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LITTLE SHILLING: part of Tom David's career-first treble at the Glamorgan

Oliver Greenall, whose 99th Point-to-Point winner was Intense Suspense at Umberleigh on 13 June 2009, got to the 100 at Garthorpe on Saturday on Lough Inchiquinn, but the fact that it was also his initial training success was of far greater significance to him.

"I knew the hundred would come eventually, but the training has been slow to take off," he admitted. "The horses probably aren't as good as we hoped they'd be, and losing Ofarel d'Airy [to injury] so early was a blow. But this has taken some of the pressure off." No sooner had Oliver trained one winner then another came along, as Family Guy obliged at Eyton the following day under Sam Allwood. Oliver will continue to ride some of his charges, but wants to concentrate more on the training side.

Oliver was national Point-to-Point champion in 2007/8 with 56 victories, a British record equalled by his brother Thomas the following season. He is also the reigning champion amateur under National Hunt Rules, a title which he retained from the previous year.

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There was also a century of winners for Joe Docker, who won the Maiden Division Two at Brafield on Sunday on his parents' debutant Just Harry, a son of the smart Pointing mare Just Cliquot, who was purchased privately last year. Joe, who works as a management consultant in London, had scored his initial success in 1994 on Raise An Argument, who at 15 was just a year younger than his rider.

It had been a busy weekend for Joe, who on Saturday had finished runner-up in the Harborough Ride on Bedtime Boys before dashing to Garthorpe to partner Silver Tenor, second in the Connolly's Red Mills Intermediate.

His three-figure tally includes just three under Rules, and one ambition which has so far eluded him is to ride in the Aintree Fox Hunter Chase, a race won in 1982 by his father John's Lone Soldier, ridden by Peter Greenall, now Lord Daresbury.

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Silver Tenor was beaten by Ballyeightra Cross, who was providing rider Miles Seston with a 50th career success.

Miles originally rode as a conditional and booted home nine winners before weight issues led him to change tack. As the regulations stood at that time, had he delayed changing status for just one more week he would have been unable to ride as an amateur.

Following his retirement from the paid ranks he helped out at the Northern Racing College, instructing and advising on the jockeys' courses.

It was professional jockeys Anthony Ross and David O'Meara who persuaded him to start riding between the flags, and he opened his account on Freds Heir at Alnwick in 2006.

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Louise Allan registered two Landmarks at Horseheath, where she recorded her 50th winner and also her first double (see Scene & Heard).

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Tom David has no regrets about his reversion to amateur earlier this month, and on Saturday he recorded his first treble at Ystradowen. Two of his winners, Billybo in the older horse Maiden and Little Shilling in the Mixed Open, were for Abbi Vaughan, wife of his employer Tim Vaughan, and the third, Ask The Thatcher in the Restricted, was for David Brace.

Tom, 18, rode eight winners as a Conditional, but admitted that he had to watch his weight carefully in order to ride at 9.7. He is now comfortable at a few pounds above that, and can enjoy eating more or less what he wants!

He is hoping that he may have a ride in the Aintree Fox Hunter Chase on Dead Or Alive, who triumphed at Lydstep in February.

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There was an initial double at Siddington on Saturday for Richard Spencer, 22, pupil-assistant with Barry Hills, who took the Restricted on Ruperts Vision, his first ride for Marcella Bayliss, and the Pegasus Club Members on Lady Annie Connell's Needs Time.

"I'm very lucky because Kevin Mooney [Hills's assistant] is very good to me and gives me the time off whenever I have the chance of a ride," said Richard, who also expressed his gratitude to fellow rider Tim Lane for putting his name forward to the Connells.

The double took Richard's career total to five, and his three successes this campaign have come from less than a dozen rides, fewer than his ability merits. He is eligible to ride in Military races, and in 2008 partnered Milord Lescribaa to finish runner-up to Le Duc in the Royal Artillery Gold Cup.

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18-year-old Mike Heard, who works for Richard Woollacott, recorded his first double at Kilworthy on Sunday. Mike won the Mixed Open on the veteran Paddy The Piper and the Restricted on Roll On Rose, both trained by his father John.

Mike currently weighs under nine stone so he needed over two stone of lead in addition to his 12lb saddle in order to make the weight.

He has worked for both Paul Nicholls and Stuart Kittow, and hopes at some stage to partner the family's Googoobarabajagal, trained by Stuart, in an Amateur Riders' hurdle. The five-year-old has been bought as a replacement for Paddy The Piper and is likely to be Point-to-Pointing next season.

