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VON ORIGNY: the reformed character landed the Mens Open
photo: Jackie Oliver

Claire Hart's long-held dream came one step closer to reality at Whitfield, where Palypso de Creek annihilated his rivals in the AGA Ladies' Open.

After the now eight-year-old lost his confidence following a heavy fall at Haydock a year ago, his trainer Charlie Longsdon suggested to owner Alan Halsall that he should go to Claire for a year to try Pointing.

"I knew if I could get him back it would be my chance to have a ride round Cheltenham, which I've always wanted to do," explained Claire, who works in the Longsdon yard. "He has been a challenge, as he wouldn't even go over a pole when he first came to me. We didn't know what to expect when he ran at Barbury [his initial outing a fortnight earlier], and Simon [her uncle, the secretary of the SMAC meeting] had tears in his eyes when he got over the first fence safely!"

His Yorkshire-based owner had not travelled south but the news was relayed to him by Charlie, who was present to cheer the partnership home. "Claire deserves this," he said. "She works really hard."

Claire is training six Pointers, most of which have had problems and are "glued together," she admitted, from a yard at Chipping Camden. She has a dirt gallop but had taken ‘P', as Palypso de Creek is known at home, to work at Fred Hutsby's on the Wednesday before Whitfield. He was reported to be in fine fettle the next day, and was turned out in the field at 7am before Claire went to work.

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"By rights he should be a dead horse." Charlie Longsdon recalled Palypso de Creek's horror fall at Haydock.

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‘Irresolute' is a word which has often been applied to Von Origny, but there was no doubting his determination on this occasion as he battled up the run-in to land the Men's Open under a good ride from Derek Smith.

The grey has changed hands since last season and is now owned by a syndicate headed by Hayley Brobyn. He is trained by Richard Edwards, for whom he was a first runner at the track. "I brought a horse here once but he didn't run," said Richard, explaining that to keep Von Origny happy he had been doing plenty of hunting, which he loves, plus lots of hill work.

20-year-old Derek, who rode as a Conditional when he worked for Bill Moore, is now based with Will Kinsey, who himself has recently taken out a training licence.

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If there had been an award for ride of the day it would surely have gone to Will Telfer for his performance on the quirky Doctor Kingsley. Doug and Pauline Harkin's chestnut continued his love affair with Whitfield by taking the Intermediate, his third success at the track, but it needed all Will's skill to get him home.

On and off the bridle throughout the race, Doctor Kingsley, minus the earplugs with which he was equipped last season, evidently enjoyed the regular pats down the neck and ear-pulling which Will gave him. "He's a monkey," laughed Pauline, "but he does respond to kindness."

Doctor Kingsley had been hunted hard by Doug in the three weeks leading up to the meeting, and as he was full of himself the following day was due to follow hounds again 24 hours later.

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Another rider to impress was Sam Davies-Thomas, who made a triumphant seasonal debut in the Conditions race on Sylvia Edmunds and John Busby's Briery Star, winner of the 2010/11 Mares' Maiden championship.

"She came in fit and well this time, and a little bit leaner," said Sylvia, who was very nervous leading up to the race. "Last year you couldn't get the weight off her." Sylvia was quick to credit Katie Kirkpatrick for the work she has done with the mare, who is "too b...... sharp for me!" she admitted, adding "You could run her every week - she loves it."

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The two riders who followed Sam home, Sam Painting and Tom Ellis, unfortunately became the first in the sport to fall foul of the new whip regulations, and were fined £100 apiece for going one over the limit.

The stewards have no option but to follow the rules set by the BHA, but it is to be hoped that the compulsion with counting does not cause other in-running offences to be overlooked.

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Although the Conditions race was the tenth and last, meaning only the hardy remained, there were still plenty of members of the Davies-Thomas fan club waiting to cheer Sam into the unsaddling enclosure, and there had earlier been another raucous welcome for Jack Savage, 17, who opened his account, on only his second ride, in the Maiden Division Three on Bright Decision, bred, owned and trained by licensed handler Jo Davis.

Bright Decision, a half-brother to Festival Dreams and the recent Newbury Bumper scorer, Go Annie, is on the market, said Jo, whose training feat encompassed the jockey as well as the horse.

