Jonathan Burke could be back in action as soon as next weekend after some winter sun helped speed up his recovery from a neck injury.

Although plenty of punters who got their fingers burnt on Blazer in last weekend’s Betfair Hurdle, at Newbury, it is far too soon to write off the beaten favourite.

Sempre Medici is expected to enhance Willie Mullins’ excellent recent record in the Red Mills Trial Hurdle at Gowran Park on Saturday.

Teenage sensation Jack Kennedy, who has not yet turned seventeen, registered his first wins as a 3lb. claimer when completing a hard-earned double on Steamboat Bill and Finea in Down Royal yesterday.

Wayne Hutchinson believes Alan King has all angles covered as he fields both Sego Success and Midnight Prayer in the Betfred Classic Chase at Warwick today.

Today’s card at Fairyhouse doesn’t look the easiest for punters to get the new year off to a positive start, but Sambremont showed more last time than in previous efforts over fences and hurdles in this country, and can take the beginners’ chase for Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh.

Each passing festival provides a window into the burgeoning talents of trainer Gordon Elliott, and the Co Meath handler capped another fine week by taking the Grade 1 Neville Hotels Novice Chase with top-class prospect No More Heroes.

Following Saturday’s victory with Coney Island, trainer Eddie Harty made it three wins from as many runners at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting when Minella Foru took the valuable Paddy Power Chase and Copy That landed a touch in the two-mile handicap hurdle on day two of the four-day festival, writes Tommy Lyons.

Trainer Karl Thornton has his small string in tremendous form and Manuka gave the Skerries handler his third winner in three days when landing the Powerstown Demesne Qualified Riders’ Handicap Hurdle under Johnny Barry.

Ian Queally gave Maudlin Magdalen a textbook ride to land the featured Kingdom Gold Cup, worth €30,000 to the winner, last evening at Killarney.

The four-day August festival at Tramore drew to a close yesterday afternoon with a series of doubles, highlighted by the second victory at the meeting for Collen Beag, who was an impressive winner here on Friday night.

Galway Plate-winning jockey Jonathan Burke teamed up with larger-than-life character Mick Winters to secure a very popular success aboard TheosWell in the Attheraces Handicap Hurdle yesterday afternoon at Cork racecourse.

It was, at least from a racing point of view, a magnificent couple of minutes of television. It happened on RTÉ on Wednesday, in the aftermath of Jonathan Burke guiding Shanahan’s Turn to a memorable success in the Galway Plate.

Jockey Jonathan Burke emulated his father, and trainer Henry de Bromhead avenged his father’s narrow defeat when they combined to land yesterday’s Thetote.com Galway Plate with Shanahan’s Turn.

A pretty good few weeks for the county after its hurling exploits has continued as the Waterford-trained Shanahan’s Turn was the big winner landing the Galway Plate at 16/1 in the Galway races.

Old reliables Willie Mullins and Dermot Weld provided punters with the only winning favourites on day three of the Galway Festival and the afternoon had begun just the way the two previous evenings had — Mullins getting off the mark with a winning hurdler.

Theos Well will be strongly fancied to open his account over hurdles in the Great Value Social Packages Maiden Hurdle in Cork tonight.

The Henry de Bromhead-trained Sizing Platinum made a successful chasing debut and denied Barry Geraghty a win on his first day back after injury and as retained rider for J McManus when landing the Book Online At Limerickraces.ie Beginners Chase in Limerick yesterday.

The Charles Byrnes-trained Arnaud turned over odds-on favourite The Game Changer, also in the colours of Gigginstown House Stud, in the featured Stena Line Horizon Chase in Wexford last night.

While enjoying another successful week in Royal Ascot, Aidan O’Brien doubled-up with Jacobean and Loved, both ridden by Seamus Heffernan, in Limerick last night.

Just a week after registering his first racecourse success on Funny How in Cork, teenager Jack Kennedy hit the headlines with a double, on Eshtiaal and Mutadrik, for Gordon Elliott in Down Royal last night.

Mark Walsh, who led the title-race for most of last season, until injured at Thurles in February, has started the new campaign in great style and doubled-up on Whatsforuwontgobyu and Mollyanna in the opening maidens hurdles in Sligo last night.

Joint-favourite Waxies Dargle, ridden for Noel Meade by Paul Townend, ploughed through the softening ground to land the €50,000 Ladbrokes Ireland Handicap Hurdle, feature on the opening day of Killarney’s May meeting.

Davy Condon insists he feels “very lucky” despite being forced to retire from the saddle due to a spinal injury.

Solita, locally trained by Paul Nolan, gave punters plenty to cheer about in sunny Wexford yesterday as she came from last to first under Luke Dempsey to justify favouritism in the Courtown Rated Novice Hurdle.

It was Ladies Day at sunny Fairyhouse yesterday as 20/1 shot Thunder And Roses captured the Boylesports Irish Grand National for Katie Walsh and Sandra Hughes.

On an evening when Mikey Fogarty was concussed and sustained an injury to his right knee in a fall before being removed to nearby South Tipperary General Hospital, the Tom Taaffe-trained Gold Bullet landed the featured Suir Valley Chase in Clonmel.

In-form Luke Dempsey again proved his star quality when partnering Thunder Zone, the outsider of just three runners, in the CIT race Week Hurdle on Student Race Day in Cork yesterday.

Virtually on the eve of the Cheltenham festival, where he hopes to have about fifteen runners, trainer Gordon Elliott doubled-up with favourites Akorakor and Alberta in Downpatrick yesterday.

Felix Yonger should successfully revert to hurdling in the Ballsbridge Hurdle in Leopardstown today.

On a particularly sad day at Thurles racecourse yesterday, following the death of owner and manager Pierce Molony, the two miles and six plus maiden hurdle was won in impressive fashion by Ryansbrook.

A race that promised so much, and delivered for most of the two and a half miles, was to ultimately prove disappointing.

Versatile veteran He’llberemembered, ridden by Jonathan Burke, was awarded the featured Free Festival Upgrade Ticket Offer Hurdle in bizarre circumstances in Punchestown yesterday.

Irish Examiner racing correspondent Pat Keane joined Channel 4 experts Jim McGrath, Graham Cunningham, Tanya Stevenson and Mick Fitzgerald, along with Racing UK presenters Rishi Persad, Oli Bell and Gordon Brown and former jockey Kirsty Milczarek, to offer some guidance and insight into who and what to look out for in the year ahead.

What a terrific servant the venerable Fosters Cross has been to connections.

Horses like Sizing Europe certainly don’t come around too often and when the veteran performed poorly at Clonmel recently his trainer, Henry de Bromhead, must have wondered, at least momentarily, if he might ever be lucky enough to come across one like him again.