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PHIL YORK: reunited with Dante's Storm
photo: Neale Blackburn

"He's still a machine!" was Phil York's comment after teaming up with Dante's Storm to win the Conditions race.

Off the track last season with a minor leg problem, Dante's Storm was previously in Phil's own yard but was moved to Alan Hill by mutual consent with owner Ian Cobbold. "He's a bit fragile, and my gallop is very flat with tight bends which didn't really suit him, so he went to Alan, who's got much better facilities," Phil explained. "And as you'd expect, he's got him very fit."

"I'm honoured to have such a nice horse sent to me. We call him our Denman," said Alan, who nonetheless pointed out that his charge was "frightening to school - he's very wooden."

A Hunter Chase is next on the agenda, followed by, if all is well, a tilt at the Cheltenham Foxhunters, for which his 2009 exploits have ensured his eligibility.

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Phil had earlier taken the Maiden on Ringa Bay, who was gaining compensation for his Cottenham demotion. "That run will either have wound him up even more or else settled him," Phil had opined prior to the race. He had also expressed doubts about the chestnut's willingness to put his best foot forward if push came to shove, but neither fear was realised. "He was a bit strong early but then settled," smiled his rider, "and I was really pleased how he battled when the Hutsby horse [Moscow Tiger] got to us."

It was a first visit to Detling for owners Michael and Fiona Kehoe, who bought Ringa Bay from Nick Brown, his purchaser at Cheltenham in 2009. The Kehoes have half a dozen Pointers in their own yard but sent Ringa Bay to Phil due to his wayward nature and the fact that he needs to be in a larger string.

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The Hutsby family more than made up for Moscow Tiger's defeat by going home with the day's main prize, Fred Hutsby saddling his father Ken's Rash Move to take the AGA Ladies' Open under a splendid ride from Hannah Watson.

The well-known "pale blue, scarlet cap" colours have been in the family for over 100 years, but amazingly this was the first Ladies' race in which they had been carried to victory, Ken's father Henry being a man who would never have countenanced women jockeys in a month of Sundays! The jersey which Hannah was wearing was probably not quite that old but it did look as if it had seen plenty of service!

"He carries a fat man now," grinned Fred, who rides Rash Move at home and pointed out that his charge must have appreciated the lower weight. The ten-year-old will now go Hunter Chasing.

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"We'll have to go to grandpa's grave and tell him what we've done." Fred's sister Nicola, in no doubt that the news would start Henry spinning!

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Runner-up to Rash Move was the veteran Balladeer, who was completing a good day for the Hill family, Alan's wife Lawney having sent out Ski Sunday to triumph at Kempton under A.P. McCoy. The celebrations that evening, apparently, boosted the profits of the local pub quite considerably.

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For Cynthia Haydon, trainer-rider of third-placed Roaringwater, it had been a fraught start to the day. She had suffered a delay of 2½ hours when her horsebox broke down en route, causing her to miss the opening race, and to add insult to injury the tractor which was towing her into the course also broke down in the gateway!

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Some racegoers also found themselves arriving a few minutes later than they had planned due to a complete absence of signage to the track, which is tucked away some distance from Detling village. Hopefully the situation will be rectified before the next meeting there on February 27.

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There was a first Detling success in the Men's Open for both owner-rider David Maxwell and trainer Kim Smyly with Noakarad de Verzee, who held off the challenge of the favourite Massimo, to whom he was conceding 7lbs. The winner had been campaigned successfully under Rules last season, but David decided upon a more low-key agenda for him this year.

"He's the boss of the yard, and will bite you if you turn your back on him," laughed Kim's husband Giles of Noakarad de Verzee, whose head is so large that he needs his own custom-made bridle. His Point-to-Point strike rate is now better than 50%, with eight victories from just 15 attempts between the flags.

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Massimo's performance on his eagerly-awaited return to action after an absence of almost three years reflected great credit on his trainer Angela Davis. The winner of the inaugural Connolly's Red Mills Intermediate Championship at Cheltenham, Massimo delighted his rider Michael Miller, who posed the rhetorical question "Who couldn't be pleased with that?"

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Yet another handler to successfully bring back a horse from a long absence was Nick Pearce, who sent out Simon Tindall's Jack's Present to take the Dodson & Horrell Novice Riders' race in the capable hands of Bridget Andrews.

Jack's Present, who broke down 18 months ago, had been given only a 30% chance by the vet of ever cantering again, let alone racing, so her recovery has been a tribute to the dedication of Nick and his staff.

She holds a special place in Nick's affections, having provided his first winner as a trainer at Barbury in 2008.

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The highly-regarded Tom Cannon, the reigning National Novice Champion who has been seen to good advantage under Rules in recent months, won the Restricted on In The System, who was equipped with first-time cheekpieces. Purchased from Eugene O'Sullivan in Ireland, where he was mostly lady-ridden, In The System is now trained for Sam Fuller and Vicki Phelan by the latter's husband David, who has a dozen Pointers in his yard near Ashford.

"She's the boss - I'm only the boy," grinned David of his wife. "Life is very easy when you know your place!"

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The lightest rider at the meeting was undoubtedly 17-year-old Gemma Cobb, who finished sixth on Master Alf on her debut in the Ladies' Open. Gemma, a successful pony racer, stands just five feet tall and needed an 18lb saddle plus three stone of lead in order to make the weight.

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