thatsdwayimthinkin (95+) in the four-year-old maiden at Oldtown.

Jumping proficiency can be a big factor at the business end of these two and a half mile races, and a number of his rivals faltered in this department when put under pressure, as evident by the three fallers at two of the final three fences.

Cruise

However, there was no faulting the winner here as he easily struck the front after the penultimate fence, showing a good cruising speed to do so, before running out a decisive winner of a 12-runner contest likely to produce a number of subsequent winners.

Worthy performances

The fields were significantly smaller in the three other races in the division, but there were still very worthy performances produced nonetheless, with a change of gears very much at a premium in the Knockanard contest that was run at a very steady gallop.

Here, Goraibhmaithagat (93+) was not lacking in this department as he quickened best up the hill in the short space of time that the race developed to win cosily.

At Nenagh, Big Cadillac (93+) took his rivals out of their comfort zones towards the end of the back straight, and likely would have won by further, but for his jumping letting him down at the business end of the race. He looks to have all the pace for a bumper in the first instance, whilst in Tinahely, Heroes Rise (92+) looked to have the measure of his nearest challenger when left clear at the last in a race his handler has targeted of late.