The Ed and Tim Vaughan juggernaut continued to roll on Saturday’s meeting at Ystradowen. Hot on the heels of his first win on a course proper the sixteen-year-old wonder boy proceeded to claim five of the seven available races. It was an impressive twenty-four hours, and you definitely get the feeling that it’s not over yet.
Victory was denied of Ed in the opener however, the Llangeinor Pentyrch Hunt Members race. The laurels went to David Brace’s grand old campaigner Pink Eyed Pedro. The home bred thirteen-year-old by Dr Massini stood for a number of years at the Brace’s Dunraven Stud, and has carried his owner’s Black and Red colours to victory on eleven occasions between the flags and on another five under rules. The gelding, whilst talented, is also temperamental and proved a challenge to saddle in the horsebox. Under rules he will only tolerate one person in the saddling box with him and the art of saddling him over the door has been perfected. They say that the best horses have idiosyncrasies, and this one certainly does. Ed Vaughan followed them on home on Siberian Star.
The next race, the PPORA Club Members race, saw the start of the Ed Vaughan domination as he steered his father’s State of Fame to victory. The eight-year-old, who started as odds on favourite, has been waiting for better ground throughout the wet winter having scored at Great Trethew back in November. Joanne Priest’s Western Cowboy took second spot.
It was disappointing to see a walkover for the Mixed Open contest and the organisers of the meeting had definitely fallen foul of the rescheduling of their postponed meeting. On their original date they would have been the only meeting in the planner, but with a full weekend of racing just gone and more meetings on the same weekend the runners had thinned out. The winner was not disappointed by this fact and Ed Vaughan took the spoils with Poli Roi who had been victorious at the Howick meeting the previous weekend. It also left the door open for the Poliglote gelding to line up in a race proper and he went to the start in the next race, the Jockey Club Retraining of Racehorses Veteran Horse Conditions. All seemed well until a blunder three out that allowed the Luke Price trained First Preference to throw down a challenge but despite staying on well in the run in, the ten-year-old, who finished second in last years renewal of the Dunraven Bowl was held by a length. Dandy Dan was five lengths back in third.
The Clive Thomas Restricted race saw five go to post and it was a facile victory for the diminutive and aptly named Mini Fortune who came home forty lengths clear of her nearest rival Debacle. The daughter of Soldier of Fortune has certainly found her way in the hands of Luke Price, and this is her third success of the season. The mare also seems able to perform on any ground having previously won in the mud of Lydstep, on the quicker surface of Saturday’s meeting James King went well past the finish line as he attempted to pull up.
Normal service for the day was resumed when Ed Vaughan steered Getaway Cory to victory. Currently running in the colours of his father Tim, moves are afoot for the gelding to move to the yard of John Mathias for a group of owners. James King settled for second on this occasion on Luke Price’s Canyouseme wearing the colours of Martyn Griffiths that were made famous by his father, and Nortons Coin. Hedgehopper, carrying another set of familiar colours those of Shan and Ross Farr came home in third.
The final race proper was the JRL Group Point to Point Flat Race and this went the way of the Vaughans once more with Bells of Ufford whose pedigree looks better suited to a flat meeting race card than that of a point to point. The chestnut Galileo gelding scored by three and a quarter lengths, to the delight of his young rider, from Is Our Otis and Tommie O’Brien. Pink Eyed Pancho carried the David Brace colours home in third.
The day concluded with two fast and competitive Pony races which gave the crowd exciting finishes to round off the day.