February 08th, 20242/8/2024 Eagle-eyed followers of Point-to-Point racing may have identified a key clue in pursuit of the winner of the St James's Place Foxhunter at the Cheltenham Festival in the gloaming of an otherwise unremarkable day at Wetherby last week.
Hunter chases no longer fill the way they used to and often produce small fields where the more companionable atmosphere of the Point-to-Point scene draws more. They used to call it "pot-hunting", with the Foxhunter trophy the largest pot there is, both in race value and the sheer size of the trophy. Wetherby's Join the Vickers Racing Club Open Hunters Chase included Sine Nomine in its 5 runner field, last seen winning the John Corbett Cup, aka the novice championship, at Stratford in late May where she impressed. Trained by Catterick Clerk of Course, Fiona Needham, herself no stranger to success in the Foxhunter, the grey mare Sine Nomine made full use of her mares' allowance to score here authoritatively with Benny's King and Windsor Avenue far in arrears. After the race, rider Jack Dawson told the Racing Post that the plan would be to head straight for Cheltenham. The highs and lows of racing were never more starkly shown than this past weekend when racing fans were reminded that Triumph and Disaster are two sides of the same coin.
On Saturday, East Anglian trainer Sarah Humphrey enjoyed the biggest win of her career to date when Nickle Back, her exciting 8 year old novice brought hearts to mouths on TV and around Sandown Park when jumping with breath-taking accuracy and joie de vivre in a pillar-to-post 7l victory over 5 rivals in the Grade I Scilly Isles Chase. Leading from the off, the gelding put in some astonishing leaps that left the crowd, as well, I suspect, as his rider James Best, gasping. Best was effusive in his praise afterwards, and unashamedly delighted at securing a first Grade I success of his own - an attitude that brought fellow riders out on to the Weighing Room steps to cheer him in. Humphrey is likely to swerve Cheltenham with Nickle Back, although he has an entry in the Turners over 2m4f, and head for Aintree - yet another sign that the British fulcrum of influence is heading north to Liverpool when faced with the dominance of Ireland at Cheltenham. But wherever there is racing, disappointment and tragedy are never far away. Hermes Allen, a well-fancied runner for champion trainer Paul Nicholls, fell badly and fatally at the last. To compound the Nicholls misery, tragedy stalked the amateur division of the sport on Sunday when Keagan Kirkby, a work rider for Nicholls, was fatally injured at Charing in Kent during the South East Hunts Club fixture, having been carried out through a wing in the concluding Restricted race. It's been nearly 7 years since the last fatality in the sport when James McNeile was fatally injured at Larkhill. One of the greats of the US steeplechasing scene, Jonathan Sheppard, has died, aged 82 at his home in Pennsylvania.
For racing fans of a certain generation, Sheppard was a pioneer of international travel when bringing Flatterer over to run in the 1986 French Champion Hurdle, a precursor to a valiant second to See You Then in the third of that horse's Champion hat-tricks in 1987. At that juncture, the Breeders Cup didn't even exist, and international travel, excepting between Britain and Ireland, and the continent, was largely non-existent. Flatterer's placed effort was the trigger to an effort to bring the US and UK markets closer together, brought about by the creation of the Sport of Kings Challenge, a set of six races - three on each side of the Pond - with handsome bonuses of up to $1m for winning a full set. Predictably, Sheppard was in the vanguard of the first US entries in the series, at Cheltenham, and Leopardstown. Commonly known just as "Jonathan", the elder statesman of US racing, was born in Ashwell, Hertfordshire, between Letchworth and Royston, in 1940 to a horsey family which encouraged his participation in local Point-to-Points. His father Daniel was an official with the Jockey Club, then the power in the sport covering regulation, finance, fixtures, the lot. Rides under Rules were scarce and limited. There was no inevitability about a son following his father into the sport. Three other siblings avoided the racing bug, but Jonathan opted to try his hand in the land of opportunity, not having the finance to bankroll a start up training operation in the UK. In the early sixties, he worked with other legend Burly Cocks for two seasons before returning briefly to the UK. A lucky break was the making of his career with steeplechasers. In 1965, he met George