IT was great to see Noel Hynds have a winner at Navan last Sunday when his family were present to help him celebrate. (see P38-39)

Based outside Banbridge, Noel saddled Court Of Appeal to win the concluding 10-furlong handicap under Conor Stone-Walsh whose 7lbs claim brought the top-weight’s burden down to 9st 7lbs.

The trainer will now look for a similar type of race in the next two to three weeks for the six-year-old Golden Horn gelding.

“It was nice to get a wee bit of luck for a change,” said Hynds who is a farrier by trade, catering mainly for private owners of sport horses.

“He was also my last winner when landing a nine-furlong handicap at Leopardstown in August 2021.

“As I am a restricted licence holder, I just have four horses to run and I work them locally at John Kidd’s gallop.”

Noel travelled down to Navan in the company of his wife Fiona and sons Rhys and Rowan who are keeping up the family tradition of competing under Show Jumping Ireland rules while also taking part in all Pony Club activities as members of the Iveagh Branch.

At Sligo on Tuesday, James Lambe and Liam McKenna joined forces to win the two and a half-mile handicap hurdle with the eight-year-old Mastercraftsman gelding True Destiny.

The chesnut was notching up his eighth career success and his second for the Dungannon trainer.

WHILE most involved with any horse sport would like a little bit of rain – overnight if possible – let’s hope the good weather stays around for this weekend’s Fathers’ Day fixture at Downpatrick and next Friday and Saturday’s Summer Festival at Down Royal.

There are plenty of off-track activities taking place at Downpatrick including a dog agility display from K9ARC in the parade ring from 12 noon to 1pm both days (the dogs and their handlers probably don’t want it too hot!) while children can enjoy free face painting and stilt walking.

For the umpteenth time, I was recently glancing through an old publicity brochure for Downpatrick on the front cover of which was printed ‘Back a winner ... back Downpatrick’.

The back cover featured an advertisement for the flashy chesnut stallion Denel, standing with Jeremy Maxwell at The Glebe House, while, inside there was an ad for Milk Of The Barley and Pumps at Beechvale Stud which these days is more involved with the flat.

Still supporting Downpatrick through race sponsorship, William Flood had placed an ad for Boardsmill Stud and its three stallions Furry Glen, Orchestra and Salluceva.

Among the more up-to-date photographs were one of Ann Ferris being led back to the parade ring following her win on Android in the 1986 Ulster Harp National and one of the aforementioned Jeremy Maxwell celebrating the win of his charge Boggy Peak in the same year’s Ulster Cesarewitch.

There were some great shots of ‘racing action from the past’ and brief profiles of ‘past masters’ such as Frankie Fitzsimons senior, W.E. Rooney, W.G. Rooney, Willie Patton, Sammy Patton, Kevin Woods, John McKeag and the Shane sisters, Joan and Bunny.

DAY by day on the jockey front, there were wins in the period under review for Luke McAteer at Fairyhouse on Friday, for Darragh Keenan plus Patsy Cosgrave at Brighton and for Danny McMenamin at Market Rasen.

On Saturday, Brian Hughes landed the bumper at Bangor, Oisin Orr and Paddy Mathers struck at Beverley, Cosgrave won at Lingfield and, at home, Jody McGarvey partnered a winner at Punchestown.

Mathers and Orr were among the winners again on Tuesday, the former having travelled to Ayr while Orr recorded a double at Wetherby. On Wednesday, Dylan Browne McMonagle partnered two winners at Limerick.

THE opening two and a half-mile novices’ hurdle at Perth last Sunday was won by the Gordon Elliott-trained An Mhi who justified 4/9 favouritism by one and a quarter lengths in the hands of Sean Bowen.

The six-year-old gelding by Walk In The Park, who got off the mark over jumps at Ballinrobe last month, was bred by Aaron Metcalfe out of the Broadway Flyer mare Bay Pearl who comes from the family of Big Buck’s and whose previous produce include the seven-time winner Slate House (by Presenting).

The seven-furlong handicap at Lingfield on Monday was landed by the Patrick Chamings-trained Amathus who was winning for the fourth time in his career. The six-year-old Anjaal gelding was bred by Pat Turley out of the Oratorio mare Effige.

On Wednesday we had to scroll down the results to Happy Valley in Hong Kong where we found that the Dean Harron-bred Management Folks had won the nine-furlong handicap.

This five-year-old Mastercraftsman gelding is out of the Henrythenavigator mare Excellent Mariner, a half-sister to the Footstepsinthesand horse Pure Champion aka Steinbeck.

I WAS a bit previous last Saturday when I wrote that the British point-to-point campaign had come to an end six days earlier when, in fact, it concluded last Saturday with the Torrington Farmers Foxhounds’ fixture at Umberleigh in Devon.

Unfortunately, there was no North of Ireland-bred winner on the six-race card but the good news for breeders on this side of the Irish Sea is that six of the seven winners carried an IRE suffix.

The 2017 Galileo gelding Vermillion Cliffs had to share the spoils in the three-runner level 2 conditions race with the French-bred Flaminger.