Winged Leader secures champion pointer honours once again

A record-equalling campaign has resulted in Winged Leader being crowned champion point-to-point horse.

The 11-year-old hit the headlines in early May when a 33rd career success in the pointing sphere saw him equal Still William’s modern record which had stood untouched for 59 years.

David Christie, the Winged Love gelding’s handler, had entered the season with the record in the back of his mind, but his charge, was still only on 22 winners at the time.

However John Hegarty and Jennifer O’Kane’s bay kickstarted the season in fine style winning on his re-appearance at their home course of Portrush in mid-October, continuing a winning run which had begun at Farmacaffley the previous February.

Winged Leader went on to win further open races at Quakerstown, Moig South, Ballycrystal and Tinahely, before a sequence of 15 consecutive wins was broken when he came up second best to Pat Coyne in a ladies open at Turtulla in mid-January.

A further defeat followed a month later at Oldtown, before he regained the winning thread at Farmacaffley, returning victorious for the fourth time at that Armagh venue, and further victories followed in the spring at Portrush, Tattersalls and Loughanmore, before his record-equlling success which came as a result of his three-length defeat of Magic Sadler in Necarne.



In ending the season with 11 wins, six more than Fountain House and The Great Unknown, Winged Leader has secured a single-season tally that was only bettered by the 2019 joint-champions Kruzhlinin and Longhouse Music, whilst he has become the first horse since the champion pointer prize was introduced in 2012 to defend the title.

The connections of Winged Leader will be presented with their trophy at the 44th annual GAIN point-to-point awards, which takes place at the Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny, on Saturday, June 7th. Tickets can be purchased here.