05 May 2010 Landmarks: May Bank Holiday Weekend
by Carolyn Tanner
Richard Woollacott became the latest rider to join Point-to-Pointing's "200 Club" when Karinga Coin won the Countryside Alliance Club Members' race at Stafford Cross on Monday.
It was a fifth victory of the weekend for Richard, and lifts him into second place in the title race, just one behind John Mathias. Richard's first success was on Nearly All Right at Stallenge Thorne in 1998, and he was runner-up in the 2007/8 national championship to Ollie Greenall.
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Nick Williams completed a century of winners between the flags when piloting Musique En Tete to victory in the Restricted at Laleston on Saturday. He was originally based with Richard Barber, and the first of many successes for the Dorset trainer was his initial one on Rimpton Boy at Larkhill in 2002. He later joined Evan Williams and rode as a conditional for a few months but reverted to amateur status when weight began to become an issue. He is now an assistant trainer with Evan, alongside James Tudor.
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Two housemates who both work for Philip Hobbs were in the winner's enclosure for the first time at Holnicote on Saturday.
Tom Flint, 21, won the Men's Open on Iris's Prince, the Connolly's Red Mills leading horse of 2007/8 when partnered by Tom's younger brother Rhys, last season's champion conditional. Tom regularly rode out and schooled for his father John prior to joining the Hobbs yard two seasons ago, but it was only last year that he made the decision to race-ride, making his debut in a hurdle race in July. Iris's Prince was his first ride since February 14, when he broke his collarbone and fractured his wrist in three places in a fall at Barbury.
35 minutes later it was the turn of Tom's colleague Rob Hawker, who celebrated his 17th birthday in style by taking the Maiden on Lancer Scott, a spare ride which he picked up on the day. "I was told he was very keen and hard to hold, so I dropped him ten lengths out the back," he explained, "but when I gave him a squeeze three out he sped clear." Rob, a pony racing graduate whose father Richard has also enjoyed success between the flags, had his first ride at the corresponding fixture 12 months ago, the day after his 16th birthday.
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Saturday was also a red-letter day for Serena Tyler, 30, who opened her account in her tenth season in the Confined Maiden at Dingley on Lady Chatelaine, a mare she has on loan for the campaign. Serena, who grew up in the hunting field, works on the family farm in addition to tending to her horses - "I used to milk the cows," she laughed. Having had only three falls in nine seasons, Serena has doubled her tally in 2010! She described the mare as "jumping very big and fast," with the result that she has twice been shot out of the saddle. Serena is hoping that she may get another run out of Lady Chatelaine before her loan contract expires.
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Jamie Hamilton, a successful graduate from pony racing, made a winning Point-to-Point debut two days after his 16th birthday, landing the Border Hunts' Club Members' race at Mosshouses on Waterford, owned by his grandfather William and trained by his mother Wendy. It was an appropriate course on which to open his account, as he was born on the day on which the Lauderdale meeting was staged in 1994. In addition to working the horses at home, Jamie, who is currently in the middle of his school exams, has been riding out for the Shirley-Beavans, from whom Waterford was purchased, for a couple of years. He weighed in at 8st1lb on the day of the race, and needed to use two weight cloths in order to make the required 12st.
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Another 16-year-old to open his account was James Philips, who won the 4m Men's Open at Cold Harbour on Sunday on his father Peter's Maletton. Maletton had never before run over the extreme distance, but with James needing to get back to school at Cheltenham to sit a Spanish oral exam the option of a Monday outing at Maisemore was ruled out. It was a deserved success for James who, due to a commitment to a school hockey match, was forced to miss out when his mount won at Siddington. A talented all-round sportsman who is off to play rugby in Argentina in the summer, James's height and build means that a career as a jockey could be short-lived, but his younger brother Henry, 15, is waiting in the wings to make his debut next season.
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Cold Harbour was also the venue for the initial victory of Rob Jarrett, 18, who won the 3m Maiden on Upton Sovereign. He was called up for the ride on Thursday by Sarah-Jayne Davies when intended partner Jeremy Mahot was injured in a Hereford fall. Rob is in his second season working for Alan King. He looks after Mill Chief, who was ante-post favourite for the Triumph Hurdle until ruled out by lameness, and one of his regular rides is the 2008 Champion Hurdle hero Katchit. Rob's father Martin is huntsman of the North Shropshire, and his elder brother Jonathon, currently sidelined through injury, is one of the North West area's leading riders.
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Kevin Sinclair, 20, enjoyed his first success at Mosshouses, where he won the Hunt race on Little Vantage. Kevin, whose father rode on the flat, originally planned to take up a trade as a joiner or bricklayer, but had a change of heart at the age of 17 and elected to go to the Northern Racing College, from where he went to Bryan Smart's yard. He subsequently moved to Brian Ellison for six months but was later out of action for some time when an accident left him with a fractured skull. He had a spell with George Foster before joining George White in September.
