THE BRAY Hunt point-to-point meeting was held on Sunday last at Fairwood Park in Tinahely. With spring in the air on all roads leading to the track, an enjoyable day's racing was forecast on one of the most picturesque courses in the southeast.

Disappointingly, weatherwise at least, we had to endure a bitter northerly wind in addition to squally sleet-filled showers, making it a disappointing, difficult day for many racegoers to hang around and not an occasion to shoot the breeze. On the positive side, racing was very good with a number of very exciting finishes fought out on the punishing uphill finish.

With an entry level of 106, we had one divide following 74 declarations, giving us a seven-race card on ground that looked quick enough if not a little tacky in parts. With no individual star performances to record, it did provide many local yards with an opportunity to register a much-needed win.

The day's highlight, the Open Lightweight, was run in the most arctic of conditions, with a biting wind and driving sleet hitting racegoers head-on. ' Delgany Native' tried to make every post a winning one under Colin Motherway, only to fail in holding off the final challenge of 'Turbo Taz'.

With eight of the original entry of ten standing their ground, this gave us a very good contest, which was slightly diminished by the nonappearance of local heroine, 'Loggan Lass'. 'Turbo Taz' was winning his fifth race for his trainer, William Murphy from Ballycurragh Stud, Co. Carlow. Ridden by Paul O'Brien from Naas, Co. Kildare, the nine-year-old son of 'Tiraaz', a stallion previously in Murphy's care, won this well having only taken an active interest at the head of affairs on the third and final circuit.

Paul Rothwell from Lacken Stud, Bunclody, only has two horses in training at present, and he hit the mark with a win in the Winners of One contest with his home-bred 'River Call'. The eight-year-old son of 'Hubbly Bubbly' won at the Bree point-to-point at Monksgrange two years ago and looked a good prospect for the track, only to fall foul of an injury which put paid to his sale at the time.

One of only two finishers, he came through, under J.J. Walsh, after the third last to sweep into the lead and hold the persistent challenge of 'Father Murty' by half a length at the line. Rothwell declared: 'this was a real surprise. He has had a low grade lung infection and I didn't expect this today, to be truthful. He was on a one-way ticket out of the yard if he hadn't shown some improvement.'

It's not often that a horse gets a chance to run on consecutive days in the point-to-point sector, but 'Bennative' did just that last weekend when competing in the third race at the Bray Hunt-organised meeting. Making the trip from the North of Ireland, the horse took the five-and six-year-old maiden under Jason McKeown and justified the decision of his trainer, Liam Lennon, to travel.

The five-year-old son of 'Beneficial' was nicely settled in the 15-runner field and, building on his confidence, he came through on the last circuit to win from the long-time leader, 'Teri D Trixter'. Having run out the previous day at the point-topoint in Tynan and Armagh, his trainer indicated 'he might have a break now'.

The only race to be divided was the mares maiden, with the first division falling to the Seán Doyletrained 'Flying By The Wind', under Barry O'Neill. The Ballindaggin-based man has 20 horses in training at present and, while this was only his second winner of the season, hopes are high that he has now turned the corner.

We had only two finishers in this race and the winning mare was well covered up by O'Neill and didn't over-extend herself until getting into the business end of the race to win comfortably by eight lengths. Winning connections have recently changed, as the seven-year-old daughter of 'Supreme Leader' raced in the name of Rory Deane but is now actually owned by Larry Breen and Michael Murphy. Doyle indicated afterwards: 'we were confident enough coming here and she will go for a winner of one contest next'.

The second division of this race saw the Richard O'Keeffe-trained 'Great Leader' put up a really good performance to win under Benny Walsh. This home-bred six-year-old daughter of 'Great Palm' was making a winning debut in the colours of O'Keeffe's mother, Statia.

One of ten horses that he currently has in training in Taghmon, the grey mare will be seen next in a mares bumper. Coming from the 'Kilbricken Leader' line, this mare is an imposing individual and one that should be noted. This was one of two runners that O'Keeffe had in the second division, but the second one didn't even get to the start as she bolted and unseated Jamie Codd on the way down and was officially withdrawn.

Codd had better luck in the older geldings maiden where he teamed up with Co. Kilkenny-based Aidan Fitzgerald to win on 'Duke Of Ormond'. This seven-year-old son of 'Flemensfirth', who races in the colours of Hazel Hatton, was described by Fitzgerald as 'the biggest, most honest horse I have had. The owners have had wonderful patience and he was given a great ride by Codd to win here'.

The concluding race saw Peter Murphy from Blackwater saddle 'Loch Na Beaste' to battle out a good win in the Confined Maiden under Shane Byrne. This race was run at a very steady gallop, but it was noticeable that the strongest challenger to the winner came from the back of the field in the shape of the Gordon Doyle-trained 'Logan Road', under Benny Walsh, who just failed to sustain his challenge and go down by a length. The winner will be seen next in a winners contest before trying his luck on the track.

RESULTS

Open Lightweight: 1, J. Fanning, Turbo Taz (P.N. O'Brien); 2, G. Lawless, Delgany Native (C. Motherway): 3, L. Murphy, Fiddlers Wood (C.L. Murphy). Dist.: six ls., ten ls.; eight ran.

Winners of One: 1, P. Rothwell, River Call (J.J. Walsh); 2, T. Shiggins, Father Murty (B.O. Walsh). Only two finished. Dist.: half a length; nine ran.

Five-and six-year-old Geldings Maiden: 1, S. Maguire, Bennative (J.P. McKeown); 2, N.J. Heffernan, Teri D TRrixter (S.C. Byrne); 3, Costa B Partnership, Three Way Bond (A. Latta). Dist.: three ls., 15 ls.; 15 ran.

Five-year-old plus Mares Maiden (Division 1): 1, R. Deane, Flying By The Wind (B. O'Neill); 2, S. Hurley, Bennys Breeze (M. Slevin). Only two finished. Dist.: eight ls.; ten ran.

Five-year-old plus Mares Maiden (Division 2): 1, S. O'Keeffe, Great Leader (B.O. Walsh); 2, J. Hayes, Snowdrop Lady (V.P. Lyons); 3, L. Lennon, Arctic Dream (L. O'Neill). Dist.: eight ls., three ls.; ten ran.

Seven-year-old plus Geldings Maiden: 1, H. Hatton, Duke Of Ormond (J.J. Codd); 2, P. Power, Fiddlers View (R. Hennessy); 3, M. O'Brien, Dromone Express (P.N. O'Brien). Dist.: three ls., neck; 15 ran.

Confined five-year-old plus Maiden: 1, Curracloe Tavern Syndicate, Loch Na Beaste (S.C. Byrne); 2, M. Asple, Logan Road (B.O. Walsh); 3, P. Rothwell, Trideag (T.C. Dowling). Dist.: one length, six ls.; seven ran.