Strawbridge Jnr, an accomplished and wealthy amateur rider, and heir to the Campbell Soup fortune. The two set about growing a stable not just of National Hunt horses, but Flat too. Strawbridge was leading owner some 23 times from 1974 onward, a domination only really matched by one J P McManus over here. The Sheppard stable became both the go-to and the dominant force in the sport stateside. His 1,242 career wins over obstacles, winning over $25m, set records unlikely to be overtaken in our lifetimes, and he was Champion Trainer 26 times, the last just three years ago. But whilst to most, Sheppard was considered an icon of the National Hunt world, his 2,184 victories on the Flat dwarfed his Jumping achievements, his horses winning some $60m+. Like many good trainers of horses, Sheppard attracted the best human talent too. Those that worked with him have gone on to great success; just like the Duke and Reg Hollinshead, he was a nurturer of talent both equine and human. Graham Motion, who led up Flatterer in that epic Champion Hurdle adventure in '87, is now a highly successful Flat trainer in the States winning the Kentucky Derby in 2011 and Dubai World Cup 2 years later, whilst Janet Elliott became champion Jumps trainer in '91. More recently, Leslie Young and Keri Brion, who brought horses across to Ireland with a view to the Festival, have shown Sheppard's knowledge continued to flow even after his retirement. The Jumps world is a sadder place without his diplomatic approach, hard work and understated expertise, and the Point-to-Point world can take pride that he launched from our fold. Three of the world's quirkiest races8/15/2023 Steeplechasing runs a tightrope between managing safety and a daredevil adrenalin rush of jumping big fences at speed; two opposite ends of a spectrum forever in conflict one with another.
In the UK, standardisation of fences, with the almost wholesale adoption of uniform fences, seems to be the norm. Other racing jurisdictions, perhaps under less threat from the likes of Animal Rising, still illustrate considerable variation in the composition and scale of the obstacles. In France for example, the variety of obstacles in a cross country chase cover orthodox steeplechase fences, bullfinches, railed ditches, rails, and banks. Some even have water obstacles. For the best example of this, visit Craon in the Mayenne region of Western France. Craon's Grand Cross in early September is the highlight of a three day festival of flat, trotting and Jump racing that attracts around 15,000 spectators. France is of course a country where jump racing is thriving, underwritten by a breeder class seeking to grow a market for top class chasers. And as we know very well, exporting them to compete under British ownership has been a trait of the past 20 years here in the British market. Reverting to the style of obstacle, the town of Bad Harzburg in Germany enjoys a reputation for the deepest water crossing in international racing. the 20m wide river laps the riders' calves as the horses slow to a trot and wade across. yet in contrast to France, Bad Harzburg relies on a domestic population of just 15 chasers to populate its races. Without competitors from abroad, the race has a limited shelf life. Timber plays a leading role in the US steeplechasing scene, where alongside portable hurdles, chasers compete over the sort of fencing you might find adorning Sussex; timber rails up to 4ft 8 in height. The mother of all timber races is the Maryland Hunt Cup, held at the end of April, serving as a copycat Point-to-Point of yesteryear, over 4 miles and 22 fences. Unique among the world's top flight races, it is solely open to amateur riders. The race has a typically quaint Victorian heritage. Created as a contest between the Elkridge and Green Spring Hunts in 1894, the race set out to mark out the best hunter from the two packs, but was subsequently opened to other hunts in North America, and eventually any restriction was removed. And whereas only around 100 attended the first running, now many thousand enjoy the Spring scenery of the Worthington Valley, the race's modern permanent home. This is a race with a niche following that breeds an intense loyalty. With a $100,000 purse, it's no small prize either. This is a race meeting like no other, insofar as the obstacles are uniquely Maryland, but also there are no supporting races! If you're in the loo for 8 minutes, you could miss the whole purpose of the afternoon. Like much about steeplechasing, it's also gloriously politically incorrect. Even by US standards, the race was slow to admit women riders, only allowing them in the 