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Well Witton Castle went well Jeremy (for 2 races at least)
Definitely should have come to Whitfield again – great course and worth all the effort of getting there lol.
If the Dick Saunders is the 2m 7.5f Hunter Chase at Leicester then that’s where the great mare goes next apparently – if not it’s for a 2m 7.5f HC at Leicester.
Ah, no, the Dick Saunders is an extended 2m4f novice hunter at Leicester a week on Wednesday.
The 2m7.5f hunter is the Mallard Pawnbrokers Hunter Chase, a class 3 event usually worth a tidy stack by non-championship hunter chase standards (£14,500 added last year, with Marblehead netting £9,000 of that for winning).
I believe Mallard Pawnbrokers is the company owned by owner-rider Richard Hunnisett – certainly that would explain the three golden pawnbroker balls on his racing silks.
Either way, it’s the highlight of the all-chase fixture at the Oadby track the Friday before Cheltenham (March 11th this year). I won’t be able to get there this time, but I implore people to do so – it’s usually a fabulous afternoon of humble, honest fare, and another of my favourites of the season year in, year out.
Can quite see why Alan Hill’s lining up Mid Div for that one, given the prize on offer and the manifest suitability of track to horse. I’ve always thought of her (rightly or wrongly) as one who thrives on a busy racing agenda, though, so I think I’d be happier with her turning out again once in between rather than line up off the back of a 34-day absence. More fool me, possibly!
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
Think there’s a meeting at the end of the month at Horseheath – another Ladies Open and going 8/8 there maybe?
Over The Phone easily took the intermediate at Whitfield yesterday, as some will know I’m a huge fan of the horse particularly in P2P’s as IMO and the opinion of a good friend of mine across the sea he’s a rules horse in the making.
Thats Ben in the Maiden is another who looks likely to be competitive at a higher level for the Ruckers and Sheila Crow.
Martin
Definitely another Horseheath meeting at the end of Feb, Martin, as that’s the only one there that I could get to last year! It’s the Thurlow on Saturday, February 26th – won’t be there this year, though, as the delights of the annual London Popfest take precedent this time.
I am in East Anglia this weekend, though – working on Sunday at Cottenham, which I expect will be Kicks For Free’s destination rather than Eyton-on-Severn. Could be a quickfire hat-trick at the Cambridgeshire venue in the offing.
Eyton’s main pull ought to be Cappa Bleu in the Mens Open, though I can’t help thinking connections missed a trick not racing him at Horseheath last weekend as this race should be a deal tougher. I wonder if Gareth has noticed that My Way De Solzen is entered in the same contest?
Lord Ashton of Hyde winner Naunton Brook swerves Open company at Barbury in favour of a Novice Riders’ contest. The drop in class, plus Willie Twiston-Davies’ continued assistance, should conspire to see him sent off at pretty prohibitive odds, I would have thought.
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
Popfest??? You almost made me choke on my afternoon biscuit – giving up the charms of the Thurlow ptp to listen to the likes of 14 Iced Bears (great name!).
I’ll see you at Cottenham on Sunday. Steve is commentating and I’m doing the Weekender report so will be hovering around the winner’s enclosure after each race.
Should be decent racing after this rain – may even be a division.
Popfest??? You almost made me choke on my afternoon biscuit – giving up the charms of the Thurlow ptp to listen to the likes of 14 Iced Bears (great name!).
Heh-heh! For "Popfest" read four days of indiepop rather than chart fodder – it’s not as if I’m foregoing the Thurlow to go and see Justin Bieber or anything!
14 Iced Bears have been around in some form or another for around a quarter of a century now, largely ignored save for the odd sighting on legendary indiepop imprints such as Sarah Records or the very occasional Peel session. I think that’s the best steer to the sort of bands lining up.
Your neck of the woods is represented as well, incidentally, with East Anglia’s very finest Bearsuit also in action.
The main lure for me, however, is to see the even better-named Humousexual – "chickpea-obsessed folk punk aus London und Berlin", as their flyers have been known to bill them – play a rare set on the Saturday itself. The fact that Little Brother Column comprises one half of the band is, of course, entirely coincidental.
I’ll see you at Cottenham on Sunday. Steve is commentating and I’m doing the Weekender report so will be hovering around the winner’s enclosure after each race.
Should be decent racing after this rain – may even be a division.
I’m absolutely cr*pping them already, to be honest – Britain’s slowest race-reader engaged at Britain’s fastest jumps circuit (FACT). If the field sizes don’t cut up, please God let there be two Maiden divisions of 10 rather than one of 19…
Btw, hope Sophie is going to be there to cheer on her hero Caveman on (winning?) reappearance!
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
I may have missed it in this thread, but I understood Boychuk had gone to Anabel King with the intention of going pointing/hunter chasing. Has there been any sign of him yet?
After seeing how knackered Dickie J has been after pushing the horse round Cheltenham and the like, I feel sorry for any possibly less fit person taking the ride
Indeed not – he ain’t an unfit person’s ride!
As of the last Qualified Horses list I’ve seen, which is a bit over a week old now, he still hadn’t been hunt-certificated by Anabel King or anyone else, so cannot run in Points or hunter chases until that situation is rectified. Not beyond the realms of possibility it has in the interim, of course.
