Courses
Moira
Track info
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Riders
Course stats
Winning Favourites
County: Armagh |
Soil Type: |
Fences per circuit: 5 |
Fences per 3 mile race: 15 |
Direction: Left-Handed |
Course Distance: 0.96m |
Elevation Change (Highest to Lowest Point): |
TRACK GUIDE
Moira point-to-point is set in the Moira Equestrian Centre, a well-known Cross Country schooling grounds, and has hosted point-to-point racing since 1995, having been known as Maralin for much of that time. Over the years, the course has hosted racing for the Iveagh, Mid Antrim and Killultagh, Old Rock & Chichester hunts.
Dominated by two long straights, the runners begin just in advance of what is the final obstacle in the home straight, and they bypass this obstacle to race up past the winning post to jump fence one. Quickly turning left-handed on a long gently curving bend, they arrive into the back straight where two fences await.
After jumping the second of these, the runners begin to climb uphill and still have quite a run before exiting the back straight. The top bend is the sharper bend on the course brining the runners into a short straight and fence four. Rounding the home bend, the runners race downhill on an extended run to fence five at their point of departure, followed by a relatively short run-in.
Forget The Past, Wounded Warrior and Emma Jane are among the Graded winners to have got off their mark in a Moira maiden.
MARK O'HARE
Moira has become slightly tighter in recent years with some of the changes that they have made, so it is not as big of a galloping track as it used to be, and it can take a bit of jumping, as they have good solid fences.
It is a place that can be ridden both ways whatever way the race pans out and is a fair track generally. They do start racing at the bottom of the hill which usually sorts them out, so it is a good young horse that you see quicken back down the hill to the last.
