Barry O'Neill is a great competitor but 700 wins is down to a twist of fate

Last Sunday Barry O'Neill reached another big milestone in his career when riding his 700th point-to-point winner on Some Man for David Christie in the Open at Ballindenisk.

Barry's achievement reminded me of something I've often thought about in recent years: how fortunate riders such as Barry and Jamie Codd and I have been to experience the modern world of Irish point-to-pointing.

When I rode my first winner around 20 years ago an era had just come to an end with the retirement of Enda Bolger. He rode 413 point-to-point winners, breaking the record of 401 set by Willie Rooney during a career that lasted around 50 years.