Point-to-Point: Codd headlines Monksgrange with a 4 timer!

With action all over the country in the point to point fields the Bree Foxhounds staged their spring fixture at Monksgrange. This track, owned by the Hill family of Dawn Run fame is one of the finest in the South East of Ireland and is well supported as a schooling venue and as a point to point fixture.

With heavy rain in the area for the best part of twelve hours on Saturday, organisers were lucky to race today as the ground was very heavy on all sides of the track.

The original entry of 106 had 65 declarations which saw the good attendance enjoy six competitive races and a headline catching four timer from Jamie Codd.

Codd had seen his lead in jockeys championship reduced to two following a treble at Durrow, Co Offaly yesterday, but this four timer restored a healthier lead for Codd before heading into the first week of April.

Racing opened with the Tattersalls 4 Year Old Geldings Maiden where just 7 of the original entry of 14 faced the starter.

This race promised much with the 2/1 on shot Potters Point all the rage in the betting ring for the Colin Bowe / Barry O’Neill partnership. This son of Robin Des Champs looked a picture in the parade ring with the Denis Murphy trained Jeweloftheocean the 4/1 second favourite looking like playing a supporting role on the day.

Things however don’t always go to script and Jeweloftheocean surprised backers by getting the better of the odds on favourite and win.

Making his debut here in the colours of Tipperary based Pat Coffey, the 4 year old son of Flemensfirth looks like being a future star in the making following this win here under Jamie Codd.

With the Gary Murphy setting the early pace on the wayward running Windy Writer, the nice even pace let the others settle with Poulanassy racing prominently.

Following the departure of Windy Writer five out, Barry O ‘Neill hit the front with Potters Field three fences from home but he was being ominously stalked by a dangerous looking Jamie Codd.

Just nodding after the second last Codd had to shake up Jeweloftheocean and they got past the leader to win by half a length.

Speaking afterwards in the winners enclosure the winning trainer Denis Murphy commented “It was good to win, we had a lot of nerves before hand. Paul Gahan has been raving about him way before Christmas and Jamie has thought highly of him. We will go to Brightwells next to the sales.”

Codd’s number two came in the very next race when he won the Cooney Furlong Grain Winners Of Two on Fence Me In for the absent owner /trainer Tom Keating. This 8 year old son of Old Vic was winning his third point to point in a pretty emphatic style.

With Sharp Shot trying to make every post a winning one, we had four horses in a line with two fences to jump. Codd however was in the vanguard and he drove the even money chance through to lead and land the odds by six lengths.

With Keating saddling another runner in Cloyne his connections here indicated that they would keep going a similiar route of Opens and Winners.

Liam Kenny has his yard in nice form again , with the north Co Wexford based trainer saddling the Frank Byrne owned Ballyboker Breeze when taking the Connollys Redmills 6 Year Old Geldings Maiden.Ridden with with aplomb by the man of the day Jamie Codd the Gold Well 6 year old the 6/4 favourite was prominent most of the way and held Brian Hamiltons Big Kern.

Owned and bred by Frank and Olivia Byrne from their south Wexford base this horse will ” Go for a Winners of One if not sold” according to Kenny.

A faller at both Ballyraggett and The Pigeons on his last two starts Kenny added ” He would love this ground here, he jumps well so I will talk to the owners about future plans.”

Jamie Codd rounded off his day when taking the Slaney Food International Mares Maiden on Quiet Candid for Jonathon Fogarty.

This was a wonderful training performance by Fogarty, as the 5 year old Beneficial mare was making her racecourse debut here to give Fogarty, a brother of Cheltenham winning jockey, Mikey Fogarty his very first winner as a trainer with the only horse he has in training.

Owned by Fogarty and the three O’Connor brothers, David, Richard and Joe the Cleariestown Co Wexford based native operates from Gaynestown Stud.

The future plans for the mare were on hold as the celebrations needed to be be organised by the sound of things afterwards!!!!

With the Susan O’Gorman trained favourite Duplicate Daughter falling 6 fences out it was left to Mark Scallan and Marira to throw down a challenge to the well supported Codd ridden horse.

Codd very nearly had a fifth winner as he fell at the last fence when in the lead in the Five Year Old Geldings Maiden on the Denis Murphy trained Lough Derg Walk.

This seemed to open the door for Graphical and David Cogley to benefit but in the melee after the last they lost their momentum and saw Harry Kelly’s Return Mission burst through under Paul Power to win by three quarters of a length.

While the Co Tipperary based Kelly the winning trainer and owner was in Limerick to saddle another runner he indicated through connections “He was wrong the last day, we got him right now and he is for sale.”

Codd wasn’t eligible to ride in the Nitrofert Older Geldings Maiden which was restricted to novice riders, but for that we might have had another number for the headline!!!

Here the 2/1 chance Hasty Times opened his account for Co Kildare trainer Ross O’Sullivan and novice rider Roderic Kavanagh. This 9 year old son of Accordion had a nice bit of track form in the past and won this in a driving finish from Burning Issues by a head. With O’Sullivan since December the plan is to run in the Bishopscourt Cup at the Punchestown festival in April.

Owned by the winning jockeys mother Antoinette her 21 year old 6 ft 3 inches son commented ” That was my fifth winner, I tried to conserve his stamina on the ground, but a bit of better ground and the two and a half mile trip of the Cup will suit.”