08 April 2010 Report: South Pembrokeshire - Lydstep
by Amanda Sloyan
There is just no stopping South Pembrokeshire's John Mathias and with the large Bank holiday crowd supporting him at his local Lydstep meeting he went on to ride four winners for the fourth time this season, leaving many to trawl through the record books to see if this has ever been done before.
Pathian Prince started off the day for Mathias with a cosy win in the Hunt Members race, the winners trophy is no stranger to the Ludchurch sideboard of Owners Eric Clough and Dorothy Harris, having had previous race winners in 2000 and 2002.
Mathias' next in the Mens Open, was much harder work aboard Makena. A mistake at the last ditch looked to have sealed their fate as Rhys Hughes aboard Warsaw Pact and Paul Tolman on Balearic Star fought it out coming up the hill, but staying on under strong driving Makena joined Warsaw Pact at the last to win by half a length.
7-4 favourite Rosies Peacock "hated the ground but coped with it" according to Mathias in the Intermediate. The seven-year-old gelding was all out to beat Lucy Jones on Off The Shelf by five lengths. Owner/Trainer David Llewellyn is now looking to one more run in a Point-to-Point before running in the Connolly's Red Mills Intermediate Hunter Chase final at Cheltenham on May 5th.
Dai Rees' Rimini was odds-on favourite at 10/11 to land the Restricted and did so in a workmanlike display. John will be hoping for the yard's form to continue putting pressure on the fellow Riders competing at the top of the National championship.
Trainer Abbi Vaughan and Rider Rhys Hughes teamed up for the easiest win of the day with six-year-old Master Charm in the three mile Open Maiden; bought for £18,000, the gelding's Owners have always held a long term plan to run him in the Dunraven Novices Hunter chase at Chepstow on the 23rd of April, this emphatic win will only have helped his confidence and confirmed his well-being as he already boasts useful form under Rules.
In winning the Ladies Open race by 20 lengths under usual partner Isobel Thompsett, Chestnut Annie recorded her 20th Point-to-Point career win. Never really enjoying the ground described as "quite holding" by the jockeys, Annie was her usual front-running self, never seeing any of her seven rivals.
Jodie Hughes and Very Fancy put the judge under pressure when coming with a real rattle approaching the last fence to beat What An Occasion and John Mathias by the shortest of short heads in the 2m4f Maiden. Owner Dai Lloyd is no stranger to having a good horse and looks to have found another in this gelding who is only a five-year-old.
Work on the Lydstep track was underway straight after the meeting to get ready for the new Area Club meeting on Sunday 11th April. Pony racing starts off the meeting at 12noon, the first Point-to-Point race at 1.00pm, with the forecast set for a sunny day, it's a great way to end the Easter holiday.
