AFFORDALE Fury, who provided Sam Ewing with his first win since his return from injury at Galway last Sunday, began his racing career with the jockey’s father, Warren, who saddled the Affinisea bay to win a four-year-old geldings’ maiden at Ballycahane in March 2022, on his only start for the Templepatrick handler.

Ewing has his 2023/2024 team of pointers in excellent form and recorded his third win of the campaign when Saint Kristobal, who pulled up on his only previous start back in February, landed the Tattersalls four-year-old geldings’ maiden at the sales company’s Co Meath complex on Sunday.

The Jeu St Eloi bay was ridden by Dara McGill, whose brother, Orán, was on board the second-placed Jim The Wolf.

Another French-bred, Jim The Wolf is trained by Colin McKeever for Wilson Dennison, who enjoyed a better conclusion to a wet and windy day at this Meath and Tara meeting, when Orán wore his colours to victory in the five-year-old and upwards unplaced maiden on the long-absent Ballywalter. This was the first runner of the new season for the winner’s trainer, James Lambe.

Combined

The McGill brothers, and their trainer father Gary, combined to land the Albert Bartlett winners’ of one at Moira the previous day with Springtime Promise, who won her maiden last time out at Portrush.

I’m delighted that the family had some luck now with the Fame And Glory six-year-old, as Gary in particular was upset to lose the five-time winner Dollys Destination in a first flight fall at Leopardstown in early February.

Five of the six races at this Co Down Hunt meeting were won by locally-trained runners (as reported in page 42), while the odd-one out, John The Spark, who landed the Barclay Communications & INHSC older geldings’ maiden, is in the care of Ian Donoghue, a former huntsman of the host pack.

Two of the day’s winners were also bred in Northern Ireland starting with Ballygelly, who had finished second to Springtime Promise on her debut and here landed the Tattersalls NH five-year-old and upwards mares’ maiden.

Yet another winner for the in-form owner and trainer duo of Philip McBurney and Gerald Quinn and bringing up a double for Noel McParlan, this 2018 Soldier Of Fortune bay was bred by CAFRE’s Enniskillen Campus, out of the hurdle and chase winner Indian Love.

Garthorpe

That French-bred Indian Danehill mare is dam also of the 2019 Doyen gelding Bond Broker, who won a four and five-year-old maiden at Garthorpe in early February, after which he was sold for £80,000 into the Paul Nicholls yard.

Mention of Garthorpe reminds me that 2023/2024 British point-to-point season gets underway tomorrow at Dunsmore. Back to Moira, where the second locally-bred winner was Wowsham who, in the hands of Stephen Connor, passed the post 25 lengths clear of the only other finisher, Ultimate Optimist, in the five-runner Randox Health Open.

The Elzaam gelding won a Perth maiden hurdle in May 2021 for Stuart Crawford, whose brother, Ross, is now training the eight-year-old. Wowsham won on Saturday in the colours of David Laverty, whose father, Leslie, bred the bay with John Graham. He is the third of five recorded foals out of the non-winning Polish Precedent mare, Shams Wa Matar.

Also on the breeding front there was a first win over fences for the Colm McDonnell-bred seven-year-old Neon Moon (No Risk At All – Hidden Horizons, by Winged Love) at Ludlow last Thursday week and in a novices’ handicap chase at Huntingdon on Monday for the Sean McElroy-bred six-year-old Surrey Quest (Milan – Roztoc, by Desert King).

Ewing back with a winner at Galway

THE best news on the jockey front this week was the win of Sam Ewing at Galway on Sunday on the Noel Meade-trained, Philip Polly-owned Affordale Fury, the Templepatrick native recording his first success since his return from a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Sent off 7/4 favourite on his debut over the bigger obstacles, the five-year-old Affinisea gelding landed the Colm Quinn BMW Irish EBF Beginners Chase over an extended two-miles, six-furlongs by one and a half lengths on what was the jockey’s only ride of the day.

Sam, who is sponsored by Polly’s CosyRoof company, partnered Affordale Fury to finish second, beaten a length at odds of 150/1, to Stay Away Fay in the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham on St Patrick’s Day.

Red-letter day

Sunday was a red-letter day for Co Donegal qualified rider Luke Turner who recorded his first success on the track when the Barry Fitzgerald-trained Magical Annie landed the concluding fillies’ bumper on the same Galway card.

Based with Willie Mullins, Luke is from Carndonagh on the Inishowen peninsula and, not too surprisingly, is well acquainted with flat jockeys Oisin Orr and Dylan Browne McMonagle.

Orr rode a winner on both Monday and Tuesday on the tapeta at Newcastle, the first for his boss Richard Fahey and the second for Lucinda Russell, while Downpatrick’s Danny McMenamin, who is also sponsored by CosyRoof, partnered a winner over fences at Carlisle last Thursday week for Ann Hamilton and one over hurdles at Kelso on Saturday for his boss Nicky Richards.

Brian Hughes won the novices’ handicap chase at the Scottish track where Derek Fox rode two of Lucinda Russell’s four winners.

WE were so disappointed for Emma Meehan and her hard-working team at Down Royal that their Ladbrokes Festival of Racing had to be postponed a week, due to what was officially termed water logging, but had more the semblance of what might be termed a biblical flood.

Let’s hope that the weather gods quickly get on side to dry out the ground, and anything else that needs to be dried out, that trainers will make plenty of entries on Monday (for next Friday) and on Tuesday (for next Saturday) and that the two days will be well supported by all those who had intended to go racing this weekend.

The town of Downpatrick and its environs was badly affected by this week’s heavy rain but, as it’s close season at the racecourse, they weren’t under the same pressure as Down Royal, but they are seeking applications for the position of a Marketing and Administrator Coordinator.

The role requires a dynamic, hardworking individual who can handle a range of tasks and ability to work under pressure and to strict deadlines. Closing date for applications is Wednesday, November 15th. Further information on the track’s social media pages.