31 March 2011 Preview: Monmouthshire - Llanvapley
by Brian Lee
The Monmouthshire Hunt are holding their annual Point-to-Point steeplechases at Llanvapley, near Abergavenny, on Saturday and there is a £50 prize for the best dressed lady and gentleman racegoer.
There will also be a prize for the best riding performance of the day, judged by Olympic gold medallist Matt Ryan.
Racing gets under way with the Members' race at 2pm and honorary Secretary Liz Egerton will be hoping she can win it with her homebred Jamesdoubleyou which is named after her late father Wyndham James.
There are 23 down to run in the Mens Open and David Langton's Naunton Brook, who landed a four-timer at the Curre & Llangibby under sixteen-year-old Willie Twiston-Davies, will be most people's idea of the winner. Dai Rees's Attorney General, a winner at the Glamorgan last weekend, Up There and Rosie's Peacock are others that should be considered.
Beth Roberts's Chesnut Annie and Keith Pritchard's Cannon Bridge are two prolific winners that are entered for the Ladies Open (17 entries). Gwynne Phillips' Books Review, who got up on the line to beat Wilkinson at Howick when losing his maiden tag, has Tachbury and Ship To Shore to beat in the 26 strong Restricted.
There are 29 entries in each of the two divisions of the Maiden races and in the the first of them Mini Palm and Lady Trig are two that have shown promise. In the second division, Wilkinson and Spring Haze could give backers a run for their money.
