27 April 2011 Report: Essex Farmers & Union - Report
by James Crispe
Just two of the six races scheduled for the Essex Farmers & Union Point-To-Point at Marks Tey took place on Easter Monday, as the recent heatwave resulted in just 11 of the 63 horses entered declaring on the day.
The racecourse connections had done all that they could, administering almost 250,000 gallons of water on the course over the seven day period prior to the fixture, but with an official going description of ‘good to firm, with both firm and good to soft places' proved what a difficult job it is to produce a consistent racing surface by artificial means, especially on an undulating course like Marks Tey.
Most unfortunately, seven of the 11 runners were declared in just two races, meaning the remaining four were all walkovers.
Again, the course authorities tried their very best to give the paying public a good day out, organising impromptu children's running races and a jockeys' bucking bronco competition; and as a gesture of goodwill, it was announced that anyone keeping their racecard from this year's meeting will be allowed free into next Easter's fixture on production of the card at the gate.
The two races that did take place were dominated by jockey Dickie Collinson, from Cambridge, who registered his first ever double and in so doing clinched the East Anglia Male Novice Riders Championship.
Remarkably, both victories were achieved aboard horses that he had never ridden before, even at exercise.
The first came in the Intermediate Race atop O'Gara, who ran so badly at Higham on Easter Saturday that trainer Mike Burman, from Biggleswade, decided to retire him. He had a change of heart however when realising that Ski Dazzle, who walked over in the Ladies Open, could do with some company on the horsebox.
Much the outsider of the three runners, O'Gara sat behind a slow pace set by Ambasador and collared that rival after the final fence to score by one and a half lengths.
Ocean Fou, Collinson's mount in the Restricted Race, was again third favourite, but this time in a four-runner field. He overtook the front-running market leader Rockfield at the fourth last, and stayed on well to score by 12 lengths.
Ocean Fou is trained at Sutton by Martin Ward, who was notching his third winner of the Easter holiday having scored twice at Higham on Saturday.
Bridget Andrews, who won the bucking bronco competition, also landed her first double in undesirable circumstances when benefitting from two walkovers. This at least allowed her to emulate her older sister Gina, who won two races at the National Hunt meeting at Fakenham.
