Barry O’Neill continues to climb through the landmark winners at pace, with the second leg of a Castletown-Geoghegan treble on Sunday afternoon, bringing his career total point-to-point winners to 600.
This latest milestone having been slightly delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic curtailing much of last season, however it still comes less than two years after he reached winner 500 at Borris House in December 2018.
Starting the day on the 598-winner mark having been among the winners at Toomebridge a day earlier, the 31-year-old wasted no time to make his way to the winner’s enclosure as he once again teamed up with his principal supporter Colin Bowe, as they combined to take the four-year-old maiden at this fixture for the fourth year running.
Grady Hollow, a close relation of the capable Pylonthepressure, had chased home Holymacapony on his debut at Kirkistown back in February, and he swiftly went one better on his return to action, beating just one other finisher in a sign of the gruelling conditions facing the runners in the inclement conditions.
The all-important 600th winner for the Wexford native came courtesy of Paul Nolan’s First Love, with the newcomer who is by No Risk At All, just out-battling Sean McParlan’s Drumlees Pet by half-a-length in the five and six-year-old mares’ maiden.
Fittingly it was another of O’Neill’s big supporter David Christie who also supplied him with a winner on the afternoon, with winner 601 coming aboard Handy Headon.
The new addition to Christie’s Fermanagh yard having won a Tinahely maiden last season for Paddy Quinlan, and he quickly atoned for a disappointing effort at Necarne a week earlier with success in the winners’ contest.
These latest successes for the four-time national champion continue his strong start to the new campaign, as he finishes the third weekend on ten winners, more than double the number of any other rider, as he looks to once again defend his title over 13 years after his first point success aboard Viking Rebel in March 2007.
Now the fourth rider to reach the 600-winner milestone, he joins three of the sport’s greats – Derek O’Connor, Jamie Codd and the late John Thomas McNamara – in doing so, continuing to write his place in the sport’s history.