70s'. The list of winning owners and riders reads like an old western from first winner John McHenry through Jervis Spencer Jnr, the billionaire Paul Mellon, five time winners D Michael Smethwick and Charles Fenwick Jnr, whose Ben Nevis used the Hunt Cup as a platform to win the Grand National at Aintree in 1980. This is a race which lends itself to course & distance winners. Several have won it three times, notable among them Jay Trump (1963, '64, '66), another who used the success as a platform to Aintree glory in 1965. Since 2016, allowing for a pandemic-induced break in 2020, there have been just 4 winners, including three time winner Senior Senator, ridden by Eric Poretz, and Irish-bred Vintage Vinnie, winner in 2021 and the following year. the 2023 winner, Withoutmoreado is a nine year old with virtually no previous steeplechase form, and certainly not under Rules. The 12l winner of an open maiden at Charm Park back in 2019, he didn't win again until breaking his timber maiden in the US at the Genesee Valley meet in autumn '21, since when the penny dropped, and he's rarely been out of the frame. In the specialist world of long distance timber racing, he's a firm favourite to hold on to the race in 2024. Quirky races like these may be an anomaly, but you only have to see the crowd that flocks out to watch Cheltenham's cross country races close up to a fence to know they touch a part of the soul other races cannot reach. Their unique nature defines the sport more than any orthodox race - however valuable - can. They need to be nurtured and protected to salve the sport's heritage. Put these three venues on your racing bucket list. You won't regret it. Watch out for in-form Lucy Wadham6/19/2023 Lucy Wadham is enjoying a purple patch with her jumpers presently, with three of her four runners since Friday finishing winners.
The stable has barely figured in this nascent summer Jumps season, with a mere 15 runners. But at Fontwell on Friday evening, Another Mystery under Nico de Boinville started a weekend treble in motion in the 2m5f handicap hurdle. Wadham had teamed up with Tom Cannon the following evening at Uttoxeter for a 112/1 double when Presenting Belle held on by a diminishing 3/4l in a novices handicap chase, followed by For Gina in a mares handicap hurdle 30 minutes later. The Wadham story began, like so many others, between the flags, when Lucy trained pointers for 10 years alongside a career as a BBC journalist. Her first Rules winner was in a novices hunters chase, appropriately enough, at Huntingdon 33 years ago. Since then, her niche training operation has regularly clocked some 15-20 winners a year, albeit very few in the top flight. With a win and place ration ranging from 55-60%, her horses are well placed, and it's only quality that's holding back an escalation in her profile. Champion trainer Paul Nicholls showed that his expertise for the craft extends from the zenith of the sport at Cheltenham to its grass roots in hunter chasing and Point-to-Point when picking up the feature event at Stratford's hunters' evening on Friday. But whilst he took the scalp of last year's winner Vaucelet in the feature Pertemps Network Stratford Foxhunter with Secret Investor, it was clear to see that daughter Olive's victory on Shantou Flyer in the Royal Equestrian Racing Club Ladies Open Championship final gave him still more pleasure. Olive has been riding out of her skin this season, her second between the flags. 39 rides have resulted in 11 winners, of which Shantou Flyer has provided four, starting at Larkhill in late November before progressing through Chaddesley, and hunter chases at Exeter before Stratford. Always handy in this last race, she took up the running from the seventh, and never looked back. The 12l winning distance was a reflection of this horse's superior rating, 12lb ahead of the next best in the field of 7. Trainer Sam Loxton, third in this race last year with Caid du Berlais, has enjoyed an impressive strike rate between the flags this season. One in three of his 36 pointing or hunter chase winners has passed the post first, a rate not even his mentor Nicholls can achieve. In truth however, Nicholls' interest in the sport is largely because of Olive's success. The man who has conquered the heights of the sport's greatest races is very much at home in the amateur division of the sport, but owners and trainers need have little fear he is planning to dominate. This is a family affair. Secret Investor, owned by Herefordshire - based Clive Hitchings - was a deserving winner of the Pertemps Network Stratford Foxhunter, but the rapidly diminishing 3l margin would have