REVIEW
NORTH WEST AREA POINT-TO-POINT
CLUB
TABLEY
Sunday 14th May 2006
by Arthur Shone
photos by Graham Fisher
The final meeting of the season in the North
Western Area, the North West Club, took place at Tabley in glorious
sunshine. Clerk of the course Rob Hankey did a great job with
watering the course and this ensured plenty of runners at the
Cheshire track. There were plenty of close finishes at the course
and it was certainly one of the best days racing of the season.
The Ladies Open was one of the best races of
the season in terms of quality. Tessa Clark set out to make all on
the Heidi Brookshaw trained Home Made and very nearly succeeded,
but was caught on the run-in by Claire Allen on the Dick Bainbridge
trained Watchyourback, who was all out at the line to win by a
length with Tregastel a further length and a half back in third.
The time of this race was 6m 20s which was the fastest of the day.
Bainbridge who trains near to Berkeley Castle was sending out his
17 th winner of the season. Winning owner David Allen leased the
horse for the season from Mark Trott. The runner up, from the
Shrewsbury yard of Heidi Brookshaw, is a credit to her trainer and
her charge will be a major contender for the Bangor Final next
Saturday if he lines up.
Ladies Open winner Watchyourback and Claire Allen (right)
follow runner up Home Made at halfway
The first division of the Maiden cemented
Carly Goodall’s lead in the national novice riders
championship following her success on Blazing Saddles who pulled
clear on the run in to beat the favourite Land Lord by 12 lengths
with Ridware Boy a further 20 lengths back in third. Carly trains
the horse herself at Sutton on The Hill in Derbyshire. Her father
Brian explained afterwards that the winner was bought at the
Doncaster Sales by Carly 18 months ago and that he did not run last
season because he was too weak.
Blazing Saddles and Carly Goodall return after their
victory in the Open Maiden Div 1
Thirty five minutes later Goodall’s
boyfriend, Jonathan Jarrett, was in the winners enclosure after Big
Star won the second division of the Maiden by 15 lengths from Nick
Oliver on Deux Bons Amis. Lord Louis, who is owned by Bridget
Everall, the wife of our area chairman Roger Everall, ran on very
well in third, and will definitely be in my 10 to follow for next
season. The unluckiest horse in the race was the Kelda Wood trained
and ridden Astormydayiscoming, who was taken out at the last by two
loose horses. She was only half a length down at the last and if
she had jumped the last there remains little doubt in my mind that
she would have won. The winner is trained by Jane Froggatt at
Ridware in Staffordshire and Jane is the niece of the Sandon clerk
of the course, Richard Frogatt. The winning owner, Roy Prince from
Burton on Trent, used to own the decent pointer Itasfellow and he
has only had the winner a few months as he was bought privately in
Ireland by the trainer.
Big Star and Jonathan Jarrett go to post before landing the
Open Maiden Div 2
Clerk of the course Rob Hankey rarely goes a
season with having a winner at his local course and yesterday was
no exception flowing the very easy success of Noble Persian in the
Members. The Persian Bold gelding won easing down by 8 lengths from
Fresh Love with his trainer and rider Gary Hanmer in the plate and
Braeburn finished an eye catching third half a length away. This
was very much a local success as Hankey lives four miles from the
course at Alostock and Hanmer trains not far away at Nantwich.
A determined Gary Hanmer drives out Noble Persian to take
the Club Members Race
Gary Hanmer went on to complete a double
aboard Bythehokey in the two and a half mile Maiden with the
Barathea gelding proving too strong for Unforgettable Fire winning
by a length and a half with Kings Reason was a further half a
length back in third.
Gary Hanmer scores a double on Bythehokey in the Younger
Horses Maiden
The Mens’ Open was a thriller. The
finish concerned Themanfromcarlisle with Charlie Shirley-Beavan in
the plate and Richard Burton the national champion rider elect on
the Pam Sykes trained Pot Shot and in a desperate finish Burtie
just failed by a head to get up. The runner up was in front past
the post but they pay out at the jam stick. The winner is trained
by the riders mother Phillipa Shirley-Beavan in the Scottish
Borders at Hawick. They had planed to run the following day in the
Volkswagen Touraeg Hunter Chase Final at Towcester but came here
because of the good fast ground as the ground at Towcester was good
to soft.
The Restricted was another thrilling finish
with Denby under Steve Magee just holding the sustained challenge
of Sue Sharratt on the Steve Wynne trained On The Forty by half a
length with Boolabawn under Julian Pritchard a further neck back in
third. The winner is trained in Yorkshire by Stephen Wiles for
owner Peter Sadler.
Restricted winner Denby (Steve McGee - green/yellow)
disputes the lead with a circuit to go
Northampton trainer Caroline Bailey won the
Novice Riders race last year with Persian Hero and she repeated the
feat this year with Nokimover under Alex Vaughan-Jones. They needed
the post as Curly Spencer under Sally Ford finished like an express
train, going down by a fast diminishing half a length. The ultra
consistent The Eens was third. The winner was bought by Bailey as a
schoolmaster for the rider in his first season and he now won six
races on him.
Nokimover (Alex Vaughan-Jones) returns with trainer
Caroline Bailey following his win in the Novice Riders
race
|