Weekend Round-up
7th & 8th June2008
by Peter Mansell

“A legend in his own lifetime” is an overworked cliché in racing circles, but that accurately describes the career of Dick Baimbridge.

The Berkeley trainer has graced the Point-to-Point field for 47 years and had he chosen to pursue a career under Rules he would almost certainly have finished in its upper echelons.

His decision to remain in the amateur ranks has been their loss and Point-to-Pointing gain and he is still training and riding horses at an age when other people would be prepared to rest on their laurels.

You can count on the fingers of one hand the people who have passed the 500 winner mark in Point-to-Points. Bainbridge started 2008 with high expectations of reaching this milestone but a redeployment of horses by some owners meant that his stable stock was depleted at the start of the current campaign.

Despite these setbacks and several false dawns as Slavedriver lost winning chances in two races the Berkeley trainer has continued to chase this major landmark.

Graham Fisher has been a long-standing supporter of the Baimbridge stable but early season performances by Parsifal indicated the trainer would need all his experience to guide him into the winners enclosure.

Fisher and his fellow members of the Parsifalian Syndicate finally gained their reward when Claire Allen guided Parsifal to victory in a Chaddelsey Restricted, and connections then decided to make the long journey down to Bratton Down.

With conditions underfoot firmer than he had faced all season, Parsifal provided Baimbridge with the 500 th winner of his career (486 in Point-to-Points and another 14 in Hunter Chases), with Claire Allen earning the ride of the day for her performance in this contest.

The start of the Intermediate was delayed for about 20 minutes after riders in the opening Members Race had expressed concerns about the positioning of the wings, and when the race did get underway Parsifal decided to give his rivals 15-lengths start.

Despite this handicap Parsifal soon fought his way to the front and led for the remainder of the journey and was not handicapped when Miss Allen lost her whip at halfway.

The winner finished three lengths in front of the favourite Pristine Condition who had made the long journey down from Yorkshire and so the season ended on a high note for local stables.

Parsifal has turned round the fortunes of Baimbridge’s stable in recent weeks although his early season form and recent bouts of lymphangitis and colic meant that connections had not gone into this race with much confidence.

Oliver Greenall rode two winners at the Pembrokeshire meeting on Saturday and this coupled with another double at Bratton Down on Sunday means that the Yorkshire based rider equalled Ashley Farrants record of 54 winners, a total that could be surpassed at the final meeting of the season at Umberleigh next weekend.

Polly Gundry is already assured of the Ladies Championship and she needs just one more winner to equal Polly Curlings 1995 record of 40 wins in a season.