Lisa O'Neill hopes it will be her Turn as Bellewstown Festival gets under way

Lisa O'Neill has extra reason to look forward to this year's Bellewstown Festival, which gets under way this evening live on Racing TV, as she bids to land a second winner at the track when Take A Turn lines up for her boss Gordon Elliott in the Drogheda Traders Plate Handicap.

The Cheltenham Festival-winning rider was brought up close to the track in Garristown in County Dublin and has fond memories of visiting the track as a youngster with her family.

"My mother says she remembers pushing me around in the buggy, and I certainly remember playing on the amusements there as a young child, in between watching the races," she told Racing TV.

"It is a meeting that is very important locally and I'd say that there are plenty of people in the area who look forward to these four days all year long."

Racing first took place at Bellewstown racecourse, situated on the famous Hill of Crockafotha, as far as back as 1726. The track is renowned for its spectacular views of the Mountain of Mourne to the north, and the Irish Sea to the east.

"If you haven't been then you're missing out," O'Neill added. "When the weather is good - and the forecast looks good for the next few days - the views are truly amazing, and the atmosphere is very friendly with lots of local owners and jockeys.

"I've been lucky to ride there most years since I first took out a license, and last year I rode a horse called Youghal By The Sea, trained by Gordon Elliott and owned by Davy Russell's father, to win, which was brilliant."

It is also Elliott who supplies this evening's mount, Take A Turn. Can she notch a second Bellewstown success?

"Hoepfully we will give me a good spin," reported O'Neill. "He creeps in at the bottom off a nice-looking, competitive weight and, although he wasn't right last time over hurdles, he was second to a decent horse of Joseph O'Brien's in a nice race on the Flat previously.

"I've ridden him plenty of times at home, which is always helpful, and he is a gent of a horse with a great temperament and very good to have anything to do with. He's going up in trip, but I'd like to think he will go well."

For more information about the Bellewstown Festival, which runs until Saturday, check out: http://www.bellewstownraces.ie/