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18-year-old Tom Cannon, who had never previously ridden either a double or a treble, leap-frogged into the lead in the national novice championship when recording a four-timer at Northaw on Monday. Three of the victories were for trainer David Phelan, and the other for Ian Cobb, the two men who have provided Tom with the majority of his rides this season. Tom, who works for Alan Fleming, comes from a family steeped in racing. His mother Linda (nee Savage) and grandmother Angela were very successful between the flags, and his cousin Paul Hacking, who won the Cheltenham Foxhunter Chase on Certain Light, was one of the sport's outstanding riders prior to hanging up his boots ten years ago.
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Another Monday four-timer was achieved by Josh Guerriero at Vauterhill. Josh's winning quartet comprised The Patriarch Game (Members), Jaunty Janner (Mixed Open), Arctic Sky (Confined) and Bafaluto (Intermediate), who between them faced just 14 opponents. It was only last month that Josh, who works for Victor Dartnall, recorded both his first treble and a career half-century.
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The remaining two races at Vauterhill, the Restricted and Maiden, went to Jo Buck, for whom it was an initial double. Pauline Geering saddled Deimne to win the Restricted, while Maiden winner Lizzy's Lass is trained by former champion Leslie Jefford, for whom Jo rides out in the mornings. Jo rode her first winner in 2003 but was out of the sport for four years. Two of those were spent work-riding in Ireland, and two doing the same job in Australia and New Zealand. Jo is enjoying by far her best season and has struck up a fine partnership with Theatre Diva, successful in two Hunter Chases as well as twice between the flags. Jo is a qualified driving instructor and teaches in the afternoons, which many may think to be a more hazardous occupation than riding racehorses!
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There was a first double also for schoolgirl Anna Dawson, 17, at Witton Castle on Monday. Anna, whose brothers Chris and John are also enjoying a very successful season, won the Hunt race on Ajay, beating John into third place, and the Ladies' Open on Lutin du Moulin. Anna, who also rides eventing, is in her first year of sixth form and is studying for ‘A' levels in Geography, PE and Business Studies. The previous day at Heslaker Anna knocked out one of her teeth in a fall so was not looking her best at Witton. "I needed Clare Balding there to comment on it," she laughed.
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Another double scorer was the more experienced Michael Byrne, 22, who took over the reins from the recently-retired Rhys Hughes at Pentreclwydau on Monday and won the Men's Open on Overlut and the Restricted on Princesse de Rome. Michael, who rode more than a dozen winners in his homeland, has been based with Peter Bowen for about seven months. "Seamus Durack worked for my father [trainer Michael snr] in Ireland, and he suggested I contact Peter," Michael explained. The rider's biggest success came on April 9 when he won the Mares' Bumper at Aintree on the Bowen-trained Big Time Billy. "Peter's been very generous to me," said Michael. "Not many trainers would let a 7lb claimer ride in a race like that, let alone one with "Mr" in front of his name."
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Robert Scrine, trainer of the Byrne-ridden duo, himself enjoyed a good weekend, saddling four winners from six runners. One of the quartet was Pelennor, a first ride for the yard for Paul Tolman, who must have been slightly concerned by the advice he was given by an acquaintance of the handler. "Don't fluff it up," he was told, "because these boys [Scrine and his assistant John Moore] make Sir Alex Ferguson look like a pussy cat!"
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Alastair Ralph, who missed the majority of the 2008/9 season due to a back injury incurred in a schooling fall, recorded his first double at Maisemore Park on Monday. 23-year-old Alastair, whose initial winner was Un Jour A Vassy in 2006, triumphed on a pair trained by Andy Hobbs, Jaunty Times in the Men's Open and Niver Bai, owned by his mother Diana, in the Members' Conditions. Alastair, who spent some time with Paul Nicholls, is now assistant trainer to Henry Daly.
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Otto Hopkins-Fagan, 17, whose mother is a former Master of the Cambridgeshire with Enfield Chace, opened his account in the Hunt's Members' race at Northaw on Stroom Bank, a recent purchase from a website advertisement. Otto, who is about to sit his ‘A' level exams in English, French and Psychology, started riding out for John Jenkins when he was 13, and for the past few years he has spent some of his school holidays with Henrietta Knight, for whom he has nothing but praise for the help and encouragement she has given him. He is going to work for Guillaume Macaire during the summer, and next season is due to be based with Tom George.
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18-year-old Danny Hiskett had already ridden a winner over hurdles and on Monday he scored a first between the flags when partnering Mnason to victory in the Confined at Ashorne. Danny, who only learned to ride at the age of 14, and his father both work for Martin Keighley at Condicote, where Danny looks after Wolf Moon, Benbane Head and the mare who gave him his hurdle success, Love Of Tara. It was on Mnason at Hackwood Park that Danny threw away a winning chance when mistaking the finishing line. "I thought they [the connections] would want me kicked out of sight," he admitted, "so I'm very grateful that they gave me the chance to put things right."