The success story of Irish point-to-point graduates is continually growing each year with their progression to track success highlighting their value to potential new owners and trainers. The Autumn season graduates have continually reinforced these figures with some of last year’s winners having made the headlines already this season.
From the opening meeting at Castletown-Geoghegan on the 08th October until the 10th December at Borris and Boulta, we saw 35 four-year-old maiden winners, some of which are already creating a big impression on the race track.
Leading handler from last season, Colin Bowe, won the opening race of the new term with Napolean Blue at the Co. Westmeath track and went on to win a further six races in the younger division.
Both Aidan Fitzgerald Denis Paul Murphy also enjoyed a successful start to the season having both trained three four-year-old winners during the autumn campaign.
Dowth Hall winner, Good Man Jim, was the widest margin winner of the geldings’ category. Having set a scorching gallop from flag fall, the son of Martaline had much of his rivals under pressure a long way from home and returned a comfortable 14 length winner for the Mick Goff yard.
Siege Of Tobruk was one of eight mares’ who won their four-year-old maidens this Autumn and the daughter of Milan enjoyed the most comfortable win at Boulta as a result of her closest rival, Kilbarry Angel exciting at the final fence which left a clear passage for the Niall Kelleher-trained mare to lose her maiden tag at the third time of asking.
The former Warren Ewing-trained Brace Yourself claimed the honour of being the first four-year-old to emerge from the 2017 autumn point-to-point season to win on the track with victory at Down Royal on St. Stephens Day.
Now under the care of Noel Meade, the son of Mahler had finished runner-up to Weakfield on his debut at Portrush in the same maiden that produced Grade 1 winner, Finian’s Oscar 12 months previous.
Blue Flight, winner of the four-year-old maiden at Loughanmore in October, also posted a solid display on his track debut when he finished runner-up in a bumper at Chepstow at the beginning of December for the Nigel Twiston-Davies yard.
Maria’s Benefit, a winner at Dromahane last November for James Doyle, continued to fly the flag for the mares over the Christmas holidays when she enjoyed her fifth win of her career on the track after winning a Mares’ Listed Novice hurdle at Taunton on the 30th December.
With the mares’ division remaining strong, further confidence was restored in the mares category when the Aidan Fitzgerald-trained Queens Cave (pictured) won on her bumper debut at Uttoxeter on New Years Eve for her new yard of David Pipe, just 49 days after her point-to-point success at Dromahane.
23 individual stallions sired four-year-old winners with Getaway leading the table having enjoyed four winners in the younger age category so far this season. Court Cave, Westerner, Flemensfirth and Gold Well all sired three four-year-old winners.
Of the 38 four-year-old winners from last autumn, 16 of them have already won on the track with a further 14 finishing either second or third. Some of the standout winners from last season to have entered the winner’s enclosure in previous weeks include Benatar, Slate House and Poli Roi to name just a few.
