All roads lead to Belharbour point-to-point this weekend

RACING fans in the Mid-West are in for a real treat this weekend with the County Clare Hunt Point-to-Point meeting at Belharbour on Sunday set to attract huge crowds to the popular Burren venue.
This well-appointed track on the lands of Dermot and Jennifer Linnane has been the subject of very favourable reports from owners, trainers and jockeys alike since what was the old Quin meeting moved there back in 2002 and this is reflected in the interest that has been generated on the build-up to this year’s fixture.
Regional secretary, Frankie Ward, has been very busy handling the entries for the six-race card which kicks off at 1pm.
The first race is a four-year-old maiden over two and a half miles, which will be followed by the always popular confined maiden. Half an hour later, it will be the turn of the five-year-old geldings to strut their stuff with a similar event for six-year-old geldings next on the list. The penultimate contest is a winners’ race and a five-year-old and upwards mares’ maiden will close proceedings.
Clare Hunt PRO Pat Hannon from Quin is confident Sunday’s meeting will be a big success. “We are all set for a great day’s racing. The track is in superb shape and we’ve had enquiries from trainers all over the country who are interested in bringing horses to compete here.”
In the general scheme of things, the annual Belharbour meeting is one of the most prestigious of the entire season, a fact not lost on Hannon, who added, “We are fully aware that this meeting is up there with the best. The four-year-old maiden in particular has gone from strength to strength in recent years and this is very nice to see.
“Some very good horses that have gone on to bigger and better things started off their careers in Belharbour and I expect that trend to continue on Sunday. We have been blessed with great support from the general public since we started racing here and we hope to see another big turnout on Sunday,” concluded the Ardsollus farmer.
As always at this fixture, finding a winner to cover the expenses will be uppermost in punters’ minds.
Eight-time champion jockey Derek O’Connor, who landed his 40th winner of the season when steering Ian Ferguson’s 4/6 favourite Jack’s Grey to victory at Tyrella, County Down last Saturday, looks set to be in action at his local track and the Tubber rider will again be the man to follow.
The award-winning 29-year-old is linked to almost all the top stables in the country and every horse he partners during the day is sure to come in for serious scrutiny. Other riders who have enjoyed success at this venue in the recent past include John Thomas McNamara, Kevin Power, James ‘Corky’ Carroll, while local man Paul O’Neill looks to have a few fancied rides during the afternoon. 
On the training front, Brian Hassett, John O’Neill, Jason Titley, Paurick O’Connor and Ronnie O’Leary, who took the opening five-year-old geldings’ maiden at Nenagh last Sunday with 9/2 shot, Boyfromnowhere, are just some who will be keeping the flag flying for the home team.
Pat Doyle, Sam Curling, Liam Burke and Robert Tyner are other top trainers with horses listed for duty and they will also be hoping to plunder some of the prizes on offer.
Car parking is available in the centre of the track, while County Clare Hunt members will be on duty on the approach roads to facilitate easy access to and from the course.
It promises to be a fantastic afternoon of jump racing that offers an ideal opportunity to experience the thrills and spills of racing between the flags at its best.

Hurricane blows Leopardstown rivals away
REIGNING champion hurdler Hurricane Fly left nobody in any doubt as to his wellbeing, making his long-awaited return to action a winning one when crushing his rivals in the BHP Insurance Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown on Sunday.
Off the track since hacking-up at Punchestown last May, Hurricane Fly was making his belated seasonal debut in this Grade 1 €110,000 two-mile contest and he fairly enhanced his already tall reputation with a scintillating display.
Just five faced the starter with Hurricane Fly going off a well-backed 4/5 shot to account for some of the top timber toppers in training here.
Ruby Walsh was content to sit in aboard the Willie Mullins-trained market leader as stable mate, Thousand Stars, cut out the running on what was very testing ground.
Heading towards the second last, Walsh was building up a head of steam on Hurricane Fly, who powered to the front early in the home straight. Like the good horse that he is, the Fly quickly sealed the issue when pulling right away in the closing stages to beat Jessica Harrington’s Oscars Well by six and a half lengths.
Thousand Stars was third some three and a half lengths in rear, with the disappointing Unaccompanied a long way back in fourth.
Make no mistake about it, this was a classy display from Hurricane Fly. He looked as good on Sunday as he’s ever done and certainly appears on target to make it back to back victories in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in five weeks’ time.
“I was hoping he would win today but you never know on their first run back. He has completely surprised me,” said a delighted Mullins.
“I was worried before the race as he seemed a bit quiet in himself going around the ring but maybe he’s just maturing. He was brilliant today and it may well be the best he’s ever run. I wasn’t that happy with him at home in the early part of the season but he began to sparkle over the past few weeks and he showed it today,” added the Closutton handler who has his team in unbelievable form at present.
Looking ahead to the big Prestbury Park meeting, Mullins revealed, “I hope he didn’t have too hard a race today as that ground out there is gruelling. Anyway, we have plenty of time to freshen him up and all we have to do now is keep the lid on him between here and Cheltenham.”
Winning rider Walsh, who was on board Big Buck’s when he landed his 15th victory in-a-row in the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham 24 hours earlier, was equally thrilled with Hurricane Fly’s display.
“He’s just very good, an incredible horse,” said Walsh. “While some of the others may not have run up to their best, Hurricane Fly can only beat what’s put in front of him and he was super today. He settled as well here as he did at Punchestown in the spring and that was nice to see,” concluded the Kildare rider, who has appealed the three-day ban he picked-up following an incident in the opening race at Cheltenham on Saturday.
Boston Bob completed a double for Mullins and Walsh when running out a good winner of the following Grade 2 Synergy Security Solutions Novice Hurdle and Graham Wylie’s seven-year-old will surely form part of Mullins’ powerful Cheltenham team as a result.
Veteran Dublin-born trainer Peter Casey has a cracking prospect on his hands in Flemenstar, who bolted up in the Grade 1 Frank Ward Solicitors Irish Arkle.
In-form Andrew Lynch was on board the 6/4 favourite who slaughtered his six rivals with a power-packed display that saw him beat runner-up Gift of Dgab by a whopping 19 lengths.
The winner will not travel to either Cheltenham or Aintree this season with the Power Gold Cup at Fairyhouse over Easter mentioned as a possible target.
Jessica Harrington, who landed Saturday’s Boylesports Hurdle with 10/1 shot, Citizenship, will have been pleased by the display of her runner-up Oscar’s Well in the big race and the Moone, County Kildare handler got her afternoon off to the perfect start when sending out Burn And Turn (100/30) to land Sunday’s opening two-mile maiden hurdle at the Foxrock venue.
Owned by Cooraclare-born, Dublin-based property developer, Joe O’Flaherty, Burn and Turn won a bumper at the Punchestown Festival last May and the daughter of Flemensfirth opened her account over timber here in impressive fashion when quickening up well in the closing stages in the hands of Robbie Power to beat runner-up Hawk Flight by two-and-a-quarter lengths.