O'Neill and Bowe in the clear but plenty of titles still to be decided on final weekend of action

For some, this final weekend of the season affords them an opportunity to enjoy a victory lap of honour, but for others the stakes are high with just two days of racing left.

Barry O’Neill continues to set a lofty bar and, with 64 winners to his name this season, he has almost double the amount of wins of his nearest rival Derek O’Connor. In securing his seventh successive championship he moves one step closer to emulating O’Connor’s ten-in-a-row record and 11 in total. The Wexford rider will also lift two regional titles this year, with the eastern and northern awards again going his way.

His chief supporter Colin Bowe continues to dominate the handler ranks. For the ninth year in a row, he is the all-conquering champion handler, a title he has now won 11 times. Like O’Neill, a mark of his dominance in the division is evident in his season’s tally of 43 winners, almost double that of his closest rival. His impact has not only allowed O’Neill to add to his title hauls, but could also decide the outcome of the under-21 award.