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Thanks for posting this Jeremy – Silver Jaro slipped through my net looking at the entries and results.
Looking forward to this weekend – will be at the Lady Dudley Cup at Chaddesley Corbett, having had the train tickets booked for the December meeting I’m hoping this one goes better lol and with Aim a possible starter in the concluding Maiden hopefully it’s a good day.
Martin
Reckon you’ll have a cracking afternoon, Martin – one of the more voluminous entries of the weekend, as you’d probably hope for the season’s final "Classic" meeting, and the added virtues of a terrific racing surface and Gareth Topham commentating.
It’s Alpraham for me the following day. Races there are closer to 3m2f in length nowadays than the 3m4f of up to a couple of years ago, but the stiff track and – Haydock, are you reading this? – excellent drop fences should guarantee Poppy Day gets enough of a test to land another Open at long last.
Ice Tea should gain some compensation for his Aintree Foxhunters spill, too, especially if asked to contest an otherwise thin-looking Hunt Members.
Not the first North West Area Point I’ve ever visited (done Bangor and the now-defunct Eaton Hall before), but the first I’ve worked at. "Ubiquitous" status in the Annual already reaffirmed before this weekend, but this well and truly puts the hat on it!
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.
Good stuff Jeremy – Alpraham sounds a good meet, looking forward to seeing Dante’s Storm if he turns up and decides not to take all the fences home with him this time lol
Given how many metal-framed portables they have at Chaddesley nowadays (the one thing I do regret about such an important course), Dante’s Storm definitely doesn’t want to crash through anything on Saturday!
Gareth had us in stitches on Sunday, incidentally, in describing the crashing faller Mt Kintyre as having eaten the fence. By the way, Flat fans – that is the same Mt Kintyre that campaigned over 1m2f and rarely / ever further only a couple of seasons ago…
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’m hoping to attend the Warwickshire meeting at Ashorne on Monday but there seem to be conflicting start times online of 2.30pm or 4pm. Does anyone know the correct start time please and will Long Run be parading at the meeting?!
It’s 14:30 on the Official Site Tuffers
14:30 – Maiden (25)
15:05 – Confined (17)
15:40 – Hunt Members (9)
16:15 – Mixed Open (11)
16:50 – Restricted (25)
17:25 – Veteran and Novice Riders (27)Possible divides in the Maiden, Restricted and the Veteran and Novices races for you Tuffers – potential for a 9 race card though if the recent meets are anything to go by more likely 3 walkovers and 2 3 horse races.
Hiya,
Look who’s pointing? Nobody – it’s all over for another season now!
The annual grand finale / good-natured p*ss-up at Umberleigh (up the road from the South Molton training establishments of Nick Williams et al) played out last Saturday, with no further changes to the assorted championship standings by the end of the afternoon.
But goodness me, in the case of the Mens Novice Riders Championship it was close. Mike Heard won the first three races on Paddy The Piper, Greenock and Roll On Rose to draw level on 15 victories with long-time leader Micheal Nolan, only for the latter to squeeze home by a short-head on Three Half Crowns in the Intermediate – the penultimate race of the entire season – to reassert his superiority.
That narrow victory deprived Bridget Andrews (second on Flying Change) the chance of an eleventh victory in 2010-11, but she still took the Ladies Novice Riders title by three from the Nick and Jane Williams-affiliated Lizzie Kelly.
Older sister Gina was crowned National Ladies Championship winner on the same afternoon, making her the first East Anglia Area rider to land this title since Lucy Gibbon, and her final tally of 22 – well clear of Louise Allan (13), Sam Drake (12) and the retiring Gemma Hutchinson (12) – is all the more impressive when one considers duties with the likes of Pam Sly will have dragged her away from the Pointing field periodically during the season.
The National Mens Championship, as already highlighted elsewhere, went for the fourth time to Richard Burton, with a blank day at Umberleigh for both him and nearest pursuer Phil York keeping their win tallies locked at 37 and 34 respectively.
Having become the first rider to record 400 Pointing winners in Britain, and having also finally broken his duck in the John Corbett Cup (one of few major prizes to elude him hitherto) on My Flora, it’s safe to aasume Burton’s season will have been one of his most personally satisfying.
