‘Travelling head lad’ is loving his new career at 70
FORMER tailor Clive Banwell, 70, is enjoying life as travelling head lad to Ogmore by Sea’s National Hunt trainer Christian Williams.
Clive’s wife Carol – they have been married 42 years – said: “He is thoroughly enjoying the role, especially when he led Limited Reserve into the winner’s enclosure after it had won the £50,000 Betfair Hurdle at Haydock earlier this year.”
Clive has been interested in horse racing ever since his father took him point-to-pointing at an early age and he soon wanted to become involved in the sport.
He bought his first point-to-pointer from the late Tom Morgan of Mandryka fame and rode it in point-to-points himself.
Later on, Clive and Carol bought a little mare called Laputum and Carol says: “We had a lot of fun with her and she won at Lydstep and Howick.”
Carol and Clive met the original owner of the mare Peter Travers Clarke and he introduced them to comedian Freddie Starr. “We had Freddie Starr’s 1994 Grand National winner Minnehoma in our yard to sweeten him up a bit and that was great fun,” recalled Clive.
Clive and Carol are well known on the Welsh point-to-point circuit and when their six-year-old bay mare Yeats Ace – who is trained by David Gibbs, father of leading Welsh rider Bradley Gibbs – won the restricted race at the Glamorgan Hunt last month the cheers were loud and clear.
They bought the mare from local bloodstock agent Mark Gichero after visiting him to see another horse which in the meantime had been sold. Carol said: “As soon as we saw her we loved her and when we learned her breeding we kept our fingers crossed that she was not out of our price range.”
Yeats Ace’s sire is Yeats, who won seven Group One races and is the only horse to win the Ascot Gold Cup four times in succession. In fact, some say Yeats, who is by Sadler’s Wells, is the best stayer of all time.
Carol and Clive have next year’s Chepstow Dunraven Bowl in their sights for Yeats Ace but say her jumping has to improve before then.
Yeats Ace’s rider Bradley Gibbs landed a four-timer at the Easter Monday South Pembrokeshire fixture, where hunt members worked wonders on the rain-sodden Lydstep course. Bradley won the opening hunt members’ race on Way Wild West, the open maiden on Court In Flight, the men’s open on Moral Hazard and the intermediate event on The Girl From Milan.
However, Bobby Thomas, who landed the aged maiden race on the 10-year-old bay gelding Padre Tito, which he trains himself, was chalking up his first winner and came in for plenty of praise. Padre Tito, who is by Milan, is qualified with the Carmarthenshire Hunt.
Llancarfan’s Isabel Williams, aged 20, riding her grandmother Mary Evans’ 11-year-old brown gelding Hold Court in the ladies’ open race, pipped the oddly named Hospital, partnered by Ellen Nicholas, to record her fifth win between the flags.
Hold Court, a former useful National Hunt performer, used to be trained by Isabel’s father Evan Williams.
Cowbridge’s Byron Moorcroft took the six runner restricted race on Georgia Kemey’s seven-year-old bay gelding Mason Dixon, who is trained by Pontypridd’s Kieran Price.
■ The Tivyside Hunt Point-To-Point Steeplechases take place at Lydstep on Sunday. There will be seven races, the first at 2pm. The Mixed Open Race is a qualifier for the Timico Mixed Open at Cheltenham Racecourse on May 4.
■ Flat racing enthusiasts will want to avail themselves of TimeForm Horses To Follow 2018 Season. As well as giving punters their Fifty To Follow, the contents include Looking Ahead, Talking To The Trainers, The Timeform Top Hundred, Promising Horses and Trainers For Courses.
It is full of interesting facts.
■ You can e-mail your racing news or views to brianlee4@virginmedia.com or phone 029 2073 6438.