Course specialist Denis Murphy strikes again with another double at Tinahely

After a steady start to the season, last Sunday’s card at Tinahely played host to the busiest fixture of the season so far with 58 runners.

Encouragingly, at a time when the now more commercially focused sport relies heavily on the four-year-old maiden division, both for entries and runners, it was the open lightweight that produced the biggest field on the day with 15.

In a race that featured many of the season’s notable ex-track additions to the division, such as Fakir D’Alene, Ramillies, and the 2021 Irish National victor Freewheelin Dylan, the irony of it being won by Focus Point, the only horse in the race without a track victory, was certainly not lost on many in attendance.