Report – welsh international – saturday 18th may

The decision to rebrand what used to be known as the Pembrokeshire fixture as the Welsh International point-to-point, opening the races to Irish horses and jockeys and offering £1,000 prize money – with £700 to the winner – for five of the seven races proved a resounding success for the organisers, led by Fixture Secretary Lucy Thomas and Sponsorship Manager Clare Morgan. Ten horses from five yards, along with three riders, made the short hop from Ireland on the ferry, to join British championship contenders Josh Newman (leading trainer) and Tim Vaughan (leading owner) and his son Ed (leading novice rider). A large crowd was present to ‘see’ the action, although a mist that rolled in before racing restricted visibility and – from the third race onwards, only the two fences in the home straight could be clearly seen from the viewing areas.

The raiding party had to content themselves with a single victory, which came courtesy of John Brennan’s Seymourjohn in the Mason Bros & The Cottesmore Farm & Fenton Home Farm Young Horse Maiden, in which six faced the starter. The five-year-old, who had yet to complete but had shown promise before falling at the final fence last time out, was always prominent alongside favourite Joyeux Mome and the two soon came clear of the field before Seymourjohn and Toby McCain-Mitchell took the lead two out and was untroubled to score by six lengths, with another Irish runner – Bulletofexpression – running on for four lengths third.

“This has been the plan for the last few weeks, and we had a few pounds on at 9/2!” beamed a visibly delighted John afterwards. “We saw it advertised, they invited us over and I think it’s a great idea. They used to run a similar fixture at Kinsale.” The trainer, based at Enniscorthy in Wexford, has ten pointers, and said of Seymourjohn, “I bought him at Ascot as a weak three-year-old and he’s taken time. Two-and-a-half miles is his trip and I think he can win a bumper. He’s for sale and will go to Doncaster this week if I don’t sell him privately first.”

Asked how he came by the mount, Toby told me, “My friend Darren O’Dwyer, a bloodstock agent who used to be assistant to my uncle Donald, rang me up and told me there was a ride for me here. I’d never met Mr Brennan before and his instructions were to ‘tip away upsides’ but no-one wanted to make the running, so I did. He’s a lovely horse, very professional. He settled well, his jumping was awesome, and he was only ever in third gear.” It was a ninth win of the campaign for the 21-year-old, who works for Nigel Twiston-Davies but wouldn’t be drawn on whether he plans to turn conditional next season, saying only, “I’ll see how my diet’s going!”

Aside from the Irish contingent and the atmosphere they created, the day’s honours belonged to 16-year-old novice champion-elect Ed Vaughan, whose treble – taking him to 22 wins for the season (plus a walkover and two under rules) and surely cemented third place in the national riders title. All his winners were owned by his father Tim and two were trained by him, including Siberian Star in the showpiece, the four-runner Cynthia Higgon Mixed Open Race. Always in the first three despite a mistake going out on the final circuit, the pair emerged from the gloom in the lead two out and came home five lengths and eight clear of Looksnowtlikebrian and Powerstown Park, with favourite Voodoo Doll returning home riderless after running out somewhere in the mist.

“He jumped better than at any time this season,” confirmed Tim. “While he didn’t have the form in the book to win this, his best form is on good ground, and he hasn’t had a busy year.” The successful owner-trainer, better known nowadays for his exploits under rules added, “That’s 18 wins (plus a walkover) this season and I’m enjoying being back pointing – it’s where I started. This year’s been a bit of an experiment to get Ed going and to try to make rules horses from our pointers, and it’s been good fun. We’ll be back next season, but maybe not with the same numbers – it’s very expensive!”

Talking about his season’s feats, Ed admitted, “It’s been unbelievable to have so many winners and to be third to James King and Will Biddick. Dad’s been brilliant – so supportive – and I’ve had some good outside rides.”

The winning combination followed up in the Mr C Grisdale & Mr M George Conditions Race (Level 3), for which five were declared, on Tight Call, another one of the Vaughan string getting his head in front for the first time this season. Well-backed after a close second last time out, the ten-year-old was in front each time the horses were visible and – despite a howler at the last – won by an easy ten lengths from pointing debutant Frau Georgia, a great first ride for Katie Powell. Top Of The Charts was a length further back, with favourite Prime Pretender running no sort of race and pulling up with a circuit to go.

“It’s easy, this racing game!” laughed Tim afterwards. “I’ve been running him on the wrong ground – he’s always wanted it good – but he ran a blinder last time and I thought he was my strongest chance of the day. He’ll keep going to the end of the season.” Ed, explaining Tight Call’s blunder at the final fence, said, “He probably got a bit nervous as he’d had it easy up to then.”

