Busy tracks like much-loved Dromahane are becoming increasingly important to pointing scene

On Sunday the touring point-to-point circus makes its first visit of the season to Dromahane, the popular course located just south of Mallow in County Cork and one of the busiest on the circuit.

Just how many times racing will grace Billy O’Brien’s course in the new year will be confirmed, with the spring 2025 calendar due for imminent publication. However, it is expected to be similar to last season, when it played host to no fewer than five fixtures, including on three successive Sundays throughout April. 

Dromahane has long held a treasured reputation, with an esteemed roll of honour of graduates who have gained their early experiences of competitive action there. The 2021 Gold Cup hero Minella Indo, and the now retired 13-time Grade 1winner Honeysuckle, are among the more recent star names to have graced the course.

In future, the likes of Dromahane are sure to become even more important to the sport. Many hunt committees will attest to the difficulty they face when tasked with searching for a new course when their existing track may become unavailable to them for a variety of reasons. In a previous era, each committee would have had its own course, but with changing times and land becoming scarcer, it is becoming more common to see one venue, such as Dromahane, being used by several different committees.

That is the case at Tinahely in County Wicklow, where last season the four fixtures at Fairwood Park were run by three different hunts, namely Shillelagh and District, Wicklow and Bray, while in the last three years, the course at Tattersalls has been used by four different hunts for their point-to-points.

The autumn campaign in the northern region has been depleted in recent seasons, with course availability one contributing factor. Handlers in that region are currently in the middle of a four-week gap between fixtures, during which time they must further afield to seek out racing opportunities. 

That is a timely reminder we must be increasingly grateful for courses like Dromahane because they could become even more vital in the years ahead.

Weekend fixtures

Saturday
Quakerstown, first race 12.30

Sunday
Dromahane, first race 12.30
Knockmullen House, first race 12.30

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