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National sponsors who have stepped up to the plate and backed point-to-pointing in Britain have been well rewarded with excellent entries at the 2020/21 season’s opening fixtures this weekend.

Twenty-five horses aged four and five have been entered for Tattersalls Cheltenham’s maiden race at Bishops Court in Devon on Saturday, and a further 28 make up a similar race at Maisemore Park in Gloucestershire on Sunday. The Oriental Club’s owner/trainer conditions race at Maisemore has received 24 entries, while the restricted race at Bishops Court, which is being backed by new sponsor Tim Underwood’s Print Concern, has received 19 entries, providing a financial boost for the National Health Service.

Entry fees for all Print Concern races are being donated to the NHS, and so it will benefit to the tune of £760 from Saturday’s race. Print Concern is backing 20 restricted races this season, plus a points-based championship for horses who take part in a sponsored restricted race, and also a hunters’ chase final at Stratford on May 28.

Sales of point-to-pointers at Cheltenham are currently on hold due to Covid-19, but Tattersalls Cheltenham is staging a sale of pointers at its Newmarket venue on December 3. Among entries for the company’s three maiden races this weekend – which include a divided race at Maisemore Park – are young horses by leading sires Flemensfirth, Kayf Tara, Getaway, Shirocco, Oscar, Robin Des Champs, Black Sam Bellamy and Court Cave.

The Oriental Club’s owner/trainer race at Maisemore has received entries from such useful performers as Golden Tobouggan (pictured above, nearest camera) (trainer Julie Wadland), Waterloo Warrior (Angela Slatter), Way Back Then (Mary Vestey) and Workbench (Nick Pearce).

The open races at both the weekend’s fixtures are well supported and contain entries from some high-class performers. The men’s open race at Bishops Court includes one from Jatiluwih, a very smart hurdler last season when trained by Philip Hobbs, and now stabled with Bethen Childs. The six-year-old’s owner, David Maxwell, won on his horse at Cheltenham’s November meeting, but is currently sidelined following a recent unseat at Wetherby.

Possible rivals on Saturday include last season’s Fakenham hunters’ chase winner Full Irish (David Phelan) – men’s champion Jack Andrews has been booked for the ride – reigning Connolly’s RED MILLS champion pointer Navanman (John Heard) and progressive Wick Green (Peter Mason).

Jatiluwih, Full Irish and Wick Green are also entered in Maisemore’s mixed open race, in which the Catterick hunters’ chase winner Wishing And Hoping (pictured below) (Mel Rowley) is another leading candidate. Marcle Ridge (Sam Jukes) and Vivaldi Collonges (Mel Rowley) are two more names that could take part in a tremendous contest.


The Point-to-Point Authority has issued a plea that people keep checking this website for further information, rather than calling the Shrivenham office at this extremely busy time. All relevant issues will appear as news stories.