Bellharbour

TRACK GUIDE

---

The picturesque Bellharbour has hosted point-to-point racing since 2002 and it is quite a stiff left-handed course located in the middle of the Burren Region in Co. Clare, an area dominated by glaciated karst landscape.

Runners begin at the entrance to the back straight, from where they will jump two fences. The climb along the back becomes more notable after jumping one, but continues around the gently curving left-handed bend into the side of the course and fence three. Two fences are also positioned on this straight, albeit closer together than in the back straight, with the uphill climb only levelling out after jumping fence four.

This marks the completion of the main jumping tests in the opening half-mile or so, as just one further fence is jumped before the runners complete the opening circuit.

Once in the home straight, the runners race downhill on the long run to fence five, which also acts as the final fence, with a short run-in following to the winning post. The runners quickly turn left-handed into the only straight without a fence, as they race away from the home straight, but continue to track downhill to their starting point. In the early years of the course configuration, a fence was located on this section of the course, before being repositioned as fence three on the uphill climb out of the back straight.

Multiple Graded winner Ball D`Arc and Cheltenham Festival victor Mall Dini, both won their first races at the course, as too did Ad Idem and Stonemaster.