Felix Yonger, the twelve-time track winner that carried the colours of Andrea and Graham Wylie to victory in none less than one Grade one and seven Grade twos before joining the Colin Mc Bratney yard last season, has received a hunter certificate for this season following his two open success at Kirkistown and Portrush last spring.
Peckhamecho, who finished second in the Welsh Champion hurdle at Ffos Las in February 2013 behind Medinas, is also on this week’s hunter certificate list.
The son of Beneficial has won six races on the track which includes eight place runs in both Grade two and Listed contests. The eleven-year-old ran in the Pertemps Network final hurdle at the 2015 Cheltenham Festival and held a career high mark of 145 over hurdles when trained by Rebecca Curtis.
Now in the care of Kildare-based handler Peter Maher, Peckhamecho is out of the former Willie Burke-trained Nolans Pride who won four races under rules including a mare’s Listed chase at Clonmel.
The Stuart Crawford-trained Yes Tom, who has represented the Larne-based handler in many of the leading handicap chases in previous years including the Galway Plate and the Scottish Grand national has also received a hunter certificate.
The six-time winning son of Tikkanen rose to a rating of 142 over fences following his three and three quarter length defeat to Roi Du Mee in the 2015 Daily Mirror chase at Down Royal.
Two well-bred debutants also to have received hunter certificates are Captains Run and Duc Du Mee.
The Colin Bowe-trained Captains Run is a five-year-old full-brother to the Grade two and seven-time winner Texas Jack who also won the 2011 Goffs Landrover bumper at Punchestown for Jason McKeown and Noel Meade.
The James Lambe-trained Duc De Mee is a half-brother to the former Grade one winner Roi Du Mee who won 16 races under rules as well an open at Maralin last October when he beat Balnaslow by five lengths.
The four-year-old is by the French sire, Corri Piano who has only had three previous point-to-point runners in Ireland which includes the Damian Murphy-trained Corri Lindo who won his five-year-old maiden on debut at Kildorrery in February 2015.
