Image © Healy Racing
Eleven years after his latest national triumph, Derek O’Connor has been crowned champion point-to-point rider for a record-extending twelfth time, after he ended the season eight winners clear of the defending champion Barry O’Neill.
Eleven years after his latest national triumph, Derek O’Connor has been crowned champion point-to-point rider for a record-extending twelfth time, after he ended the season eight winners clear of the defending champion Barry O’Neill.
The Galweigan entered the final weekend of the season with a six-winner advantage, and that was extended with O’Connor on the mark on both day’s of the two-day fixture at Ballingarry, winning the five-year-old gelding’s maiden aboard Back To Sea on Saturday.
That was followed 24 hours later by an important victory for Time In A Bottle in the mares’ winners-of-three, as her four length victory saw Sam Curling break Robert Tyner’s 17-year record for the greatest number of winners by a handler in a single season.
The sport’s winning-most rider, having brought his career tally to 1,416 courtesy of his 45 winners this season, may not feature as frequently in the saddle as was the previously the case, having contested over 390 races in both the 2007/08 and 2010/11 seasons, as more recently it has been a case of quality over quantity.
Although the incentive of a twelfth national title has seen him in action more regularly of late, with his 134 rides this season, his most since he rode in 177 races throughout the 2018/19 season.
A four-timer at Tallow in February is among the highlights of the season, a campaign where he also rode a treble at Stowlin in May, and became the first rider to break the 1,400-winner milestone in the pointing sphere when Holshot was victorious at Ballyknock in April.
That was one of 24 winners that O’Connor won for Sam Curling, with the Tipperary handler proving to be a real boost to his title hopes, as he has foiled Barry O’Neill’s attempt to match his own record of winning ten consecutive national titles.
2004 – 59 wins
2005 – 63 wins
2006 – 63 wins
2007 – 75 wins
2008 – 94 wins
2009 – 113 wins (all-time record)
2010 – 101 wins
2011 – 110 wins
2012 – 70 wins
2013 – 70 wins
2015 – 90 wins
2026 – 45 wins
It has proven to be a bumper haul of titles for O’Connor, as having wrapped up a record extending fifteenth western region crown at Loughrea a week earlier, he added the senior and southern titles to his haul in another memorable campaign.
25 winners in the southern region, sees him lift that title for an eleventh time, and his first since 2019, as he finished nine winners in front of John Barry, with Jamie Scallan and Darragh Allen, two former champions in the region, back in third.
Derek will be presented with his trophy at the 45th annual point-to-point awards, hosted by the QR Association, which takes place at Whites Hotel, Wexford, on Saturday, June 13th. Tickets can be purchased here.
