Spate of entries this weekend illustrates pent-up demand for a bit of decent ground

Close to 1,000 entries for a single weekend’s action in the pointing fields tells the tale of how the floodgates have opened, with handlers rushing to take advantage of better ground opportunities now that conditions have finally begun to turn in their favour.

There are 982 entries across the five fixtures that are set to take place this weekend, with Colin Bowe responsible for a remarkable one in ten of them. His 108 entries significantly dwarf those of any of his rivals, and while that is a significant boost to the coffers of those committees running this weekend, it is a more extreme example of the cost for those handlers at present playing catch-up following the season’s weather woes.

These 108 entries for the reigning champion handler consist of just 29 individual horses, highlighting their policy of entering all horses at multiple venues. Fortune has not favoured Bowe this spring. Since winning the opening four-year-old maiden of 2024 in Ballinaboola with Korkoran, he has been left waiting for a second winner in the division, something that the Milestone Stables team will not be accustomed to given their typically high returns.

Colin Bowe: 108 entries this weekendCredit: Goffs

But his numbers in the four-year-old division further highlight the challenge that many of the commercial operators in the sphere have faced this spring. Despite making 215 entries for four-year-olds since the start of February at a cost of more than €15,000, Bowe has been able to run only ten individual horses in this age category with that solitary success. 

In contrast, Caroline McCaldin is one handler who has most definitely not been left frustrated by the current campaign. She is in the middle of a purple patch, which is showing no signs of slowing down. Having sent out four winners between the flags last season, two winners last weekend took her successes for the current campaign to 12, already double her previous personal best, and still with a month to go.

As impressive as that is, perhaps the more extraordinary aspect of her excellent run is that she has saddled at least one winner at each of the last ten meetings at which she has had a runner in the pointing fields, a remarkable sequence that stretches back to Moira at the end of October. In a game of numbers, there are always winners and losers to be found.

Weekend fixtures

Saturday

Ballysteen - first race 2.00
Loughanmore - first race 2.00

Sunday 

Borris House - first race 2.00
Dromahane - first race 2.00
Tattersalls - first race 2.00

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