It was a day to remember for point-to-point regular Cormac Abernethy as he recorded his first success at his local racecourse in Down Royal on Thursday.
The Dungannon native teamed up with trainer Paul Traynor’s Stansfield to land the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Rated Novice Chase at the Co. Down course.
The seven-year-old who had suffered a luckless start to his racing career between the flags was sent off as a 7/1 shot following his second career placed finish on his previous outing at Cork a month earlier.
Abernethy positioned the Karen McNeilly-owned son of Thousand Words in mid-pack before moving into second position early in the home straight. However the pair still found themselves two lengths adrift of Henry de Bromhead’s Arahecan, when that Hugh Morgan-ridden eight-year-old came down at the second last.
That presented Abernethy and Stansfield with the lead as they both went on to record their respective first successes by three and three quarter lengths over Cavalry Master, stable mate of the penultimate fence faller.
This first success for the young rider comes after he had made his point-to-point debut at Tyrella in January 2017, and has regularly made the frame on horses sporting his families colours such as Infrontofthejudge and Drumconnor Girl, with Caroline McCaldin, James Lambe and Clare Cannon among the handlers to have supported him this season.
Stansfield sheds the maiden tag after taking the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Rated Novice Chase at @Downroyal for Abernethy and Paul Traynor pic.twitter.com/YKpqXZRqlT
— Horse Racing Ireland (@HRIRacing) February 4, 2021
