Report from the Mid Devon Hunt Point to Point meeting
held at Black Forest Lodge on Sunday 3rd February 2008
Whew! Why
choose a sport that is carried out in the winter months in
Not many budding jockeys were visible and I began to
think the Pony Racing was off but at 9.15 they appeared like a flock of starlings
and off they went to walk the course. I
went to join them but I could not catch them up as their amount of adrenalin
was far greater than mine and walk completed they returned to prepare their
ponies. Too much wind for gas stove
today as it has taken a trip down the hill already, so a revert to the flask
had to suffice and it was not long before a well attired lady sold us two race
cards and we were at it again! Which
one? why not?, better this time, ran poorly last time
etc etc. All the normal chat as one picks the winners
only to find out at the first announcement the one you had picked is not
running today. Back to the drawing
board, as they say!
The Pony Racing Results and Report are in their own
pages so I go straight onto the first race which was the Confined and with some
excitement I searched for my pencil but after checking the opposition I didn't
think the pencil would be broken today as the Nute
and Tompkins's WINTER SCENE with Lucy up would have no trouble seeing off this
field. Although favourite the price was
a sensible one and taking some supplies from the tin I invested at the generous
odds of five to two for WINTER SCENE to romp home ahead of her six
challengers. Neil Harris would be riding
Mrs Baker's DARE TOO DREAM with some suspect form and then there is the Brown's
MAXOU DES BROSSES (Ryan Bliss) who has past form but not much of late. George Edwards's KNIGHTSBRIDGE HILL has been
consistent but is up a class today.
Maybe Mrs Roberts's THE QUARRY MAN
can return to some of his past form and with Richard Woollacott up he will
certainly be trying. As the rain pours
down and the bag handler dashes to the comfort of the car - off they go to
conquer the three miles and 19 fences.
WINTER SCENE leading the field as they pass us followed by the
syndicated PETERS TWO FUN (J Barnes) and then comes the gamble of the race,
DARE TOO DREAM. A lot of money invested
on this one! Off out into the country
they go; all safely over the first of three ditches led by WINTER SCENE. Through the start area and over the cross
fence it is still my money carrier leading with the followers chopping and
changing until heading for the bend in front of the crowd and up past the judge,
when THE QUARRY MAN led the field followed by WINTER SCENE and these two were a
couple of lengths clear of the improving DARE TOO DREAM. The final open ditch and THE QUARRY MAN was
set to go and win this one but others were after him. Across the top and it was obvious that Neil
thought he had this one and crept into the lead but by the start area again
there was a group of runners with chances for them all if good enough. The pencil lay quite still in my pocket as I
watched Lucy gradually get the best of these challengers and it was a while
before she completely mastered DARE TOO DREAM, but when she did she went away
like a star; home to win by ten lengths from DARE TOO DREAM with MAXOU DES
BROSSES a very close third in what turned out to be the equal fastest time of
the day. The tin will be very happy and
as I opened the lid a voice from the front of the vehicle stated "I got three
to one!" Well done to the bag handler as
well!
Straight into the Men's Open Race with seven runners;
at least four of these have come over from Wales, and a clear odds on favourite
in owner/trained/ridden MINSGILL MANS is soon established with another raider,
owner/ridden KOUMBA going off second favourite.
Both the bag handler and I chose Countess Goess
Saurau and A West's THE KINGS FLING (R Woollacott) to
provide us with some more good stuff but unfortunately this did not come off
for us. James Tudor had no trouble at
all on MINSGILL MANS and raced at a good pace which again provided the best
time of the day and came home to win by eight lengths with KOUMBA in second
place and a long way back was our choice, the best turned out THE KINGS FLING.
Ah well you can't win them all!
