Track Stats - Castletown-Geoghegan

Image © Healy Racing

Castletown-Geoghegan has been a mainstay of the point-to-point scene in the midlands for four decades and it has attracted a healthy 93 entries on this opening weekend of the season.

A left-handed course featuring five fences, the horses spend much of the race on the turn. Beginning at the new starting point which was relocated before the winning post in autumn 2018, the runners are quickly into the bend out of the home straight, and there is a fair run on the level before the runners arrive at the first fence. There is a further run away from the home straight which brings them over the second, after which they bare slightly left-handed into the back straight proper.

The runners begin to climb ever so slightly on the run to fence three and then turn once again and begin the steeper ascent to the top of the hill. Before they reach the top of the climb, they will jump fence four at the highest point of the course.

They shortly meet the final left-handed bend, which begins quite a notable downhill run into a dip early in the home straight. Before reaching the one and only fence in the home straight, which also acts as the final obstacle on the third circuit, there is a rise, but the climb is significantly less than the previous descent. Following the last, there is a short run-in to the line.


Vital Statistics

County: Westmeath
Fences per circuit: 5
Direction: Left-handed
Top Rider: Barry O’Neill (27 wins since 2000)
Winning Favourites: 3 of 6 at last year’s fixture



The rider’s verdict

“Castletown-Geoghegan is quite a fair track because if they go too quick around there, which they often can, they would come back to you on the run up the hill to the second-last fence.

“It always rides very well, and the hunt do a great job producing safe ground at all of their race meetings.”

Barry O’Neill



Iconic moment

Gordon Elliott is now one of the biggest trainers in racing and it is the 2007 Grand National victory of Silver Birch that is credited as his first big-race success.

That narrow victory over Mckelvey was all the more remarkable as the then 29-year-old fledgling trainer had only saddled three winners under rules before that point.

Silver Birch’s Grand National winning campaign had begun at Castletown-Geoghegan in November 2006, when the Clearly Bust gelding had his first start for Elliott.

Bought for £20,000 at the Doncaster Spring Sale out of Paul Nicholls’ Manor Farm Stables earlier that year having fallen at the Chair in that year’s Grand National, the now nine-year-old, who was a former Welsh National and Becher Chase winner, was also having his first start in the colours of his new owner Brian Walsh.

Sent off as an easy-to-back favourite under the late John Thomas McNamara in the Soft ground, Silver Birch raced in second for much of the journey as it was the grey Hersov that made much of the running.

On the final circuit, it was Captain Moonlight and Gerry Mangan who made the first move and climbing to the penultimate fence they had all their rivals on the stretch, with Silver Birch unable to match him in the second spot.

In the challenging conditions, Silver Birch was caught on the line for the second spot, as he ended up finishing last of only three horses that completed as the heavy rain-sodden ground took its toll.

A month later, Elliott sent Silver Birch over to Cheltenham for a Cross Country race where he finished eighth behind the great Spot Thedifference, and come the Cheltenham Festival in March, it was another Enda Bolger-trained horse in Heads Onthe Ground that denied him victory in Sporting Index Cross Country.

By Aintree, Elliott had Silver Birch primed to take on the National fences once again and under Robbie Power, the pair would triumph by three-quarters of a length, as Elliott became the youngest trainer to win the Grand National.


Last year’s rewind

Castletown-Geoghegan kickstarted the 2023/24 campaign, and the reigning champions Barry O’Neill and Colin Bowe enjoyed the perfect start to their respective title defences with a double courtesy of Emily’s Choice in the mares’ maiden and Agent Tequila in the five and six-year-old geldings’ maiden.

James Fennell and Finn Brickley were two riders who recorded their first career success on the card.

Nineteen-year-old Fennell, who is from outside of Dungarvan, guided Intersky Sunet to victory for Declan Queally in the winners-of-two, whilst it was the former 150-rated hurdler The Bosses Oscar that got Brickley off the mark in the open for novice riders.


Image © Healy Racing

This time around

Having been among the winners at this fixture last year when Brave Fortune landed the four-year-old maiden, Pat Doyle could again be the trainer to follow on Sunday as he has entered four horses, including a number of likely leading contenders.

The Tipperary handler has entered Kilrush Lady in the mares’ maiden for what could be her first start between the flags, having caught the eye when only beaten a length in a Downpatrick maiden hurdle during the summer.

Doyle is doubly represented in the five and six-year-old geldings’ maiden later on the card with City Slippers and Trasna Na Pairce. The latter has finished second in each of his latest two outings in Dromahane and Ballindenisk, whilst City Slippers ended last season by also finishing second in Ballingarry to give the Suirview Stables team a strong-looking hand in this particular contest.


Entries: 93 (View all entries here)
First race: 1pm
Eircode: N91 DA50

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