After gaining 12 GCSEs, including four A*, Jack started work for Jo full-time, having originally knocked on her door to ask for a job when he was 14, and he hopes to eventually turn Conditional. Last year he broke his pelvis and femur, not through direct contact with a horse but after coming off his motorbike on the way to work.

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Four horses were balloted out of this race after declarations exceeded the safety factor and it was deemed that there would not be enough daylight to allow the running of another race, the first division, after a certain amount of confusion, having already been split.

The announcement of this division was made when 18 horses were declared, to be shortly followed by a second statement saying that as two of those had been withdrawn, the race could revert to a single contest. Whether there was a miscalculation or one of the withdrawals was retracted was not made clear, but a third broadcast saw the two divisions being reinstated.

Unfortunately the runners for both races were by that time parading, which meant that half of them had to return temporarily to their lorries.

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When the meeting got under way, Part One went to Mark Wall on Nobby Kivambo, a $75,000 yearling who was given to Jason Warner after cracking a bone in his foot as a two-year-old, and who had since crammed in 23 outings under Rules, the first of which was a Fontwell Bumper won by Cue Card, within the space of 15 months.

"I've made a mistake by not entering him for the Restricted at Chaddesley," smiled a rueful Jason, who is a joint-Master of the Cotswold Vale Farmers and has been that hunt's Point-to-Point secretary for about 25 years.

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Rich Live, winner of Part Two, was given a supremely confident ride by Richard Spencer, who held up his mount well off the pace until making a move well into the final circuit. "I started jumping up and down slightly, and thinking ‘could you get a bit closer?'" confessed Annie Connell, who trains him for her husband Mike, a steward at the meeting.

Annie credited head lad Chris Henn with doing "all the hard work" with Rich Live, who she described as "A bit hairy at home and will boot you one if you're not careful!"

Rich Live had shown no form over hurdles but, said Richard, a pupil assistant with Charlie Hills and previously with his father Barry, he was completely different when he had a fence in front of him.

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Mark Wall completed a double by taking the second division of the Maiden on Michael Hawker's Where's My Slave. "She ran in a Claimer for Rachel Hobbs and I didn't get her then," said Michael, "but we did a deal later."

She was bought as a replacement for Sheknowsyouknow, who is due to be put in foal, although Michael has not abandoned the possibility of running the latter again before she retires.

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Trickytosay was withdrawn from this race after kicking Shane O'Keeffe in the stomach as he prepared to get the leg-up. Shane, who works for Alex Hales, was admitted to Banbury Hospital with a tear in his liver, but pronounced himself "a bit sore, but feeling okay."

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The race was also notable for Big Georgie's attempted demolition of the open ditch, which was left with a gaping hole and had to be omitted from all further races.

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It was perhaps surprising that connections chose to run Jack's The Lad, who had struggled behind Toby Lerone in a Barbury Maiden, in a Restricted, and his victory in the first of the two divisions means that he has missed out on the chance of success in the lower grade.

The ex-Irish gelding was a gift horse from his previous owner-trainer Denis Hayes to Alice Reader, head girl to trainer Martin Keighley.

It was an initial triumph between the flags for Ryan Hatch, 18, who works for Nigel Twiston-Davies and who had two recent victories under Rules to his name. Ryan's father John was a professional jockey - "many years ago" grinned his son - who rode for, among others, Johnny Haine and David Wintle, and also plied his trade in Scandinavia.

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Division Two of the Restricted, run in a considerably faster time, saw David Brace's well-known colours carried to success by Direct Line, who had scored at Black Forest Lodge in November and thus became the first dual winner of the season. He was partnered by Evan David, who works in the Brace yard and has plenty to look forward to, with around 18 Pointers in training, including some home-bred youngsters.

2012 sees the 16th running of the Dunraven Bowl, the Chepstow Hunter Chase coveted by the Welsh Pointing fraternity. David, its sponsor, has never yet managed to win it, but is hoping that this season he will have some horses, of which Direct Line is just one, who might be capable of winning him back his prize money!

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Household hint. Butter is not used just for eating or cooking, as one rider can testify. He was spotted rubbing the said foodstuff on the zip of his body protector, which had been mothballed for some months, in order to attempt to eliminate the rust.......

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