REPORT: LARKHILL POINT-TO-POINT AT LARKHILL – SUNDAY 25 APRIL

The curtain came down on a much depleted Larkhill season, due to the pandemic, when the specially organized April meeting was held on Sunday. Only two of the usual seven meetings were able to be held in this much reduced season.

The lack of rain in April and the inability to water the course meant that the going was firm and, although a healthy entry of 63 horses had been received, the meeting only had 20 horses participating, with the young horse Maiden being a void race as none of the entries declared to run on the day. The highlights were a double for father and son trainers Keiran and Luke Price, a change of fortune for owner-rider Gordon Hopkinson, and another winner for the highly promising rider Daniel Ellis.

The opening Flat race, over two miles for four-, five- and six-year-olds, attracted a field of five runners, none of whom had ever raced in public. James King, aboard the four-year-old Soldier of Fortune gelding Best Pal, set off in front and dictated the pace throughout, eventually running out a convincing eight lengths winner at the line.

Trained in Wales by Keiran Price for self-employed Llanelli builder Jason Rees, this was Keiran’s first bumper victory and Jason’s first winner at Larkhill on his first visit. Bought privately in Ireland, he had been in training since November with Keiran and had been pleasing him at home. Jason has had point-to-point horses with a number of Welsh trainers in the past and mentioned Corbett Court, who had been in training with Paul Hamer and had won a race at Monmouth in 2019.

The runner-up to Best Pal was the five-year-old mare Towtheline, trained and owned by Harriet Brown at Mappowder, near Dorchester. She was outpaced during the race but stayed on past her other three rivals to snatch second near the finish. Bought by Harriet cheaply at Doncaster as a three-year-old, this Black Sam Bellamy mare should benefit from her racecourse experience as she progresses.

The Intermediate race attracted the biggest field of the day with eight horses facing the starter. Long Mile Road, ridden by James King, led for much of the race but was headed by Captiva Island, ridden by Tommie O’Brien, at the second last. Despite not jumping the last fluently, the latter had too much in hand and held off the finishing effort of Arcal Fifty, ridden by Martin McIntyre, to win by three lengths.

Owned in partnership by Ian Cobbold and Alan Hill, he has taken time to recover to full fitness having had a piece of birch get stuck in his foot after his last visit to Larkhill in December 2019. This victory was part of an across-the-card training treble for Alan Hill, who saddled two winners at High Easter that same afternoon. Ian Cobbold was present to watch his gelding triumph and recalled the successes of the prolific Dante’s Storm, who won a total of 10 points and three hunter chases, with the later successes following a transfer to Alan’s stable. Joe Hill, representing his father, indicated that a hunter chase at Fakenham may be the winner’s next target.

Arcal Fifty, trained not too far away from Larkhill by Bea Coward, was recording his fourth runner-up spot for his enthusiastic owners The Barrow Street Racing Club, headed by Will Shields. Ironically, it has been Tommie O’Brien, the winning rider, who has been on board Arcal Fifty for many of his outings since joining Bea’s stable in 2018.

After Spencer Moon walked over in the Mixed Open for trainer Luke Price and jockey Will Biddick, Gordon Hopkinson recorded his eighth career victory when riding his own Beau Sancy, trained by Fran Nimmo, to win the Conditions race, which was aimed at riders who had not ridden more than 15 winners at the beginning of the season. Tracking the long-time leader Theatre Evening, Gordon eventually took up the running at the third last and drew clear to beat the favourite Tempelpirate by 11 lengths.

Gordon, 32, is a corporate tax lawyer from Battersea and described both his profession and his race riding as “adrenalin fueled,” with the feeling of this success being more enjoyable. Beau Sancy was sourced from Olly Murphy’s stable by Fran and her husband Charlie Poste for Gordon to ride to replace Black Jewel, upon whom Gordon had recorded three of his successes. He had previously recorded a victory at Larkhill but lost the weight cloth on the run in and was subsequently disqualified. Gordon, who has just become a father to a daughter Ivy, was keen to thank his wife, Martha, for putting up with his race riding ambitions.

The easiest winner of the day was that of My Little Cecil, ridden by 16-year-old Daniel Ellis, in the six-year-old and over Maiden. This was the rider’s third career victory in only his sixth point-to-point start. The gelding made his debut at Higham earlier this month, when also ridden by Daniel, where he was pulled up. Taking up the lead at the thirteenth fence, the pair drew right away from their two opponents in impressive fashion, eventually winning by some 30 lengths.

Bought privately from Ireland by Tim Sleath, from Thornbury, the Winged Love gelding should continue to improve. His young rider, who turns 17 in June, works full time for Christian Williams and paid credit to both Christian and his brother Nick for their help and support in his continued development as a rider. Another product of pony racing, he has already had two winners in the Wessex area, following his previous win at Cothelstone, and looks a rider to follow for the future.