01 March 2010 Report: Albrighton - Chaddesley Corbett
by Arthur Shone
MAD VICTOR: could bid for a Hunter Chase after Open win
photo: Sweet Photography
The weather forecast prior to this meeting had been a cause for concern; the Met Office had forecasted heavy rain and strong winds, but thankfully these did not materialise and Point-to-Point enthusiasts enjoyed a dry day which was a bit on the chilly side.
The meeting attracted a decent crowd given the advance forecast; those that stayed away missed a cracking afternoon of racing. There were plenty of runners and all the usual spills and thrills associated with this great sport.
Racing got underway for 2010 in the North West with the Open Maiden for 4, 5 ,6 & 7-year-olds. The race went to the Cathy Twiston-Davies trained Rathconrath with her son Sam in the plate; the Bullington gelding made virtually all with a superb display of jumping to win cosily by two-and-a-half lengths from Dammam, with the aptly named Themanfromeyton a distance back in third.
The winner was bought as a three-year-old by the Rules Trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies, who let Cathy take charge of the horse to sweeten him up with a season Point-to-Pointing; the Trainer said after the race that the penny was starting to drop at last with Rathconrath.
The older Maiden race produced the best finish of the day, with three virtually in a line approaching the last; on the run to the jam stick it was Golden Harvey under Ryan Mahon who found the better turn of foot, to beat Golden Harvey by the official margin of two-and-a-half lengths. Prince Aeneaf was a further half a length away.
The winner is a former inmate from the Sheila Crow yard, but is now owned and trained by Jessica Scott, who is also the Secretary of the South Shropshire hunt.
The Sophie George-trained Island Flyer had too much class for his rivals in the Mens Open under Luke Morgan; the combination were always holding the runner-up Up There, winning readily by a length-and-a-quarter. The winning Trainer was represented at the course by her husband Tom, who trains under Rules.
Speaking after the race, he said; "Two years ago the winner was favourite for the Hennessy at Newbury, but completely lost his way that is why we put him Pointing. He hated the tacky ground, but we had to run him to get him qualified for the Liverpool Foxhunters."
Another decent performer under Rules was the ex-Paul Nicholls trained Pertinent, who was not extended under Dan Collins to win a decent Dodson & Horrell PPORA Club Members race for Novice Riders by 12 lengths from David Griffiths on Prioritisation. The winner is trained by Charlie Whittaker at Radstock, who owned the Pertinent jointly with his grandmother Angela Yeoman when the horse trained in Ditcheat. Whittaker also pointed out that his grandmother still owns Taranis, currently 25-1 for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, with Nicholls.
The easiest winner of the day was the Sue Taylor-trained Mad Victor, who galloped the opposition into the ground in the Ladies Open under Claire Allen to win eased down by 10 lengths from Whistling Straits, a full brother to Tidal Bay.
Sue Taylor trains Mad Victor between the flags and her partner Paul Jones trains the horse under Rules. Speaking after the race, Jones said; "That's his second win this month and he has not had a race today - he could have gone around again. I will have to start looking for a Hunter Chase for him now; he is in at Ludlow this Thursday. I was pleased with the manner of his victory today as he has just kept improving with each race. The winner is owned by The Paternosters Racing Partnership, which is headed by David Hughes from Albrighton, the rest are made up of myself and four other keen sporting people from Shropshire."
A field of 17 went to post for a competitive-looking Restricted; the race went to Uppertier who produced a decent turn of foot under Gordon Hopkinson to beat Creagh Bay by 10 lengths, with the running-on All Thyne Greats a further seven back in third.
The New Frontier gelding is, trained by Julie Marles, is owned by the Rider's mother Clare Hopkinson. This was only the second winner for the 21-year-old Politics student, his previous having been on the same horse last season at Ashorne.
Only three runners were entered for the Members race, but they all ran on the day; victory went to the improving Glidewell under Jonathon Jarrett, who galloped his rivals into the ground; ultimately the combination finished alone.
The winner is owned and trained at Shifnal by Neale Dalton, the Chairman of the Albrighton Hunt. Dalton thinks highly of the winner, saying; "He just keeps on improving, he has won a Maiden and Restricted and now a Members. I will probably run him next in an Intermediate race at Bangor in two weeks time."