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
Over The Phone easily took the intermediate at Whitfield yesterday, as some will know I’m a huge fan of the horse particularly in P2P’s as IMO and the opinion of a good friend of mine across the sea he’s a rules horse in the making.
May get another chance to enhance his credentials in the Confined at Whitwick Manor on Saturday. Haven’t checked yet whether he’s entered anywhere else 24 hours later as well, though.
Scratch those original dates I gave you re: the Mallard and the Dick Saunders, by the way – it looks like Leicester is running both tomorrow!
I think both the moving of the Mallard a couple of weeks earlier and the upgrading it to a class 2 contest (not many of those at the Oadby track!) is very significant. It reads for all the world to me like Leicester are trying to develop this into a bona fide Foxhunter trial, and both they and especially race sponsor Richard Hunnisett deserve a deal of praise for trying.
With this, plus the Welsh Foxhunter at Ffos Las 24 hours later and the Walrus at Haydock this Saturday, we could be looking at the most significant four days of the hunter chase season this side of Cheltenham. Here’s hoping they don’t cancel each other out with small fields to any great extent.
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
And still the ex-Nicholls animals continue to reappear in the Pointing field, though in the case of
Gungadu
he’s now co-owned by Nicholls (whilst trained by Chloe Roddick) following reacquisition from Gordon Elliott.
Gungadu is entered in the Mens Open at the former Rules racecourse at Buckfastleigh this Sunday, with enough time having elapsed since his 2008 Racing Post Chase win to permit his participation in Point-to-Points.
Gone To Lunch would rate an obvious threat, assuming Camilla and Jeremy Scott’s stalwart (back from the brink after nearly dying from shipping fever after his Scottish National second last April, and an emotional winner of his first start since at Black Forest Lodge recently) isn’t pointed at the prestigious Coronation Cup at Larkhill 24 hours earlier.
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
As Alan Shearer was doing his pundit bit at Wembley today….
Akilak was winning the novice riders at Chaddesley, and at rewarding (to me) double figure odds.
The old boy did most of the work himself but a good win for him and his new connections from another old stager in Locksmith.
Earlier on the card Naunton Brook won the mens for Will Twister and My Way De Solzen was second in the Ladies.
Went to my first Point to Point meeting yesterday, at Overton Farm in South Lanarkshire.
Unfortunately, not too many stars of yesteryear on show, though I did have a punt on Harmony Brig, who I remember winning for me at Newcastle a couple of years back. He didn’t win for me yesterday. Also Noir Et Vert, who took in the Scottish National won by Iris de Balme.
Good set up, though I can’t compare with other P2P’s, but I’ll definitely be going back.
Good stuff VTC – I’ve yet to go pointing North of Dingley so not seen any of the Northern area horses outside of the HC’s, whatever video’s are available on Viewpoint and Cuigny, Indian Print etc’s trips to Cottenham very early in the season.
Was a highly eventful day judged on the postings on the main Pointing forum in the UK.
Glad you enjoyed your first visit pointing VTC – next meeting in Scotland is this weekend at Friars Haugh and Britains most Northerly Pointing course (Balcormo Mains) stage a meeting on Easter Saturday
Martin
Yeah, was a good day IS, will definitely be looking at future meetings which are close enough, and take them in if i can.
Glad to hear it VTC.
It’s also worth noting that the previously mentioned Over The Phone has since won two Hunter Chases (at Leicester and Newton Abbott)
An enjoyable days action at Whitwell where the Greenalls’ dominated as expected.
However the big race the Grimthorpe Gold Cup went to the ex Twiston Davies trained Rimsky now owned by Thommo’s brother Howard & trained/ridden by his partner Tina Jackson.
Festival fans may remember Silver Jaro from the County Hurdle a few years back, and the self same animal, now in the care of Nigel Twiston-Davies’ outgoing head lad Fergal O’Brien, duly recorded a first victory in Point-to-Points at Andoversford last Sunday.
The positives just about end there, though, as it was a pretty ordinary contest and he was all out to prevent a 10l jumping the last from evaporating completely up the (short) run-in.
Despite being very undulating, and in particular markedly uphill up the straight, Andoversford is something of a haven for short-runners when good to firm (as it was on Sunday) or faster. Silver Jaro just about got away with it, but I’d not be wanting a piece of him if turning out for any of the 3m+ events on Cheltenham’s hunter chase evening, previous form at Prestbury Park notwithstanding.
The same Andoversford fixture last year featured a parading round halfway through the afternoon of Don’t Push It, one day after his Grand National victory. Another locally trained Aintree hero, albeit Foxhunters winner Baby Run, got the adoration of the hordes of supporters this time around, with Willie Twiston-Davies in tow.
Should it interest, Baby Run is likelier to contest the erstwhile Whitbread at Sandown than the champion hunter chase at Punchestown. Father may argue otherwise if pressed, but according to Willie his father’s reasoning is that the Sandown prize is bigger and he likes to pot-hunt!
Aintree heroics or no, Baby Run wasn’t necessarily the most popular Twiston-Davies oriented equine on show that afternoon. Gentle Rivage, 11 years on from his Royal & SunAlliance Hurdle third to Monsignor and at 17 one year older than his pilot Willie, ran a stormer in the opening Hunt Members race (his first outing for two years) to be beaten a mere length and earn a fantastic ovation.
They bloody love it, these old stagers. Hold them close.
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
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