Four-year-old maidens back on Sunday but early entries suffer another sharp decline

A fresh crop of youngsters will get their first experience of competitive action on Sunday to kickstart a new year of four-year-old maiden races in the point-to-point fields.

The division has become the dominant force of racing within the sphere. Of the 11 Grade 1s this season to have been won by a horse who started their career point-to-pointing on these shores, only one was won by a horse who did not make their debut at the age of four. Fact To File is the exception, having not been seen in competitive action until his winning bow in a five-year-old maiden at Bellharbour.

It clearly takes an exceptional horse to buck that trend because the statistics favour the four-year-old maiden graduates. This is why so much of the focus falls on that age group; handlers want to produce their point-to-pointers to run and win these races, and prospective buyers want to secure them; stallion masters are also acutely aware of the buzz that early four-year-old winners can create for the first crop of a stallion's produce.

This weekend’s entries provide a preview of what is to come this year in that regard. Sons of Crystal Ocean, Maxios and Feel Like Dancing, three stallions with either their first crop of four-year-olds or first crop of Irish four-year-olds, are among the potential runners. 

However, perhaps the main takeaway from the entries for the relevant maiden races at Ballinaboola and Bellharbour is the reduced entry. Two years ago, close to 40 four-year-olds were entered for the maiden at the Clare venue but that fell to 29 last year and has dropped again to 18 on Sunday.

This year’s decrease was not unexpected. After all, by the time entries opened last week, 148 four-year-olds had received a hunter certificate, down from 245 at the corresponding stage in 2023. 

Interestingly, in 2023 all three fixtures on the first Sunday in February staged a four-year-old maiden, but that has reduced to two in the two years since. The number of horses entered on this opening weekend has also fallen, with handlers less incentivised to be ready from the outset.

This proves to be the real anomaly at a time when the overall number of four-year-olds going point-to-pointing continues to increase. 

Weekend fixtures

Saturday
Dungarvan, first race 12.30

Sunday
Ballinaboola, first race 1.00
Ballyvodock, first race 12.30
Bellharbour, first race 1.00

Read more here:

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Con's Roc and Milan Forth testament to strength of hunter chase division 

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