THE links between racing, hunting and, to a lesser extent farming, were obvious last Sunday following the running of the Randox Ulster National over an extended three and a half miles at Downpatrick.

Clear to all, the successful Yeats gelding Dunboyne was escorted back to the winner’s enclosure by Declan Phelan and Ruairi Barlow, huntsman and trainee whipper-in with the East Down Hunt. Their respective mounts, Spartacus and Harley, were beautifully plaited by Hannah Maginn who is well-known for her turnout at shows of her family’s Lisnamaul Salers.