Carrickadawson, Sunday

THE north west region staged a hugely successful fixture at Carrickadawson just outside Letterkenny on Sunday last.

Kian McNally was yet again the jockey to follow on a day when he celebrated his 13th birthday.

The Armagh star completed a brilliant four-timer which was highlighted by Verstappen winning the two-mile contest. The ante-post Dingle Derby favourite Verstappen, for team Worrell and Crabbe, showed courage in abundance when getting up close home to touch off King Of The Hill.

Five Stone Of Lead who suffered a rare reverse in Ballybunion returned to winning ways with an effortless victory in the 14.2hh contest.

Little Fiddlers, owned by the Finnerty family in Roscommon, confirmed herself as the leading 13.2hh pony on the circuit with another hugely impressive victory in the 12.2hh/13.2hh combined race over a mile. The winner will reappear on home ground in Ballinagare tomorrow.

Kian completed the four-timer when Way Up North made a winning seasonal debut in the mile derby. This multiple Dingle winner struck the front inside the distance to beat stable companions Kinnegar Man and Kinnegar Bay.

Perfect return

Tipperary jockey Sam Coen made the perfect return from injury with a double. Dingle winner Ya Skitter showed himself right on cue for a return to the festival with a stellar victory in the 15hh race. The winner is owned by the locally based Holian Syndicate.

Noel McLaughlin’s Team Mac Syndicate gained compensation for an earlier defeat when Kinnegar Boy upset long odds-on favourite Bipolar Blondie in the mile and a half race.

Adam Grant bypassed Broadford and made the long trek to Donegal worthwhile when Chloe’s Sam sluiced home to win the 10-furlong contest from Manhattan. Shane Crabbe’s winner is now bound for the Dingle Ladies Derby.

Jockeys Tiernan McGill and Jimmy Dalton both had a day to savour as they landed their initial career victories.

Ten-year-old Tiernan McGill from Finntown, Co Donegal, gave Swilly Spirit an absolute peach of a drive to win the 14hh race over Erin’s Own.

Jimmy Dalton, who rides out for Andy Slattery, was on the mark when Baileys landed the concluding maiden contest.

Peter Mooney’s charge ended a sequence of second placings when getting up in the shadows of the post to catch the long-time leader Copper Kid.

THE Midlands region will race tomorrow Sunday in Ballinagare, Co Roscommon, at 1pm.

Caherciveen, Co Kerry, will stage their historical fixture on Sunday, July 23rd at 1pm.

Results

Sunday, July 9th

12.2HH/13.2HH (1M): 1, Finnerty Family’s LITTLE FIDDLERS (Kian McNally); 2, D. Ferry’s LITTLE LIONESS (Sam Coen).

14HH (1M): 1, P. McGill’s SWILLY SPIRIT (Tiernan McGill); 2, A. Sweeney’s ERIN’S OWN (Jamie Orr).

14.2HH (10F): 1, R. McNally’s FIVE STONE OF LEAD (Kian McNally); 2, Holian Syndicate’s WEE BUCKS (Sam Coen); 3, A. Scott’s DANNY BOY (Adam Browne Souza).

15HH (10F):1, Holian Syndicate’s YA SKITTER (Sam Coen); 2, J. McGettigan’s FIADH’S FANCY (Patrick McGettigan); 3, I. Worrell/S. Crabbe’s WHAT’S GOING ON (Adam Grant).

Open Horse Race (1M): 1, C. Kerrigan’s WAY UP NORTH (Kian McNally); 2, Team Mac’s KINNEGAR MAN (Sam Coen); 3, Team Mac’s KINNEGAR BAY (Patrick McGettigan).

Open Horse Race (10F): 1, S. Crabbe’s CHLOE’S SAM (Adam Grant); 2, P. Mooney’s MANHATTAN (Jimmy Dalton); 3, A. Sweeney’s WEST BOOTS (Patrick McGettigan).

Carrickadawson Derby (12F): 1,Team Mac’s KINNEGAR BOY (Sam Coen); 2, S. Crabbe’s BIPOLAR BLONDIE (Adam Grant); 3, S. Glynn’s N17 (Patrick McGettigan).

Open Horse Race (2M): 1, I. Worrell/S. Crabbe’s VERSTAPPEN (Kian McNally); 2, L. Cregg’s KING OF THE HILL (Patrick McGettigan); 3, Z. McMullan’s OUR MAN FLINT (Adam Browne Souza).

Maiden Horse Race (10F): 1, P. Mooney’s BAILEYS (Jimmy Dalton); 2, Team Browne’s COPPER KID (Adam Grant); 3, Holian Syndicate’s DARE TO DREAM (Sam Coen).