Quality racing and good to good to firm ground was available on the last Bank Holiday meeting of the 2015-16 point to point season.
Seven races were offered by the Albrighton & Woodland hunt at Chaddersley Corbett, a good crowd assembled to watch some good pointers take to the Worcestershire course.
The first race, for PPORA members saw eight go to post, the
favorite being the inform trainer Francesca Nimmo’s Champagne Rian. Hugh
Nugent on board the eight-year-old gelding did not disappoint coming to the
last upsides the eventual second Treacyswestcountry and Jack Andrews the bay
gelding pulling away at the line to take the spoils.
‘This horse takes you to the front really well, waits for
another horses, soon as he feels this he finds a bit more.’ Mentioned the jockey
who said the ground was riding on the faster side of good. ‘Francesca’s horses
have really found their form these past few weeks, waiting as with the rest for
better ground it has been really busy for me.’
The delighted trainer who has to pinch herself on how well
her horses are running of lately having had a winner the day before at
Kingston Blount mentioned, ‘this fella was the only horse with the five pound
penalty, and I think he would have appreciated a little more cut in the ground,
so I’m delighted he has won.’
The trainer who has only just moved to her new
yard seems to have found everything to her liking, hoping the positive form can
last until the end of the season.
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| Champagne Rian (far-side) takes the race from Treacyswestcountry and Jack Andrews |
The second race the men’s open was taken by a trainer jockey
on a double for the afternoon.
Phillip Rowley’s One more tune, ridden by Alex Edwards and
owned by the course builder at Chaddersley Corbett taking the race from Mark
Wall on Dandan.
‘He has come to the last and taken a massive jump out of my
hands,’ mentioned the winning jockey. ‘This was a good race, he really wants a
lot further, but at Doncaster this fella was only a few lengths behind Paint
the clouds who is rated highly under rules so further he is a better horse.’
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| Phillip Rowley’s One more tune, ridden by Alex Edwards |
The winning combination had to wait for the last race of the
day to complete their double. Cracking Find took the open maiden by an
impressive twenty five lengths from Fred Hutsby’s Overly Cautious.
‘the owners only bought this horse last year, he has taken a
bit to get going and get to the bottom of,as he is a bit a free going type, but today he was very calm so we have decided to let him get
on with it and show us what he can do, he has answered a lot a of questions
today.’
The jockey mentioned at home this five-year-old by Robin des
Pres works very well, and on the back of his earlier two runs all the stable
wanted to see was improvement.
Improvement to the delight of his owners was what
they got and would be one to look out for next season.
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| Cracking Find took the open maiden by an impressive twenty five lengths from Fred Hutsby’s Overly Cautious. |
The ladies open bought another double for the afternoon,
this time for the trainer of the first race of the day Francesca Nimmo.
Right
Enough ridden by the eleven year olds owner Carrie Tucker on her fifth ride
took on and beat the favorite, the good horse Start royal, trained by Alan
hill and ridden champion Gina Andrews.
‘We were not going to run the horse in this race until this
morning,’ mentioned the delighted jockey. ‘This is my first winner, my first
ride was a fall, the others I have been fourth, so I took advice from Francesca
and really had to push him today, but he has responded so well for me.’
The horse who is stands as a hansom iron grey you would find
at a point to point made all the effort to get down to the weight for the ride worthwhile
for the thirty five year old who has not been at the race riding game long.
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| Right Enough ridden by the eleven year olds owner Carrie Tucker |
‘I have had to loose five pounds in half a day when we knew
he would go for the ladies open, so all I have had today is hot baths and long
runs in bin bags to sweat. I’m so delighted for Francesca also the yard is
buzzing and it is such a great place to go to at the moment.’ The passionate huntswomen
full of praise for her trainer, the winners coming out of the yard proof enough
of effort being put in.
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| Right Enough |
Nick meek and Dennis Moylan's Flicka’s Witness won the
conditions race, the eleven-year-old by Witness Box beating Nobby Kivambo by a commanding
twenty-five lengths.
‘he is a funny type of horse really, you can’t force him
into his jumping otherwise he makes mistakes you just have to put him into a
race then he’ll wake up, but he jumps well and the ground suited him today.’
Jumping being the name of the game proved that at Mr Sawyer
who was upside the winner at the last came down leaving the race to the mercy
of the winner.
The owner who was delighted with the win mentioned,’ we have
had the horse for five seasons, at the beginning he pulled too hard so we had
to put him over show jumps to get him to steady at his obstacles and think a
bit, and it has worked,but it has been a great team effort from Jo Johnston
and her team to get him this far.
‘The horse bought from the Doncaster Bloodstock
sales as a six-year-old now deserves a good summer break for his efforts, but
be sure on good ground would be one to watch a year older and wiser for the new
season.
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| Flicka’s Witness (left) upsides Mr Sawyer before the last fence |
The restricted race won by Rilly Goschen’s Seenigora seems
to be an improving sort in the pointing field.
In her first season with the
owner- trainer the seven-year-old may have another race on the last day of the
season ahead of her, Rilly mentioning, ‘she is so straight forward to train but
has taken a lot of work to get her right, she needs a lot of strengthening work,
so while we have her right and if she comes out of this race we will let her go
for one more in a few weeks’ time.’
The intermediate race at Umberleigh seems to be the race
that is in mind for the daughter of Acadian Hero, a meeting that looks possible
to be a bumper meeting with a lot of trainers, owners and jockeys aiming for the Devon track.
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| The restricted race won by Rilly Goschen’s Seenigora |
The trainer-owner with only two in her yard is delighted
with her lot mentioning ‘I keep myself to myself these days and so happy with
what I have got. I would not swap my two I have for anything; I have had a brilliant
season.’
Mr Damian Chubb who bought the horse as a three-year-old
runs the horse under his mother in laws name mentioned,’ she has a wind problem that we will
have to look at over the summer, and she has been a mare that has taken time
coming into herself, but we are delighted with the win.’
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| Maryam Jaan takes the Mares and fillies maiden from Aunty Joan |
The owners who have totally got the Point to point bug are
people who are hand on with the training and running of their horses, Mr Chubb
driving the two hours from the Rhonda himself, ‘we love the pointing game, you
can get so much more involved with the whole industry than that of under rules.’
The
mark of the race would have to go to rider David Mansell, a veteran jockey of
the weighing room on Julie Mansell’s Questionmarc nearly was unshipped from his
mount at the first.
Both feet on the same side of the horse the rider was sure
to have looked to most as if a meeting with the Chaddersley Corbett turf was a
certainty, but as the images showed above before the second managed to stay on
board to take the seven year a little further.