Ed had initiated his treble on the John Mathias trained Getaway Cory, who prevailed by three lengths from Irish runner Peace In The Park in the Mr W J Evans Hengoed Restricted, in which five ran. In the lead after a circuit, he remaining prominent despite being badly squeezed at the twelfth fence and – clear two out – foiled the efforts of the second. Blackfyre made late progress for six lengths third.

“It means a lot to have a winner here,” smiled John, the former leading rider who now trains a small string at St Florence, in South Pembrokeshire. “He’s a lovely honest horse. We’ve had issues with a couple of our horses at home so Tim – who’s a good friend and who still owns Getaway Cory – said, ‘I’ve got one that would suit you’, and he came to me after his Ystradowen win. He’s enjoying the one-to-one attention I give him and working on the beaches at Manorbier and Tenby South.”

“After I got squeezed, my aim was to stay out of trouble,” confessed winning rider Ed. “The two Irish horses tired coming down the hill, so I could nick a couple of lengths.” Talking about Getaway Cory, he said, “We’ve persevered with him, and I think he can keep progressing. He started out in points for Kayley Woollacott and Josh Newman, and was a hurdler under rules, so this is quite different.”

The latter – bidding for a maiden champion trainers title – made the four-hour journey from his base at Woolminstone in Somerset with two runners, and was rewarded when Varinia, who he also rode, took the P Capstick Clearly Interiors Point-to-Point Flat Race, in which six started. Always in the first pair, the five-year-old mare hit the front coming up the home straight and held on well to deny the Irish a second success, beating debutant Moulane A Chroi by half a length with long-time leader Caramelo Rapido sticking on well a further length and a half back, taking Josh to 25 wins for the season as a trainer, three clear of Alan Hill.

“It’s never been the aim, it’s just happened,” admitted Josh – who has also ridden 18 winners (plus a walkover) this year – of his trainers title aspirations. “I had six wins in a weekend in late March, but the championship bid only became realistic a couple of weeks ago. We’ve got a full range of horses, from youngsters that we hope to sell, to progressive types, to experienced horses (like Sixteen Letters, who had won earlier in the day at Peper Harow). The older ones are running well, and we’ll decide on plans for the rest of the season over the next few days.” As for Varinia, “We bought her from Ireland, she ran well at Garthorpe last time and we lined her up for today. She’s for sale.”

Just two went to post in the opener, the Castlemorris Equestrian and Pets Members Race
and it went the way of another in-form combination. Mini Fortune, who took the match by 12 lengths from Phoenix Rock, was winning her fifth race on the bounce, trainer Luke Price was scoring for the 14^th time this season (he was at Peper Harow, where he later made it 15) and jockey Callum Pritchard – last year’s champion male novice and making it two wins from two rides for Luke – was moving on to 13 for the year, despite a campaign interrupted by weather and a whip suspension incurred at Aintree.

In the trainer’s absence, I spoke to winning owner Nathan Pyne, who told me, “We came here because we’re close in the national leading horse championship (Mini Fortune is one behind Grace A Vous Enki) and we’ll let her tell us if she’ll run again. She’ll go next weekend if she’s full of beans but we’re not going to put her under any stress.” The mare hadn’t looked to be going well for much of the contest and Nathan explained, “She wants a left-handed track, but she’s clever and she puts herself right when she sees a stride. She had a serious co-pilot today – Callum’s class.”

The ‘serious co-pilot’ (usual jockey James King was at Peper Harow with the trainer) was bullish afterwards, saying, “Although everything was against her and she jumped violently left, she did everything I asked and I never felt she was beaten, as I knew she was the fitter of the two (Phoenix Rock hadn’t run for over two years).” The 22-year-old cited a Flete Park treble and riding for good owners and trainers as his season’s highlights and confirmed that he’ll turn conditional next year for his employers, Philip Hobbs and Johnson White.

The Well Drilling and Mr C Edwards Maiden attracted eight runners, the biggest field of the day, and went the way of Trendy Lady, who was bouncing back from a poor run last week having shown good form earlier in the year, including a sixth in the Dunraven Bowl. Mid-division early, the eight-year-old – one of three mares to win on the card – went second with a circuit to run and was in the lead two out, battling up the run-in to win by two lengths and one from market leaders Maska Du Morvan and favourite Emorelle.

It was a first winner of the season for both jockey Carys Morris – enjoying a fifth career success and rushing off to weigh out for the next race so unable to talk after her victory – and trainer Clare Lloyd Davies, who said afterwards of Trendy Lady, “We got her from Henry de Bromhead for a small group of owners (The Trendy Lords & Ladies Club) and she’s been really consistent. She ran well at Chepstow and got boxed in last weekend – she didn’t like the big field.” Clare, who trains just inside the Welsh border near Hay-on-Wye, “Has had one or two pointers for the last fifteen years or so”, and has trained seven winners overall, although this was her first since 2019.