been reversed in another furlong. Runner-up Vaucelet, who lost a shoe in running, was hard - driven to make up ground from three out, and were it not for a messy leap at the last, the positions might have been reversed. It looks like 3m is my optimum trip, given his largely blemish - free season of 4 from 5 outings has rarely been over longer distances. Yet the sport is the winner for having a horse of this calibre within it; Secret Investor, rated 142, is the winner of 11 races and over £167,000 in prize money, toward which this £11,000 prize is yet a modest contribution. Vaucelet will likely be back again; trainer David Christie enjoys this meeting and has met success here on several occasions, plus the homestay hospitality of Managing Director Ilona Barnett adds a considerable advantage! Secret Investor and Vaucelet may well have to contend with a new challenger next year in Sine Nomine, winner of the pointtopoint.co.uk Champion Novices Hunters' Chase over the same 3m 3f distance. This gripping race saw plenty to excite the enthusiast. Three rounded the turn closely bunched, with Sine Nomine boxed in on the rail by a Jack Andrews on Brave Starlight, determined not to give race room. Once beyond the rail, Jack Dawson had the speed to take up an inner berth as Precious Bounty, with Sine Nomine to the inner, Brave Starlight to the outer, jumped the last in unison. The last two went on, before Dawson was able to conjure some extra speed to get him 2 1/2l clear in the final 100 yards. Winning trainer Fiona Needham has recently stepped down as Clerk of Course for Catterick to devote more time to the family farm. The trip back up to North Yorkshire will have been all the sweeter for the anticipation of what is to come from this exciting novice. Gina Andrews, crowned champion lady amateur rider during the course of the evening, showed just why she has won that accolade when getting up to win the Grace & Dotty Restricted Novices Hunters' event over 2m6f, to ensure no Hunters' evening was without an Andrews winner. In a white knuckle finish, favourite Captain Biggles and long - time leader Raleagh Flora, under Charlie Marshall, joined issue turning out of the bend, and met the last in unison. With a winning distance of just a head, it was only favourite backers who were glad of the result; a dead heat would have been as fair. Winning trainer Tom Ellis breaks records in the amateur level of the sport as frequently as Paul Nicholls in the professional game, this taking his seasonal tally into the mid seventies.
The Paul & Olive Nicholls team narrowly missed out on what could have been a double after Magic Saint went under by just 1 1/2l in the opening Jumping for Fun Hunters Chase over the minimum trip. leading off the bend, Magic Saint was in command, but Kaproyale under Zac Baker, took closer order. A blunder at the last gave the advantage back to the Nicholls contender, but Baker, having kept his seat, was able to conjure another run from Kaproyale to peg back the leader halfway up the run in and pull 1 1/2l ahead by the line. It was a 17th victory for winning trainer Fran Poste. Jack Andrews, denied a winner in the Novice Championship, made sure of his place on the Winners' board for this annual Hunter chase jamboree in the closing Visit Irish Store Sales with ITM Point-to-Point Bumper. Some may argue a flat race has no place in the Point-to-Point circuit, but the influx of h=young horses gives the lie to this outdated argument. Racegoers were rewarded with a gripping race in which Nigel Padfield's Penniless ensured that was most certainly not the case with a 1/2l victory over Old Gold. The winning owner gets a £1,000 cheque to spend at any Irish sale coming up so chances are a Padfield horse will appear in the same race next year. One truly unique race makes up this innovative and popular card, being the 2m 5f Hunter Chase handicap, underwritten by the White Swan Hotel. Two non-runners on account of the ground made this just a 5 runner field with a weight range from 12st 5 to 10st 5. Winner Sixteen Letters looks a horse to frustrate his trainer and rider Josh Newman. Plenty of ear movement approaching and after the last indicated he had more in the tank as Gina Andrews galvanised Peacock's Secret alongside, but Sixteen Letters decided to find more and the 2l winning margin is not a reflection of his superiority when he opts to show it. Northaw Racing NewsWelcome to the News page. Here you will find the very latest information about Northaw Races and race course conditions
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April 2024
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