Tubber Point-to-Point

DEREK O’Connor thrilled his supporters with a double at last Sunday’s County Clare Hunt meeting at Quakerstown, which brought his career tally between the flags to an amazing 700 winners.
Award-winning O’Connor, now widely regarded at the best point-to-point rider this country has ever produced, paid his first visit of the afternoon to the winner’s enclosure when teaming up with Quin handler Brian Hassett to land the five-year-old geldings’ maiden aboard 4/6 favourite A Heart Beats On. Sent to the front with a circuit to race, the Kaieteur gelding kept up a relentless gallop to beat newcomer Bound For Glory by five lengths.
“This is a very nice horse and his next assignment will be either a winners’ race or a bumper,” said the winning trainer.
Former Grand National-winning rider JasonTitley provided O’Connor with the second leg of his double when Vintage Krug came home best to land the winners’ race.
Dropped out in the early stages, O’Connor made stealthy progress through the field in the closing stages only hitting the front on the run to the line to beat William McMahon’s Janeylad by half a length.
Titley, who trains the winner for his boss Noel Glynn at their Durra House operation, outlined, “That was a brilliant ride from Derek. This is a nice horse and he came home well there today. I’ll try and find a winners of two race for him now.”
Newmarket-on-Fergus trainer John Costello has a smart recruit on his hands in the shape of On The Bridge, who scored under John Thomas McNamara in the second division of the older geldings’ maiden. This son of Milan was kept up to his work in the closing stages by former champion McNamara, as the pair crossed the line a length and a half to the good over Sean Moran’s Gate Please.
Owned by Aidan Murray from Kilchreest, Galway, the winner has a big future according to Costello, who said, “I think a good bit of this horse and the nice ground was the all-important factor today. He might run again before the season ends.”
Half an hour earlier, McNamara had initiated a double as the popular Croom rider steered Noble Chic, trained in Patrickswell by Michael Hourigan for his daughter Kay, to victory in the first division.
Quin building contractor Brian McCarthy was on the mark in the concluding confined maiden for novice riders, which he sponsored, where his Jamie Ivors-ridden Dot Or Feather made all the running to beat Cormac Flannery’s Forgive Intrusion by 15 lengths.
“Jamie has given this horse a superb ride,” said McCarthy. “I delighted for him as he’s a great lad and does most of the hard work with this horse.”
The opening four-year-old maiden was won by a very good horse in the shape of newcomer Champagne Fever. Trained in Fethard, Tipperary by Róisín Hickey and her husband Thomond O’Mara, the Johnny Ryan-ridden grey son of Stowaway stretched clear in the closing stages to beat runner-up Smart Money by a comfortable 10 lengths.
The mares’ maiden featured the inaugural running of the Patricia Lynch Memorial Race which honoured the late Newmarket-on-Fergus teenager who sadly lost her life following a hunting accident prior to Christmas. Victory here went to Buttevant, Cork raider Scarlet Butler. Ciaran Fennessy was on board the seven-year-old who dug deep on the run-in to beat Karen Hannon’s Tisonlyme by two lengths.
Results
Hassett Considine Solicitors (ITM Bonus) 4yo Maiden. 3m: 1. Champagne Fever (IRE) 4/1; 2. 10L Smart Money (IRE) 1/1F; 3. 1L Go Get Em Kid (IRE) 6/1. Trainer, Roisin Hickey; jockey, J A Ryan; owner, R Hickey.

Ciaran O’Connor, Publican 5yo Geldings Maiden. 3m: 1. A Heart Beats On (IRE) 4/6F; 2. 5L Bound For Glory (IRE) 6/1; 3. dist Blamethepostman (IRE) 6/1. Trainer, Brian Hassett; jockey, Derek O’Connor; owner, Donal Hassett.

Patricia Lynch Memorial Race 6yo+ Mares Maiden.  3m: 1. Scarlet Butler (IRE) 4/1; 2. 2L Tisonlyme (IRE) 9/4F; 3. 3L Nora D (IRE) 4/1. Trainer, Eugene Butler; jockey, C W Fennessy;
owner, Eugene Butler.

O’Neill Bookmakers Winners of One. 3m: 1. Vintage Krug (IRE) 3/1; 2  ½L Janeylad (IRE) 5/1; 3  2L Castle Fall’s (IRE) 4/1. Trainer, Jason Titley; jockey, Derek O’Connor; owner, N F Glynn.

Dinny Gould and Paul Casey Bookmakers 6yo+ Geldings Maiden (DIV 1). 3m: 1. Noble Chic (GB) 5/1; 2. 6L Gate Please (Ire) 4/1; 3. 2L Dromahane (IRE) 6/1. Trainer, Michael Hourigan;   jockey, J T McNamara; owner, K Hourigan.

Dinny Gould and Paul Casey Bookmakers 6yo+ Geldings Maiden (DIV 2) 3m: 1. On The Bridge (IRE) 4/5F; 2  1 ½L Inamalabalusaloon (IRE) 5/1; 3. 10L Zipit (IRE) 2/1. Trainer, John Costello; jockey, J T McNamara; owner, A Murray.

Brian McCarthy Contractors Ltd 5yo+Confined Maiden. 3m: 1.  Dot Or Feather (IRE) 4/5F; 2.  15L Forgive Intrusion (IRE) 5/1; 3. 3L Nice Love (FR) 2/1. Trainer, Brian Hassett; jockey, J G Ivors; owner, Brian McCarthy.