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TEETON DAZZLER: won last time out at the South Wold
photo: Mark Fettes

The Grove & Rufford Point-to-Point races will take place this Sunday in the picturesque parkland setting of Welbeck, near Worksop, by kind permission of Mr & Mrs Parente. It is the ideal setting for a Mothering Sunday picnic followed by seven races.

The first race is due off at 1.30pm and the last race at 5.00pm; 94 Entries have been taken and admission is £5 per car and £5 per person with under 16's free. The course at Welbeck is situated off the B6034, four miles south west of Worksop on the Ollerton Road (use Exit 30 if travelling on the M1). 

The feature race on the card is the AGA Ladies Open race, a qualifier for the £7500 3m1½f AGA Ladies Open Point-to-Point Championship Final Hunter Chase at Cheltenham on Wednesday 4th May.

Maxine Stirk's Eliza Doalott will take some beating if she makes the journey down from Yorkshire. This mare has won her last two starts and finished alone in the AGA Ladies race at the South Wold. Her Rider Freya Brewer is one of the leading pilots at Welbeck.

Lutin du Moulin won three Ladies Open races last season and finished second on his debut run this season; he is a class horse and may also make the journey from Yorkshire.

Four of the Entries in this race are qualified with the Brocklesby; Sam Klug's ride Great Grimsby is likely to make the running and Jill Dawson has Pass It On and Vingis Park to choose from. Chloe Kirkby may have her first ride of the season on Paradise Bay, who was placed in a Ladies Open at Easingwold last season; this course may well suit him.

Richard Armson, who needs just three more winners to reach his century, may get a step closer to that target in the Avocet Hardware Confined race. Armson will ride Sovereign Quest; this horse is a winner already this season and can be expected to go close. Richard Hunnisett's The King Of Angels is usually consistent and may also run well.

Early Wings may run in the Avocet Hardware Confined or in the later Dodson & Horrell PPORA Club Members race for Novice Riders. This horse may be ridden by either Lucy or George Saunders; the brother and sister combination are both awaiting a first winner and Sunday could be their day. Teeton Dazzler, who is trained by Jenny Garley for Mrs Joan Tice, won the Novice Riders race at the South Wold in decisive fashion and could take some beating.

Harlaxton, who was second to Teeton Dazzler that day, also holds an entry here and in the Taninges Properties Ltd Restricted race for the Antonia Bealby stable. The Novice Riders race is a qualifier for the £1000 Dodson & Horrell PPORA Club Members race for Novice Riders Series Final at Tabley on Sunday 15th May.

Alflora Dora is another South Wold winner who may score again on Sunday in the Shires Developments Intermediate race. Mark Barthorpe's mare is trained by former top Midlands Rider Stuart Morris. Coppinger's Court won a Novice Riders race at Dunthrop in January and the Bedale qualified Rich Hill finished third in the Holderness AGA Ladies race and would have a good chance in this event.

Jane Kent's Ivan's Back was second at Brocklesby recently and would have a good chance of going one better in the Taninges Properties Ltd Restricted race. Ivan's Back beat Action Steel when he won his Maiden race at Thorpe in February and Action Steel holds an entry here. Since Thorpe Action Steel has also won a Maiden and been fourth in a Restricted race, he will benefit from being ridden by the in-form jockey Tom Ellis.

Racing begins and ends with two Maiden races. The opening Maiden, sponsored by Clarke Associates is for 4, 5, 6 & 7-year olds and will be run over the shorter 2m5f distance. Gerald Bailey's Half A Litre was second at Whitfield recently and should be able to go one better.

The final race of the day is the Open Maiden race sponsored by T Frost Saddlers of Bawtry, in which Free From Magee has some form having been second at Cottenham recently.

To hear all updates supplied throughout the week and on the morning of the meeting, call the Talking Point news line on 09068 44 60 61*.

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