TrackStats | Loughanmore

Image © Healy Racing

Loughanmore is one of the most popular venues on the northern circuit, with its fixtures in the autumn and then in the spring across the Easter weekends, always a rich source of equine talent.

Located on the lands of Wilson Dennison, a leading point-to-point owner and supporter in the region, the track is one of the larger courses in the country, with a circuit of the course coming in at over nine furlongs.

Racing at the course can be run with two distinct finishing locations, albeit following the same course layout. Typically, the autumn fixture finishes in the straight alongside the road, with the spring fixtures finishing directly across from that at the back of the field.

For the more common spring course, races begin in a starting chute at the entrance to the back straight with a short run to fence one. After making their way over the main entrance crossing, the field jump fences two and three before taking the long left-handed bend into the home straight. Fence four, which also acts as the final fence, is the only fence jumped on the last circuit, before the field make their way up quite a narrow home straight and an extended run-in. Fence five is located at the end of the home straight before the field turn left once again, around a more gentle and easier bend to negotiate to pass their point of departure.

Its reputation as one of the premier tracks in the country ensures that it has a particularly strong recent roll of honour, with the four-year-old maiden races really standing up to the test of time.


Vital Statistics

Fences per circuit: 5
Direction: Left-handed
Top Rider: Derek O’Connor (68 wins)
Winning Favourites: 1 of 6 at last year’s fixture




The rider’s verdict

Loughanmore is a very simple track to ride and you can do your own thing.

You can drop in or ride handy, race on the inside or the outside, and it doesn't massively inconvenience you.

You do, though, need a very honest horse there as it is a stiff three miles. There are no hiding places the way races tend to be run, and there are no tight bends to get a breather into your horse, so you are rolling along the whole way, but it usually produces some nice young stock.

Mark O’Hare, former northern champion rider.


Last year’s rewind

Cormac Abernethy gained his first success of the season in the Wilson Dennison colours aboard Unionhill, and later that season, he would take over as the handler at Dennison’s Loughanmore Stables adjacent to the point-to-point course.

Teeshan registered one of the to record a 41-length success on debut. Owned by Philip McBurney, he was swiftly bought privately by Tom Malone and joined Paul Nicholls Ditcheat stables, making a winning rules debut for that outfit four months later in an Exeter bumper before contesting the Grade 1 Champion Bumper at Cheltenham later in the season.


This time around…

Ger Quinn unleashed the aforementioned Teeshan to record that breathtaking wide-margin success in the four-year-old geldings’ maiden on the corresponding card 12 months earlier, and given the start to the season that his runners have enjoyed, all eyes could well be primed on his potential runner in the race this time around.

Rathkenny is his only entry in the race this year, and the Masked Marvel gelding, who was bred by Richard Busher, a leading figure in the store sales scene, is out of a Shahwarda mare that has already produced four individual track winners.

Going into Loughanmore, the stable’s record for the new season reads as 11 runners, which has produced five winners and a further four placed finishers to ensure they are the yard to follow at present.

Entries: 89
First race: 1pm
Postcode: BT39 0DD


Race replays will be uploaded to p2p.ie on Saturday, approximately 20 minutes after each race, for members to view.