ONE thing’s for sure, Dylan Browne McMonagle isn’t shy in front of a camera and he continued to impress in his post race interviews following his double at Leopardstown on Wednesday.

Riding for his boss Joseph O’Brien, Dylan landed the opening 10-furlong Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden for three-year-olds on the 13/8 shot Galileo Dame and the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Heritage Stakes over a mile on the five-year-old mare Goldana, the 4/9 favourite. Both winners are chesnut daughters of Galileo Gold.

Also on the flat, Luke McAteer won the six-furlong handicap at Dundalk last Friday evening on the David Marnane-trained Jered Maddox, there were wins on Monday for Darragh Keenan and Oisin Orr at Lingfield and Wolverhampton respectively while Paddy Mathers struck at Thirsk on Tuesday.

Over jumps, Brian Hughes and Derek Fox both returned to the No 1 spot on Friday at Musselburgh where Fox’s mount, the 11/8 favourite Reflection Of You, was having her first start for Lucinda Russell in the extended two-mile, one-furlong mares’ bumper.

Loughanmore

Under Dara McGill, the Jack Hobbs bay won the Tattersalls four-year-old mares’ maiden at Loughanmore last October on her only start for Warren Ewing.

On Sunday, Hughes made it win number 117 for the campaign when partnering the Rebecca Menzies-trained Tom Cody to a length success in the extended three-mile handicap chase at Carlisle.

I had to look at results as far away as Australia to find a winning owner who has northern roots.

That was James Harron whose James Harron Bloodstock Colts’ Espionage justified 7/5 favouritism in the Widden Kindergarten Stakes, a Group 3 race for two-year-olds over five and a half furlongs on turf, at Randwick, last Saturday.

THE board of the Point-to-Point Authority in Great Britain held a meeting on Monday to discuss the effect the bad weather was having on the season’s sport with, at that stage, 56 fixtures having been run and 32 abandoned.

As in this country, only one meeting was held across the water last weekend and that was Sunday’s Vine and Craven fixture at Kingston Blount where all six winners were Irish-bred.

The concluding Level 1 conditions race for novice riders was won by Bonamargy who was ridden by his 48-year-old trainer Ben Durrell. This was a fourth win for the 10-year-old Arcadio gelding who started his career with Rodney Arthur.

Noel McParlan, who partnered Bonamargy on his last outing here in 2019 when the bay finished sixth in a five-year-old geldings’ maiden at Bellurgan Park, recorded his 17th win of the season on Sunday at Tattersalls. There he landed the winners’ of two on the French-bred Neo King who is trained for her husband Alan by Caroline McCaldin.

The preceding novice riders’ open was won by the Shane Cotter-ridden Ask D’Man who made all the running.

This was a first win of the season, on his fourth start, for the 10-year-old Ask gelding who David Christie trains for John Hegarty and Jenny O’Kane. With Barry O’Neill in the saddle, Ask D’Man won the Champion Novice Hunters’ Chase at Stratford in late May 2022 for the same connections but was out of the public eye after that success for 546 days

THE Northern Region of Eventing Ireland again had to cancel its season-opening one-day event at Tyrella today, but one person who wasn’t going to be there anyway is Judy Maxwell as the Irish agent of regional sponsor, Baileys Horse Feeds, is in Aintree.

Judy bred the 1988 winner of the Seagram Grand National, the David Elsworth-trained Rhyme ‘N’ Reason, and today is mother of one of the amateur riders in the Randox-sponsored feature, David Maxwell, who dons his own colours to partner the Henry de Bromhead-trained Ain’t That A Shame.

The London property investor will be making his public debut in the ‘world’s greatest race’ on the 10-year-old Jeremy gelding who, last time out, landed the Grade 3 Goffs Thyestes Handicap Chase in late January under Rachael Blackmore. Warming-up for the three-day meeting by finishing third in one of bumpers at Market Rasen on Wednesday on the Alan King-trained Off The Jury, David was unseated off Cat Tiger in the Foxhunters Chase on Thursday and rode Ballybentragh in the Grade 1 Sefton Novices’ Hurdle yesterday.

Also due to line-up at the start of the National this afternoon are Caoilin Quinn (Nassalam), Jody McGarvey (Janadil), Sam Ewing who partners Galvin for his Cullentra stable and, of course, Co Sligo’s dual winner of the race, Derek Fox, who returns with last year’s victor, the Lucinda Russell-trained Corach Rambler.

HOPEFULLY the weather will be onside for tomorrow’s Fibrus Family Race Day at Down Royal where the gates open at 12 noon. A good entry was received for this new National Hunt fixture on the Down Royal calendar with six of the seven races featuring the name of the full fibre broadband provider in their title. The odd one out is the Adare Manor Opportunity Handicap Hurdle over two and a half miles.

Young racegoers, and perhaps those young at heart, will be kept entertained by bouncy castles, face painting, petting farms and more.

IT was disappointing for everyone, but not too surprising, to learn on Saturday morning of the postponement of the following day’s Randox Ulster National meeting at Downpatrick.

“Unfortunately, after a further 16ml of rain overnight on top of 20ml on Thursday evening, our track is now unfit for racing and we have no option but to postpone our Ulster National Racemeeting,” said the track’s posting on social media.

“We are currentlyworking to secure a replacement date and this will be announced as soon as possible. We apologise for any disruption and inconvenience caused, but we hope you appreciate that the safety of horses and jockeys is paramount.”