23 February 2023 - Flipbook - Page 87
HORSEWEEK
FARMWEEK
FEBRUARY 23 2023
87
Under starter’s orders for
Farmacaffley Point to Point
T
HE annual Tynan and Armagh
Point to Point races will take
place this Saturday, February
25 at Farmacaffley, County
Armagh, with the first of six
races off at 1pm. Racing has been held
at this fantastic venue for well over a
hundred years and special thanks
must go to the Leeman family for their
kind permission, on what is without
doubt one of Ireland’s best Point to
Point tracks.
First up is the new and very exciting
addition to the meeting, it will be a
four-year-old maiden over two and a
half miles.
This race is sponsored by WHR
Accountants and will be named the
Dr J.F. Gillespie Chase, after the late
Point to Point chairman and much
respected Tynan doctor, who sadly
passed away in 2020. ‘Fitz’, as he was
affectionately known by his friends,
was a pillar of the Point to Point
and the wider racing world, holding
a role as a senior member in the
Turf Club of Ireland. In 2008, he was
awarded an MBE in the New Year’s
Honours List for voluntary services
to horseracing and it is very fitting
that this prestigious raced be named
in his honour.
The second race is the five-yearold geldings maiden race, sponsored
by McKinney Motors Armagh and is
always a hotly contested affair. This
race has produced some fantastic
horses over the past few years, with
many of them going on to win on the
track in Ireland and England for top
trainers Gordon Elliott, Nigel Twiston
Davies, Jamie Snowdon and Paul
Nicholls.
The remaining four races include
The
Confined
Hunt
winners’,
sponsored by The Mullan Family of
Northern Building Supplies, is limited
to horses owned or trained in the
local area, which always adds an
extra edge of competitiveness.
The Gillespie Plate, sponsored
by Donnelly Brothers Dungannon,
for five-year-old and upward mares
maiden. This will be followed by the
Leeman Chase, sponsored by Armagh
Construction Ltd open light weight
and the day will end with The Ring
Cup, sponsored by Philip White Tyres,
for six-year-old and upwards geldings
maiden.
The track is in excellent condition
and, with the weather forecasting
a dry day, together with six exciting
races, all the ingredients are there to
make it a fantastic day out for all the
family.
Bar, food outlets, bookmakers,
toilets and free parking all available
on the day. Admission £10
ANTICIPATION: Above right, Tynan and Armagh Hunt Club Secretary
Brian Duggan; Michael Hanna, WHR Accountants and Four-Year-Old
Maiden race sponsor; Patrick Gillespie, committee member and son of
the late Doctor J.F. Gillespie; Joe Wilkinson, WHR and Club Chairman,
Sean Gordon look forward to the annual Point to Point races this
Saturday. (FW08-549NN)
EXCITEMENT: Right, Tynan and
Armagh Hunt Club committee
members and race sponsors are
excited about the annual Point to
Point races taking place this Saturday.
(FW08-550NN)
HOME STRAIGHT: The home straight at Farmacaffley. (FW08-551NN)
Nineteen wildcards
added to Tattersalls
Cheltenham
February Sale
GRADE 1 WIN: ‘Shishkin’ winning the Grade 1 Ascot Chase.
(FW08-597NN)
Super ‘Shishkin’ tallies
more Grade 1 success for
Derby Sale graduates
THE Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale celebrated Grade 1 success
yet again last weekend, when ‘Shishkin’ returned back to his
best with an impressive victory in the Grade 1 Ascot Chase on
Saturday. Nicky Henderson was rewarded for stepping the son of
‘Sholokhov’ up in trip, as he cantered home to cross the line 16
lengths ahead of his rivals under Nico de Boinville.
‘Shishkin’ was sold for €28,000 by Goldford Stud to Boyne Farm
at the 2017 Derby Sale, also sold prior to this as a foal at the
November National Hunt Sale by Rathbarry Stud to Ben Case.
‘Shishkin’ was also purchased by David Minton of Highflyer
Bloodstock for £170,000 at the 2018 Tattersalls Cheltenham
December Sale from Virginia Considine.
Inspections are now underway for the Derby Sale 2023.
A
total of 54 lots have
been catalogued for the
Tattersalls
Cheltenham
February Sale, which will take
place this Thursday, February
23 at 1.00pm in the Tattersalls
Cheltenham sales ring.
The sale includes 52 winning
and placed point-to-pointers
including 17 four-year-old pointto-pointers. Also included are
a placed Bumper horse and a
winning Hunter Chaser.
Leading
sires
represented
include ‘Al Namix’, ‘Arcadio’,
‘Authorized’, ‘Califet’, ‘Coastal
Path’, ‘Diamond Boy’, ‘Doyen’,
‘Fame And Glory’, ‘Flemensfirth’,
‘Getaway’, ‘Gleneagles’, ‘Great
Pretender’, ‘Jet Away’, ‘Joshua
Tree’, ‘Kingston Hill’, ‘Leading
Light’,
‘Mahler’,
‘Malinas’,
‘Milan’, ‘Montmartre’, ‘Morandi’,
‘Mount Nelson’, ‘No Risk At All’,
‘Presenting’, ‘Shantou’, ‘Shirocco’,
‘Soldier of Fortune’, ‘Spanish
Moon’, ‘Tiger Groom’ and ‘Walk in
the Park’.
Grade 1 graduates of the
Cheltenham February sale include
the likes of ‘Asterion Forlonge’,
‘Brandy Love’, ‘Envoi Allen’ and
‘Ferny Hollow’.
The catalogue and Lot race
replays can be viewed online
at
tattersallscheltenham.com.
Inspections for the sale took
place from Wednesday, February
22, with the sale scheduled
to commence at 1.00pm on
Thursday, February 23. The sale
will take place in the Tattersalls
Cheltenham sales ring, with
horses stabled and available for
inspection in the Charles Turner
Yard.
Tattersalls Live Internet Bidding
will be available for those who
are unable to attend the sale in
person. Prospective purchasers
are requested to register with
Tattersalls by selecting the
following link: tattersalls.com/
livebidding
Gordon wins 1.45m two
star Belgian Grand Prix
IRISH riders enjoyed Grand Prix success
in Europe over the weekend, capped off by
Jonathan Gordon’s 1.45m two-star win in
Lier, Belgium.
Mayo’s Gordon was imperious on board
10-year-old ‘Capri’, finishing fastest of the
clear rounds in round one around what
proved a very testing course.
Of the 55 entrants, just five went clear and
Gordon set the pace in the jump-off, going
double clear in a time of 35.37 seconds. That
would prove too hot for his four rivals and
only home rider, Claire Putters would join
him with a second clear round.
She was 0.31 seconds slower than
Gordon, however, and with the remaining
combinations knocking poles, Gordon
claimed the victory.
CAVAN
HORSE SALES
PERFORMANCE
HORSE & PONY
N
80%
80%
SALE
Clearance
Clearance
Feb
Feb2023
2023
Sale
Wednesday 29th
h&
Thursday 30th March
h 2023
Horses & Ponies, 3, 4, 5 years old & Up –
Showjumpers / Hunters / Eventers
Enter Online www.cavanequestrian.com
+353 49 4332017
(Auctioneers Licence No. 002235)