01 March 2010 Landmarks: February 27th & 28th
by Carolyn Tanner
Oscar Churton, 22, opened his account in the Blankney Mens Open on He's The Gaffer, trained by Marti Mulhall. Oscar, who is reading History Of Art at Leeds University and hopes next year to join the Army, rides out at the Mulhalls' yard several times a week.
He's The Gaffer, bought at Doncaster in August, won six Chases for Bob Buckler and had been marked down as a "second choice" purchase by the Churtons. "The one we were hoping to get had won under Rules since the cut-off date," Oscar explained, "but it wasn't mentioned in the catalogue and stupidly I hadn't checked it."
The partnership's next outing could be in the Queen Mother Memorial Hunters' Chase at Sandown on March 12.
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Also at North Carlton, Olivia Wells, 16, made a triumphant debut in the Hunt race on Yann's, owned by her father Martin, himself a former winning rider. Olivia, who was a very successful junior showjumper, is now a working pupil with Judy Bradwell, eventing being her first love.
Her younger sister Izzy, 14, cannot wait to get started herself and it is she who was responsible for doing most of the work with Yann's, described by Martin as "the hero of the hour - he's been a fantastic horse for us."
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QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND
Overheard.
Trainer, struggling to adjust the breastplate while assisting an owner-trainer colleague to saddle a runner at North Carlton: "You really must clean your tack more often. I can't get this point into the keeper - it's far too tight."
Owner-trainer: "Well, you know what I'm like - I never clean my tack if I can help it."
Trainer, still struggling, this time to alter the martingale: "Well, it's a b****y good job this isn't a condom, because I've got no chance of getting it on."
