Cork rider John Barry reached a landmark in his career in the point-to-point fields at Tallow on Sunday when partnering his 150th winner.
The Conna native achieved that landmark courtesy of the victory of Arctic Skipper in the Rathbarry & Glenview Stud open, as the former Grade 2 Fortria Chase winner was able to get the better of the likeable veteran, Better B Quick, in what was just a three-runner contest, by three lengths.
The victory saw Vincent Halley’s charge go one better than his performance in the corresponding race 12 months earlier, when he was forced to settle for the second spot behind Oscar Contender.
Barry has struck up a successful partnership with the 12-year-old since he was switched to the open division, with this latest success, their sixth victory together, including three this season which has contributed to Barry’s current 13-winner tally for the season.
The victory comes just over 12 years after his initial victory in the pointing sphere, which was recorded back in November 2007 aboard the Michael Hourigan-trained Some Craic at Dromahane.
In the time since, Barry has become one of the leading riders within the sphere, partnering the likes of Ms Parfois, Angels Breath and Fury Road to success in their formative years, in addition to the current ante-post favourite for the Arkle Novices’ Chase, Notebook, whom he guided to an opening success as a five-year-old at Dromahane in 2018.
