REPORT – ZETLAND (MONDAY 4TH MAY)

The Yorkshire point to point season finished with a bang on May bank holiday Monday when a massive crowd flocked to Witton Castle near Bishop Auckland where the headliners were Felix Foster,Joe Wright and the Clark family who notched doubles and a treble respectively. Felix and the Clarks joined forces for one of those wins when Emir Sacre won the Low Grange Quarry Eight Years Old and Over Conditions (Level 2). Having become a little frustrating of late, Emir Sacre seems to have really taken to Felix and the pair followed up a solid third at Charm Park by gamely seeing off the determined challenge of Surprise Attack and Louis Covell by a neck. The winner is the fourth of Wistow based Charles Clark’s five horse string to reach the winners enclosure this season and he currently sits at the top of the national small trainers championship table for those with five horses or less. Emir Sacre carries the colours of Charles’ father in law Laurence Kirkby who has a lifetime of involvement in the sport based in the Brocklesby country “I rode in my first point to point aged fourteen in 1967 and rode a few winners” said the modest owner afterwards with daughter May adding “The family’s involvement in pointing goes back a long way and he actually rode quite a lot of winners!”.

Felix had initiated his riding double in the opening Todds Highway Maintenance Yorkshire Area Conditions (Level 2) and it was very much a case of his mount Nephin Beg repaying his rider for an early season misdemeanour. The pair struck for home with a full circuit to go and looked to have the race in the bag all the way up the long home straight, staying on strongly to pass the post seven lengths ahead of Moonlight Flit and Angus Wood. Owned by the Golden Syndicate which comprises an enthusiastic group of Felix’s twentysomething friends, Nephin Beg had landed his jockey in A and E on his seasonal debut “ He unseated me at the Brocklesby and trod on my testicles! He was subsequently unlucky not to win at the Holderness and he did it well here. He’s a simple horse to deal with and stays very well”. The double meant that Felix overtook the injury stricken George Atkinson to take the Cundalls Yorkshire Mens Novice title.

The Clark family completed their treble by taking both of the day’s open races, the first of which was the Sherwoods Mens Open. Their flagbearer here was Sam Magee who was sent off odds on having bolted up in his last two races, both in stamina based contests, the latter being the four miles one furlong classic Grimthorpe Gold Cup. With this being a much more speed orientated contest, jockey Joe Wright set out to force the pace and was several lengths up when making a bad mistake four out which saw market rival Whats The Solution and Jack Teal quickly close the deficit. As they approached two out it appeared that the latter was getting the upper hand however, in a dramatic turn of events. he ran out leaving Sam Magee to come home a long way clear of Nobody’s Perfect and Angus Wood. A slipped saddle was subsequently reported to have been the undoing of the unfortunate Whats The Solution. “He whacked four out and was down on his nose” commented Joe Wright of Sam Magee afterwards “with the small field he wasn’t concentrating and was looking after himself. The track didn’t suit him and he prefers somewhere long and galloping”.

The Clark treble was completed with much less fuss when Tag Man, owned like Sam Magee by Emma Clark, won the SG Petch Ladies Open. Sent off the hot favourite to complete a four timer of wins, Tag Man was sent on by jockey Lucy Brown with a circuit to go and barring for making a bit of a hash of the open ditch the pair never gave their supporters a moment’s worry therefater. cantering home twenty lengths clear of Ballydonagh Boy and Olivia Rogers. The victory completed a first training treble for Charles Clark who commented “I’ve been too busy planting potatoes so i’ve done very little with them lately! Emir Sacre was a complete shock but I do rate Tag Man”, All three winners were lead up by a new recruit to the Clark team, fourteen year old Isaac Milburn with the delighted trainer exclaiming “He’s my lucky charm!”.

The other two races fell to connections with a very long history on the point to point field. The first of those being the Jones family whose Getupearly gained a well deserved success after being narrowly denied on more than one occasion earlier in the season having gallntly trying to make all. The Latimer Hinks Restricted saw the biggest field of the day line up and once again Getupearly was up at the head of affairs for most of the way under leading Northern Area jockey Nick

Orpwood. At the business end it had distilled into a dual with Follow The Leader and Joe Wright and the pair had a good scrap before Getupearly stayed on tenaciously to see off his rival by three lengths. The Jones family are neighbours of leading flat trainer Kevin Ryan at the top of Sutton Bank and this was a first training success for Amy Jones. Mum Jill Jones trained over fifty winners,the first of which when she was just sixteen, and they included two of the top pointers from a golden age of the sport in the 1980s in Whiggie Geo and Lady Buttons, both in the colours of her father Albert Sanderson. Amy’s dad, Steve, was full of praise for the Philip Hobbs yard from where they sourced Getupearly “The staff there were very honest and they told us everything we needed to know about him”.

The concluding Ripon Farm Services Maiden also fell to longstanding owners when Willielle atoned for a narrow defeat last time out at Charm Park. With Jack Teal partnering the yard’s seemingly first choice in Ifyouhaveaplan the winning ride fell to Joe Wright which therefore brought up his riding double. With Alice and John Dawson’s well fancied Midnight Dragon having departed the race when leading down the back straight on the final circuit it was ultimately All Ways And Ever and Ben Smoult who took off with the narrowest of advantages at the last but in a great battle up the run in it was Willielle who prevailed by a length. The winner is owned by Steve and Josie Knowles who have bred and owned countless winning pointers over the years with the highlight being JJ Henry who went on to carry their colours to victory over the national fences. Willielle is the second winner this season produced by seven time chase winning mare Caraline, the other being My Caraline who won on debut at Tranwell however the pair aren’t actually technically homebred. “The mare came to us to foal” commented Steve Knowles “and while she was with us, the owner sadly died, so we bought her along with her offspring”. Josie added of his narrow defeat at Charm Park “He landed in front over the last but was just run out of it through greenness. He’s a big horse who’s been given time and we can look forward to him next season. If he’s as good as JJ Henry he’ll do!”.

The other Yorkshire riding awards went to Thomas Easterby who retained his Wilson Close Ltd Mens Open title whilst Olivia Rogers capped a stellar first season by not only landing the Cundalls Ladies Novice title but also the White Rose Saddlery Ladies Open championship.