Bellharbour Point-to-Point and Family Fun Day, under the auspices of the Co Clare Hunt will take place in Bellharbour, Co Clare on Sunday 4th February 2018. Situated between the wild Atlantic and the majestic Burren, the point to point in Bellharbour is set against one of the most picturesque backdrops in Ireland.
Bellharbour has proved to be an excellent source of young talent in recent years. Gordon Elliott’s exciting chaser Ball D’Arc was a winner at Bellharbour in 2015 and has since gone on to perform at the highest level including 3rd in the Ryanair Novice Chase (Grade 1) at Punchestown and winner of two Grade 3’s at Naas.
Winner of the Pertemps Network Final at the Cheltenham Festival in 2016, Mall Dini, also won at this meeting in 2015. Other exciting young talent to come from this meeting include bumper winner and recent novice hurdle winner, Way Back Then and Burren Life, also trained by Gordon Elliott, a recent winner of a Novice Hurdle at Thurles and also placed in both Grade 2 and Grade 3 company over hurdles.
As this meeting is a very important part of the local community, extra effort has been made by the committee to enhance the enjoyment of the occasion for all the family. The day promises to be a wonderful day of racing and entertainment for everyone. There will be free admission for children and admission for adults over 16 is €10. There will be many wonderful free attractions such as a mobile farm, pony rides, face painting and bouncy castles.
Other free attractions that will appeal to the rest of the family are the dog show and display, a hunt invitational flat race taking place after racing and a Football skills zone. There will also be food stalls and an indoor seating pavilion which will allow all members of the family to enjoy the day in comfort. The Dog Show will have an entry fee of €3 per dog per class and there will be rosettes and trophies for the prize winners.
This year will see the inaugural running of the Bellharbour Point to Point Race Track Run, which is held in conjunction with Clare Crusaders and the local GAA club, Michael Cusack’s. The race will take place around the beautiful scenic grass track in the morning prior to racing with the senior race starting at 10.15am and the junior under 16 race starting at 11.15am.
Registration for the race takes place at the event on the morning of the race, from 9am. Entry to this race is €10 per adult and €5 per child and also allows athletes taking part free admission in to the point to point later in the day. The races will be run over two distances, 5km for senior athletes and over 1600m for junior athletes under 16 years on the day. Prizes will be awarded to the Fastest Male and Fastest Female in each race and also to the fastest team of four athletes to complete the 5km.
To keep up to date with all the latest news and developments in the run-up to the raceday, be sure to like and follow Bellharbour on Facebook and Twitter - Facebook page Bellharbour Point to Point & on Twitter @BellharbourPtoP
Image: Karina Hennessy
