The PPA are delighted to announce the addition to the team of Jake Exelby as Marketing & Sponsorship Manager, working three days a week with the primary responsibilities of encouraging more horses, owners and jockeys into the sport and generating national sponsorship. Jake has been involved in marketing throughout his professional career, working for multi-national organisations such as Coca-Cola, Masterfoods and Procter & Gamble and most recently running “Yeokens” for Yeo Valley.
Many of you will already be familiar with Jake in his role as Public Relations Officer for the South Midlands Area, as part of which he has been writing for Go Pointing and the national website for several years, including regular features like “Trainer Talk” and “Pointing People”. He has been an owner – most notably of Broken Eagle – with Alan Hill since 2012, volunteers at the majority of Kingston Blount fixtures and sits on the national Race Programming Committee.
To welcome him on board, we decided to turn the tables on Jake and ask him to be the latest subject of his “Pointing People” series.
Where are you from and where do you live now?
I’ve lived in West London for nearly all my life – it’s actually very convenient for pointing as you can get to courses in all the areas except Devon & Cornwall, Yorkshire and the North in under two hours!
How did you get into point-to-pointing in the first place?
I’ve been into racing since the late 1970s and first went pointing at Siddington in 1981 – one winner that day was the season’s leading horse Nostradamus, who I believe was led-up by a young Lawney Hill! From there, I started going to other courses local to my grandparents like Andoversford, Didmarton and Maisemore Park. When I was old enough to drive, I would go further afield and nearly every weekend then – after getting together with my wife Caroline, who’s also passionate about the sport – we’d start going all over the country and make weekends of it. I’ve now been to 105 courses and only have nine current tracks to tick-off.
When we got married, we decided to buy a pointer as a wedding present to ourselves and asked Alan Hill, who is probably the trainer closest to us, to find one. Our first horse suffered a fatal injury in his first race, but the second was Broken Eagle, who won 19 races – mostly by dominating from the front in a fast time – and took us to Cheltenham and Aintree. Through Alan, we got involved in helping at the meetings at Kingston Blount, then I became South Midlands PRO when the position became vacant – I’ve always loved writing and used to work as a sub-editor on The Times.
Broken Eagle: won 19
Who's inspired you most in the world of pointing?
Alan Hill, who does so much for the sport. From the PRO point of view, stalwarts such as Granville Taylor, Brian Lee and Pete Mansell, who we sadly lost last month.
Alan Hill: inspiration
Who's your favourite horse? Why?
Broken Eagle, obviously. I’ve always admired horses who go on for ever and win loads of races, especially front-runners. My current favourite is Southfield Theatre, aka “Kevin” and, prior to that Start Royal, known as “Ferdy”. At our wedding, we named all the tables after our favourite pointers – one was Chesnut Annie, another Lady Myfanwy. But it’s not all about top-class horses – we named one for the mare Late Reg, who was so unruly that even Dave Mansell couldn’t control her!
Chesnut Annie in full flow
Which jockey have you most admired? Why?
We’re lucky at the moment to be able to watch two of the greatest practitioners in the history of the sport – Gina Andrews and Will Biddick. Further back, Julian Pritchard, who seemed to be able to win on horses that didn’t have an obvious chance and Polly Curling, who was so strong, yet tender on young horses.
Polly Curling: top jockey
What's your favourite course? Why?
Siddington, my first and the one I still regard as my local track, as well as Didmarton, which is a similar old-fashioned long galloping track with splendid viewing. Bredwardine is about as rural as you get nowadays pointing, a quirky track in a beautiful location and I regret the demise of any course, in particular the lovely Lower Machen and the switchback Ystradowen in recent years.
Action from Siddington
What do you love most about pointing?
When I first started going, it was the differences from rules racing – the picnics at the car and the fact you could watch the races from right by the fences – and the yellow Pointerform sheets, which you had to buy separately in those days, and which I felt gave me an edge in the betting ring. David Coulton, who still produces Pointerform, is one of the unsung heroes of the sport. More recently, it has been the access to the box park to get close to the horses and watch them being saddled.
What's been your personal funniest moment in the sport?
Sometimes, when a race is divided, the confusion can be hilarious. I remember two examples in recent years at Cocklebarrow and Kimble where the horses read out by the announcer bore only a vague relation to those actually running!
What's been the highlight of your time in the sport?
Broken Eagle winning a 17-runner Conditions race at Higham in January 2016 by 40 lengths in clearly the fastest time of the day. We knew then that he was going to be special.
What are your ambitions in pointing?
To have another horse half as good as “Eagle”! One good enough to win Opens and take us to the big meetings at Cheltenham and Stratford.
What changes have you seen during your time? For better, for worse?
As so many other people have said, the increase in professionalism along with improved health and safety has transformed the sport. However, sometimes this comes at the expense of the true amateur and it’s important not to lose the grass roots nature of pointing.
With horse numbers at their lowest ever level, what are your concerns about the future and what reasons do we have to be optimistic?
One of the key aspects of my job is to encourage more horses. Of course I have some concerns – the number of pointers has been in decline since foot and mouth back in 2001 and has fallen again since Covid.
On the positive side, a number of trainers to whom I’ve spoken to this summer have greater numbers than last year and I have the impression that, once we finally come out of Covid and the current financial climate settles down, new owners will enter the sport and others will return. Personally, I won’t have a horse this season, but plan to buy another for 2023/2024.
The fixture list is also changing to accommodate the horse population and the PPSA is doing a great job of achieving a balanced programme.
What are your plans for next season?
As well as working three days a week for the PPA, I will be continuing as South Midlands PRO – sharing the reporting duties with Russell Smith – and will be writing for Go Pointing a lot with several yard visits planned for “Trainer Talk” features. I’ve also offered to help the West Mercian Area in the early season until they find a replacement for Pete Mansell, who will be much missed.
Pete Mansell: much missed
What are your non-horsey hobbies?
I’m a massive fan of Brentford FC – I’ve been going regularly since I was five and have a season ticket, so have to balance attendance at games with going pointing. It’s great to be in the Premier League after years of struggle in the lower divisions.
I also love my food and, when pointing further afield requires an overnight stay, we like to target gastropubs and quality restaurants with rooms.
Who are your favourite authors/singers/bands?
I grew up listening to John Peel in the 1980s, so my tastes are mostly indie – The Fall and Nick Cave in particular – but I’m also partial to a bit of Abba! My favourite author still writing is James Lee Burke, who mostly writes detective fiction set in Louisiana, and I think the book I’ve read more than any other over the years is The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole – it still makes me laugh.
Where is your dream holiday destination?
Either a safari, an American road trip, or exploring Southeast Asia.
Tonle Sap lake in Cambodia
What superpower would you choose and why?
The ability to predict the future so that I’d approach the likes of Neil Astor and Mark Hill, fiver in hand, secure in the knowledge that I’m on a winner.
Who else should we do one of these features on?
Polly Curling. I’ve never met or spoken to her, and I’d love to find out about her career.