Proper winter ground brings out one of the biggest maiden fields for years

The long-awaited arrival of soft ground this season was well received by trainers at Tallow on Sunday, when one of the biggest fields in more than a decade lined up for a February four-year-old maiden.

No fewer than 12 runners faced the start for the day’s opener, with trainers making the most of the opportunity to run their young horses on genuine winter ground, as the day’s only four-year-old maiden over three miles, fared much better than the two similar age races on the day over the shorter 2m4f trip.

In the nine years of point-to-point racing this decade, only once has a bigger field of horses been declared for a four-year-old maiden in February, that coming when Howlongisafoot beat 12 rivals, including the subsequent Grade 1 winner Shanehill, to win at Bennetsbridge in 2013 for Sean Doyle. Coincidentally, it was Doyle’s brother Donnchadh who won Sunday’s maiden at Tallow.