The Ladies Open Race had ten runners and it saw the
start of something really good. Polly
Gundry, who is liked and loved by us all as a very keen and competent lady rider
and is proving to be very much the same in her
training roll, achieved something which is really rare in the annals of P to P
racing. Bringing home The Otters Club's
DR CERULLO (12 to 1 available, or even
more!) to win by a neck from Rachel Green on R and L Newton's BALLY BLUE and twenty lengths clear of J Llewellyn on
Isabel Thompsett's SWIFTS HILL was the start of her
winning four races. Luck played a big
part in this win as a loose horse came across the path of sure winner, the
Polly made short work of bringing in her second winner
as Mrs Booker's LORD ATTICA (six to one) defied his recent form of a 'p' and a
'f' and came home with no problems to win by twenty
lengths from Rachel on second favourite J Russell's CASTLE CAZZA with Sam
Allwood on DJ and R Branton's LITTLE WORD a further
fifteen lengths back in third. Nick Williams on the favourite T Faulkner's
DANCEWSITHTHEDEVIL looked to have every chance but was pulled up before
finishing the contest.
In the Restricted race Polly will ride R Pike's
ROCKWITHACAVEMAN who won his maiden here by twenty lengths but this time she
will have to beat another recent maiden winner in Dai Brace's MARGAM ABBEY and
Miss Rowsell will be all out to conquer this
one. My investment will be on MARGAM
ABBEY as I was impressed by his last run but once again I come second
best. These two horses made a good race
between themselves and I thought on more than one occasion that I would pick up
again but ROCKWITHACAVEMAN proved too good for my runner and came home to win
by five lengths. The third horse Lucy
Gardner's MASSINI MAN was a distance away and then came L Foster's
TROEDRHIWDALAR (R Flint) who will do better I think on real good ground. Number three for Polly and nowt for tin or bag!
Three divisions of maiden races followed and the
favourite at the off was Neil Harris on The Cash For Honours Partners' LORD
SHARK but only just from R Francome and P Sealy's
FRANCLY FLORA who would be ridden by none other than Polly Gundry. Off they went and chopped and changed a
little but going to the final one at the top of the hill it was A Ford's
HEATHFIELD FLYER (R Woollacott) who was taking them along followed by The
Castle Farm Racing Partners' SAXON LEADER (J Stephens) and just in behind these
two was best turned out LORD SHARK
and then FRANCLY FLORA. Across the top
and downhill towards home they came. J Parfitt's GATELAND (J Llewellyn) who looked promising at
one stage fell four out and was out of it.
Two out it was Jo Buck on Mrs Shrubb's ARCTIC
SHOT that was setting the pace and jumped well followed now by non other than
FRANCLY FLORA and a few lengths back was LORD SHARK. Once again another duel to the line and Polly
at her best drew out enough to get home by a neck from a very good ride by Jo
Buck on ARCTIC SHOT and a distance back in third was LORD SHARK. I pick up a little again and I think the bag
holder was also on that one but the weather is such that speaking through
layers of clothing and a window of the car which is not readily opened and
being as I cannot lip read through steamed up windows, I will no doubt hear
later if the bag has profited.
Two more divisions of maidens with no more winners for
Polly but she was in third place in both of them. How's about that for a days work in atrocious
conditions? Four winners and two thirds.
Richard Woollacott was successful in division two on Ruth's choice, Mr C
Pyne and M Deren's BILL
JONES, beating the even money favourite R Nichols's AMBER DAWN (T Barnes) by
ten lengths with Polly a distance back on R Jones's FLEETING MAGIC. Sam Alwood was rewarded in division three by
bringing home the Hobbs's NOEUD VERT by a distance, which put a figure back
into the form of this one but I feel sorry for Kath as she was down to ride and
gave it up no doubt due to her nasty collision earlier. Second was Dai Brace's IMPERIAL SAM (L Rowsell) and Polly back in third.
Considering the conditions under which racing took
place today I think the Mid Devon Hunt deserve masses of praise. They coped extremely well and believe it or
not I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting and have now learned to write with a biro
that has water instead of ink but you must choose black paper to write on!!
Even the new pencil gave up but with WINTER SCENE winning I can afford a new -
and longer - one!
REMEMBER THIS - Life isn't about how to survive the
storm, but how to dance in the rain! As
I said to Wendy Ruth - The happiest people don't
necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything
they have!
A pleasing statistic for us is that over the past
forty eight hours, 1667 people have read our pages. Good isn't it? Next week it is the turn of the South Devon
Hunt at Ideford Arch for their second meeting of this season so on Saturday 9th
February 2008 - BE THERE!
Ruth and Fred
Apologies for the lateness of this report as I have had to do it all twice so
bear with us and we will do better in future.