November has officially become a record-breaking month for Irish point-to-pointers, as the previous record of 128 track winners in a month has been completely obliterated over the past 30 days. An outstanding 162 Irish pointers have won bumpers, hurdles, chases and even on the all-weather over trips ranging from one mile and four furlongs to three miles and six.

Ballindenisk point-to-point on Sunday saw the seasonal reappearance of one of our leading pointers of the last few years, Tammys Hill. He is the winner of 10 point-to-points, five hunter chases and a further six rules races. He was the class horse of the open lightweight and winning was a mere formality for the horse who is being prepared for the hunter chase at Down Royal on St Stephen’s Day. In fact, the win was that effortless, his jockey, James Smyth, was able for a quick chat with the horse’s trainer, Muffty, and fellow jockey Willie Thompson as he passed them by on the way to the winning line. The moment was captured on camera and the photo did the rounds on Twitter on Sunday evening. The general consensus about the subject of their discussion was the choice of celebratory tipple.

There were plenty of doubles at Ballindenisk. The opening two races both went to Kevin Power, while Ciaran Fennessey also had reason to celebrate after winning the final two races. Meanwhile in Lisronagh, the ultra consistent mare Isourbell finally had her day when winning the mares’ open lightweight under her regular partner, Sheila Aherne. Having finished second on their last five starts, it was only a matter of time before they were upgraded a place but I imagine it was with great relief to finally break the second-itis spell. I know only too well how frustrating that can be.

I deviated from my usual Sunday outing and went to Fairyhouse to see some Grade 1 action and the mighty Don Cossack, who showed real grit to win the Drinmore Chase. He was a horse of limitless potential during his bumper season, winning three with a combined distance of 38 lengths in hand. He went on to win his maiden hurdle but seemed to lose his way over the smaller obstacles. However, his career was always destined to be over fences and the time he spent hurdling was really just a stopgap before he went chasing. The patience and faith that was always maintained in him certainly paid off with the Grade One firmly in the bag. He now looks a like a really strong Cheltenham Festival contender.

And of course while at Fairyhouse, I was keeping my eye on our point-to-pointers who won three of the seven races, including the Grade 1 Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle. This went to the Philip Fenton-trained The Tullow Tank for owner Barry Connell, who began his career finishing second on his sole point start at Lemonfield in March 2012. Also winning was the mare She’s Got Grit and Thelobstercatcher, who have got December off to a fantastic start and along with several English winners set the tally off at seven – just 156 winners to go for a new record.