From Winged Leader to Eamonn Doyle - five stars who were the unsung stars of the Irish point-to-point season

The point-to-point season threw up more than its fair share of headline makers this season, but instances a number of those stars flew under the radar. Here are five individuals who stood out in their respective divisions. . .

A handler to follow . . . Eamonn Doyle

Eamonn Doyle was the latest member of the Doyle family operation to take out a permit when he saddled his first runner this season.

His brothers Sean, Donnchadh and Cormac have all established themselves as leading operators within the younger age maiden divisions, with a host of subsequent Grade 1 winners having passed through their hands, so expectations were exceedingly high for the latest member of the Monbeg clan to join those ranks.

Doyle wasted little time making an impression when Throatlash, the first runner in his own name, made a winning debut at Curraghmore in October.

He was followed by seven more winners over the next seven months, including  Mossy Fen Coolio, a 25-length debut winner at Tallow, who has since been sold privately to join Jonjo and AJ O’Neill.

That all resulted in the Wexford handler ending the season with a 36 per cent strike-rate, which was the highest of any handler in the top 20.

A rider to follow . . . Michael Kenneally

Michael Kenneally’s path to the point-to-point fields has been somewhat unique compared to many of his weigh-tent colleagues.

The Dungourney native was apprenticed to Newmarket trainer Michael Bell as a 16-year-old, where he spent two years before his weight began to catch up with him. After a spell in Australia and a move away from horses to do an electrical apprenticeship, Kenneally returned to racing and rode in his first point-to-point in December 2023.

Michael Kenneally, pictured winning with Nova Nako, has enjoyed a breakthrough seasonCredit: Healy Racing

Three winners came in that initial season, which set the foundations for what has undoubtedly been a breakthrough campaign this term. 

Notably, his 14 winners this season came from 11 different trainers, a spread of support only bettered by Rob James of those riders in the top ten. Given the perceived importance for a rider of having the backing from one of the big commercial yards at present, that is a commendable feat. 

With 11 of his winners coming in April and May, his stock can rise further if that end-of-season momentum can be maintained into the autumn. 

A four-year-old to follow . . . Moments In Time

Few four-year-old maiden races during the spring were won by distances as large as 24 lengths, but that is what Moments In Time achieved at Borris House.

More notably, that was in the heart of the four-year-old season in March, when the competition intensifies in the fortnight before the Cheltenham Festival and the marquee sale of point-to-pointers that it includes.

A grey son of Kingston Hill, he had only cost his handler Gary Murphy the relatively inexpensive sum of €20,000 by today’s prices at last year’s Arkle Sale.

Moments In Time: a four-year-old to followCredit: Healy Racing

Despite being eligible for an auction maiden, Murphy was confident in what he had as he chose to pitch him into his debut at the Carlow venue, where he galloped his rivals into the ground to defeat the favourite comprehensively.

The form is standing up, with the second and fourth both winning their maidens. Murphy, who has already produced Grade 1-placed performers Only By Night and Affordale Fury, elected not to send the horse to the Festival sale and he was sold privately to go in training with Dan Skelton instead.

A horse to follow . . . Winged Leader

There could only be one choice here, with David Christie’s star performer responsible for many incredible feats during the season.

The 11-year-old returned in the same form that he had signed off the previous campaign in by extending a winning sequence that had been initiated at Farmacaffley in February 2024 all the way through to January 2025 to encompass 15 consecutive victories.

Not only has he become the first horse to ever be crowned champion point-to-point horse on two occasions, with his 11 wins only surpassed by Kruzhlinin and Longhouse Music in 2019, but most importantly he equalled the 59-year record of modern time point-to-point victories with his latest success at Necarne.

Christie is a master when it comes to producing older horses and at the end of last season, he elected to keep the son of Winged Love in light training through the summer. It was a decision that was vindicated with this season’s results.

He intends to follow a similar path in the coming weeks and months in the hope that he will be able to break new ground next season.

A stallion to follow . . . Crystal Ocean

There was simply no matching Walk In The Park in the stallion ranks this season, as he came out on top across most metrics in the point-to-point sphere, except within the winners-to-runners calculation from the spring four-year-old division.

Here, it was the 25 per cent strike rate of Crystal Ocean that stood out from the crowd of those stallions that sired four or more winners within the division, with his seven winners from 28 runners proving to be a lucrative return.

Crystal Ocean: a stallion to followCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

All the more impressively, this was achieved from his first crop of point runners and included the top-priced point-to-pointer sold at public auction this season, with Colin Bowe’s Lisronagh winning £400,000 seller Cristal D’Estruval. That was quite the introduction.

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