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George Gorman, 16, opened his account on just his second ride when piloting his parents' She Is A Cracker to victory in the Maiden at Parham on Saturday. George's schoolmaster was intended to be The Tailor Carey who the Gormans sadly lost three weeks ago, but it was decided that She Is A Cracker was a competent enough jumper on whom George could make his debut.

George is sponsored by Hurstpierpoint College, where he will be staying on to do his ‘A' levels, and many of his friends and colleagues were at Parham to cheer him home. "He got an amazing reception," said his proud mother Carolyn, who is hoping that George and his father Marcus will be able to ride against one another in the City of London race at Tweseldown next month.

George is hoping to attend a Category'A' course at Newmarket to enable him to ride at Folkestone in May, but he will have to pray that somebody drops out - the course is fully booked and he is currently on the reserve list.

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Another 16-year-old, Zac Baker, triumphed on just his sixth ride. Zac, who won the Men's Open on Penric, is hoping to follow his brother George and make racing his career, although he is looking to ride over obstacles rather than on the flat.

He started going to Penric's owners, Martin and Sarah Bosley, when he was 12, learning to ride on a thoroughbred, and has been working for them full-time since leaving school last year.

Zac was using a saddle which has seen service for at least 40 years and which has been in the winner's enclosure on innumerable occasions. Martin and Sarah both rode winners on it, as did George, who used it when victorious in the second race of his career.

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The third rider of minimum age to open his account was Leo Mahon at Eyton (see North Shropshire meeting report).

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Dale Peters was also based with Martin Bosley for a year, having gone for work experience when he was 15. Now 20, Dale has returned home to help with the seven Pointers which are at his father Michael's yard at Sawtry, Cambridgeshire.

Dale, whose ability has been noted by several experienced observers, scored his initial double at Brafield on Sunday, taking the Men's Open on his father's Rare Gold, the partnership's fourth success, and the Dodson & Horrell Novice Riders' contest on Toby Hunt's Point Proven. It was the rider's first weekend back after a three-week layoff due to the concussion sustained in a Garthorpe fall.

At one time Dale was on the road to becoming a professional footballer, being a member of the Ipswich Town youth team, but he opted instead for the opportunity to show up his father. Michael failed to register a winner in his riding days - "The only time he looked like winning he fell off," grinned his son!

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Charlie Dando, 19, will have fond memories of Ston Easton, where he achieved a hitherto elusive success after over 80 rides. Charlie won the Maiden on Artistic Approach, owned by his father David who is course inspector at the Somerset venue. "I thought he'd run well but I didn't really expect him to win," he admitted.

Charlie, who is three years into a five year farriery apprenticeship with Nigel Howes, helps whip in to the Duke of Beaufort's, and he also does much of the work with the three Pointers owned by the family.

There has been no shortage of advice and encouragement from other yards, Charlie said, with Julie Houldey and Dave Mansell being especially helpful last year.

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Ray Glennon, a Doctor of Psychology who works near Sandown Park racecourse, recorded his first success at Parham on Saturday, when he took the Hunt race on his own Keltic Moon. Ray started riding as a teenager in Ireland - "My only claim to fame was when I finished third in a Bumper in which Aidan O'Brien was riding," he laughed - but at the age of 36 this was only his tenth ride between the flags.

Ray was based in Australia for five years before moving to Britain 30 months ago, and he now lives at Findon. "I contacted Nick Gifford about riding out," he said, "but then I realised how heavy I was so I rang him back to tell him I weighed 12 stone. He went quiet for a moment and then said ‘Give me a call when you get down to 11!'"

At least Ray has improved upon Jamie Hawksfield's riding record. He met Jamie, now a regular steward in the South East, while he was walking the course the day before the meeting, and was told "Don't worry, it took me 26 years to ride a winner at Parham!"

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30-year-old Ryan Winks, who opened his account in the Restricted at the new course at Whitcliffe Grange on Plenty Of Chat, started out at the age of 16 as an apprentice on the flat with Les Eyre. When weight became an issue he moved onto riding Arabs but then turned his back on racing to become a professional singer with his own rock band called Café.

The band toured the world for several years until Ryan decided to return to Arab racing, riding one winner. He now helps his father Peter with the four Pointers in the yard, as well as those out of training, as seen on the Winks' website www.restingracehorses.com.

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