One of his 37 wins was recorded aboard the incredible five-year-old Findlay’s Find, who secured the Leading Horse title with nine wins over the course of the season, including the Welsh Point-to-Point Grand National at Bonvilston (3m4f) in April – no other horse that young has ever taken this long-established contest.
He is trained, like that other prolific winner Lady Myfanwy, by Myfanwy Miles, and in common with her cost no more than £500. Proof again, were it needed, that success in racing can be garnered with the very minimum of outlay, if you’re astute or fortunate enough – compare that to the big five-figure sum forked out for Nenuphar Collonges pre-season, with more or less nothing to show for it.
I could go on more, but both the
Weekender
and http://www.pointtopoint.co.uk will doubtless review the season in rather more depth than I can find the time to do so right now.
Suffice it to say, though, that it’s not been a season without its tribulations, mostly related to dry ground; and the internet rumours that the future of the aforementioned Bonvilston is imperilled, believed due to the litigation wrought by a racegoer injured on site, is something many of us will be following with no little trepidation.
The sport will still be back in more or less the same form at the end of November, though, and I need hardly add that I’m missing it dreadfully already. Hibernation between now and then is being actively considered.
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.
Great review Jeremy and hope to see you at Cottenham in November/December (possibly earlier than last year from what I’ve heard) so maybe a Mid-November meeting?
Either way we’r ehoping Aim can avenge his defeat in the Open Maiden last year.
Cheers, Martin, happy to throw a few words together about the Proper Stuff.
I hope it interests one or two of the faithful, at least.I probably won’t be keeping that Cottenham race-date deliberately free of other commitments, as I’m still far more desperate to take in Barbury, Wadebridge and Alnwick of the pre-Christmas meetings. Mind, I said exactly the same thing last term and ended up going to the rescheduled Cottenham when most of those other named meetings fell to the elements, so best treat those aspirations with caution!
Either way, still very keen to learn what Alan Hill’s next "milk bottle horse" will be, of course…
Did you get to Umberleigh, btw? I’m meeting Dom at a gig in Sheffield tomorrow night, so if you want to get your version of what you got up to in first, now’s your chance…
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.
Further tidbits on Umberleigh last weekend on the official Pointing website, as you’d expect;
http://www.pointtopoint.co.uk/go/news/t … _2011.html
Interesting to read that Keith Goldsworthy is already eyeing up racing between the flags next term for both Hills Of Aran and Putney Bridge. With the right riders on board, both could have prolific campaigns in Open company.
Before that, and given his current wellbeing (as confirmed by the Stratford vet, evidently), I’d be astonished if Oca De Thaix isn’t kept on the go in handidcap chases by Goldsworthy this summer. He’s never backward in running and running and running them.
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.
After the champagne that is Royal Ascot it is great to read Jeremy’s summary of the Real Ale – Point to Pointing.
Brilliant that the two Andrews’ girls from East Anglia won their respective awards – both a credit to their parents and the sport.
Already looking forward to Cottenham in December…
Sadly no Umberleigh for me this year – would have gone with Waynesworld last year but work commitments put that plan out of action.
Gearing up for some early racing and a double header featuring horse shopping in Paris in September, with a possible trip to BFL if that’s still the first meeting of the year.
Should it interest, with a view to what may already be being prepared to spend next winter between the flags, Pointing’s official website has now provided a link to next season’s provisional eligibility rules. Go to;
http://www.pointtopoint.co.uk/go/news/eligibility_11_12.html
Can’t see anything in there that would exclude the aforementioned Hills Of Aran or Putney Bridge, to name but two, and I’m sure there’ll be the usual phalanx of Nicholls inmates who can be sent to Richard Barber or Chloe Roddick in time for Black Forest Lodge or Wadebridge before Christmas…
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’ve already had a few mails in recent weeks asking when the fixture list for the 2011-12 Pointing season will be made publicly available. The answer, I’m happy to report, is TODAY.
Preamble on fixture / date / course changes is available at:
http://www.pointtopoint.co.uk/go/news/fixtures_2012_published.html
The list itself is available at:
http://www.pointtopoint.co.uk/fixture_list_2012.html
Plans on which fixtures to get to this term already very much occupying this poster’s mind, at least.
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.
Thanks Jeremy
http://pointstopoints.blogspot.com/
I hope Corm and Matron don’t mind me putting this link in here – my P2P blog complete with a preview of this weekends first meeting of the Irish season at Rathcannon
Martin
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