LOCAL horse trainer David Christie said it was “unbelievable” after his horse ‘Winged Leader’ equalled an Irish point-to-pointer record at Necarne Estate which has stood for almost 70 years.
There were jubilant scenes in Irvinestown on Saturday when the much-loved horse claimed his 33rd point-to-point victory, equalling an Irish record set by ‘Still William’ between 1959 and 1967.
Derrylin trainer David Christie has been training ‘Winged Leader’, owned by  Jennifer O’Kane and Samuel John Hegarty, for six years. He hailed his recent win as one of the highlights in his career.
“It was unbelievable. For a horse to do what he [‘Winged Leader’] has done is incredible. That record has stood for nearly 70 years and I was delighted,” Mr Christie told the ‘Herald.
“It’s more relief that this is done. It hasn’t always been straightforward as horses get injured, they pick up knocks and they get beaten. He has raced on 17 to 20 tracks all across Ireland.
“He has tackled all of the young horses coming up across Ireland. He’s very much appreciated throughout Ireland and for us, it’s a relief that we were able to manage him and get him this far.”
The Christie family are  all heavily involved at the Derrylin operation. Mr Christie’s son, David Jnr, rides ‘Winged Leader’ on a daily basis to prepare him for the action-packed season.
“He’s [‘Winged Leader’] a character. He goes out every day and he could throw you a buck and take off with you. As soon as he goes onto the gallop, he just takes off,” the trainer explained.
“He’s a real tough type of hardy character, but there’s a lot of fun in him. It feels a bit more special because it’s a family operation. It wasn’t planned to be done in Fermanagh, though.”
It was a double celebration for the Fermanagh horse trainer after his stable jockey, Barry O’Neill, claimed the northern point-to-point title for the sixth table, to the delight of the local team.
“We’ve been working together for almost 15 years now, myself and Barry. Barry has won a lot and this was very special as ‘Winged Leader’ is one of his all-time favourites horses,” Mr Christie said.
Now one win away from breaking the all-time Irish point-to-point record, the Derrylin trainer feels that the future is bright for ‘Winged Leader’, although he might not achieve the feat this year.
“Because of the way the ground is, there is only a couple of opportunities left for him,” he said.
“He may get a break now and hopefully he’ll be back again in the middle of October. Hopefully he’ll still be in shape where he can win another few.”