PREVIEW: BELVOIR (SATURDAY 21ST MARCH)

Amateur horse racing returns to Garthorpe, near Melton Mowbray (LE14 2RS), on Saturday 21st March for the Belvoir meeting. Gates open at 10.30am and you can purchase tickets on the Midlands Pointing website or on the gate on the day. Children under 16 are admitted free of charge.

At the time of writing, Wednesday 18th, the going is Good, Good to Soft in places (down the hill).

The first race of six will be at 1pm but feel free to come early and enjoy a tailgate picnic, browse the many trade stands and get a bet on with the bookmakers. There is a dog show so don’t forget to bring your furry friends and see if you can win a rosette too.

There are a total of eight meetings over the weekend so although there are 493 entries in total, they are divided up across the meetings and many multiple entries, with a total of 345 individual horses entered to race. This means that some of the 68 horses entered for this meeting will have an entry in more than one race and others will also have entries at other meetings.

The big race of the day is the Birketts LLP Mixed Open race and could be a very high class affair indeed. Nine out of the eleven horses entered have rating over the 110 mark which is a good indicator of the talent on show. Fier Jaguen is regular winner between the flags and a competent hunter chaser too. He won twice here at Garthorpe in the same month last season and has two wins already this season. He’s trained and ridden by Bradley Gibbs for Julian Sherriff. From the opposite of the country comes Aramax, trained by the Owens in Newmarket for the Whiskey and Water partnership and a winner last time out at Guilsborough. Gina Andrews has an enviable choice of rides in this race, with entries for the D’oudes Partnership’s Fumet d’Oudairies – returning to points this season after a lay-off – and Mrs Hayward’s Master Templar, another to have won here before. Bridget Skelton’s Midnight River (Heidi Palin) looks set to run here in either this race or the Conditions race which follows, looking to add to an impressive two wins from three starts so far. Dale Peters in-form Largy Pearl has two wins from two starts this season but may choose to head to Yorkshire where he also has an entry. Yippee Ki Yay is a very well established pointer and hunter chaser who finished second behind Fumet d’Oudairies at Sheriff Hutton in January but may run in a hunter chase midweek. The Turner family’s Home Free was third behind Fier Jaguen at Higham in February but knows how to win. Julie Wadland has entered Cape Vidal in six races across three different meetings over the weekend, it was second on its debut in points.

We start the afternoon’s racing with the Duncan & Toplis Maiden Race, a maiden for four and five-year-old horses over two-and-a-half-miles. These horses are at the opposite end of the experience scale and half of this field of nine entries have never completed a point-to-point, many are making their racecourse debut. The four-year-olds get a weight allowance over the five-year-olds and the fillies get even more. The result of this is that two of the runners, Kalyeeda Creek and Sainte Crystal will be carrying over a stone less than than their peers. Some of the very best young horse trainers in the country have entries here.

The second race on the card is part of the new “Hands and Heels” series, sponsored by The Jockey Club and The Point-to-Point Authority. For those unfamiliar the jockeys in this race my hold a whip for safety but not strike the horse with it. These are all more experienced horses with the best rated being Shentri, ridden by owner Poppy Shaw. They’ve had some issues with jumping this season but if Poppy stays on they should be near the front. Others to consider here are Fame And Concrete (Cian Murphy), trained by Nick Wright, Master Malcolm (A. Richmond-Watson), Sambezi, also trained locally by Laura Pomfret and Young Rich, trained and ridden by Gina Andrews.

The PPORA Club Members Restricted Race, kindly sponsored by Tryac, sets off at 2.20pm and has 13 entries, most of whom will have only won one race in point-to-points. Driveondonn (George Atkinson) is top rated horse here and will be looking to add to the 8 points they scored at the Cottesmore meeting towards the Garthorpe Top Horse bonus. They won on their last outing, as did Ice Prowler (Gina Andrews), Atlantic Fleet (Miss C G Butler) and Mount Gay Run (Sean O’Connor). George Atkinson also has Sports Magic entered in this race, with the choice to be made on the day.

After the Mixed Open we have another race into which a number of the open horses are also entered, the W. Spence & Son Level 2 Conditions Race. If the horses with multiple entries run in this one instead they will have to carry more weight. Midnight River (Heidi Palin) has this as an option, as do Fumet d’Oudairies (Gina Andrews), Fame And Concrete (Cian Murphy) and Cape Vidal (James King). They are joined by Bothwell Bridge (Ellie Callwood), Champagne Glory (Charlie Case), East Street (Connor Baker), Hardline (F. Robson), Line Em Up (Dale Peters), Mister Splash (Paddy Barlow), No Risk des Flos (Gina Andrews), Sambezi and Trojan du Berlais.

Finally, to end the afternoon, we have the Open Maiden, with no weight for age allowances, sponsored by Roythornes. 13 are entered in this one, with the usual mixture of experienced but so far unlucky pointers, horses which have pointed in Ireland and others coming to pointing from racing under rules. Poliath, trained by Philip Rowley might be worth a look here, carrying half a stone less than many, along with L’Hybris Is Born (Gina Andrews), Kings Cowboy (Ellie Callwood) and Black Aquila, trained by Alice Dawson.

The weather forecast looks great for the rest of the week leading up to the fixture so plan a picnic, make sure you find the bar before Happy Hour, and pack some sunscreen.