Double act celebrate brilliant double victory at Ystradowen
Pembrokeshire rider Jodie Hughes and Pyle trainer Sherree Lean teamed up at the recent Ystrad Taf Fechan Point-To-Point Steeplechases at Ystradowen in the Vale of Glamorgan – and the result was a brilliant double.
The first leg was initiated when five-year-old Boethius beat odds-on favourite Charlie Breekie, ridden by Wales’ leading rider Bradley Gibbs, by one and three-quarter lengths in the restricted race.
In the second leg, despite being two lengths down at the last fence on Robert Jones’ seven-year-old mare Ann Scott, Jodie again beat an oddson favourite, Nuevo Molino, also ridden by Gibbs.
Winning owner Robert Jones said: “Credit must go to local chiropractor Rachel Shilliber, as the mare had a back problem and she has worked wonders on her.”
Gibbs, who is making a bold bid for the national riders’ championship, still had plenty to smile about. In a match for the members’ race, he scored a half-length victory over oddson Benemeade, ridden by Byron Moorcroft. He later had a walkover on his father’s Frelia in the John Lovell memorial men’s open race.
Only three went to post for the ladies’ open race. Llancarfan’s Isabel Williams, 20, riding her father’s 11-year-old bay gelding Aerlite Supreme (a winner over the course a fortnight earlier), survived a second last fence blunder to finish alone after the pursuing Tiger Rag and Anna Lewis had taken full advantage of Aerlite Supreme’s mistake, only to fall at the last fence.
Twenty-four hours later, Isabel, riding her father Evan Williams’ Hold Back The River, won the novices’ handicap hurdle race at Exeter at odds of 8-1.
Charlie Price, 20, who hails from Brecon, chalked up his third win between the flags, landing the young horse maiden race on John Phillips’ six-year-old bay gelding Kovera, which romped home a good 12 lengths ahead of Byron Moorcroft’s mount Sweet Lady Jane. Charlie, who works for Vale trainer Tim Vaughan, has also ridden 16 winners on the Arabian horse-racing circuit.
Craig Dowson, who rides out for Penhow trainer Robert Stephens, won the open maiden race on Steve Hughes’ The Boss On The Hill, a 10-year-old chestnut gelding who scored by three lengths from the favourite Free Scorpion, ridden by Byron Moorcroft. The Boss On TheHill, who is by Bach, was a first winner not only for the owner but also for trainer Claire Heelay from Pontypridd.
And well done 10-year-old Edward Vaughan on winning the 138cm pony race at Brampton Bryan on his Little Replacement. Edward, the son of Tim and Abbi Vaughan, who train at Aberthin, has ridden around 18 winners to date.
Congratulations must also go to Edward’s father and all those at his Aberthin yard, as Tim has not only saddled more than 700 winners but can now boast to having saddled a winner on every British racecourse. I can’t think of another Wales-based trainer who has achieved such a feat.
■ The Llangeinor Pentyrch Point-ToPoint takes place at the Dunraven Stud, Pyle, near Bridgend on April 21. There will be seven races, the first at 2pm. The Men’s Open is a Timico qualfying race.
■ The rearranged Monmouthshire Point-To-Point, which was to have been held at the Monmouthshire Showground earlier this month, has been abandoned for this year.
■ Racehorses of 2017 is the 71st in the series of Timeform Flat Annuals. It costs £79 post-free in the UK from Timeform, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX1 1XF, or from timeform.com/shop
Racehorses of 2017 extends to halfa-million words and 1,216 closelyprinted pages which provide a complete A-Z of Britain’s thoroughbreds. The book deals with every horse as a subject on its own, providing a Timeform rating and an individual Timeform commentary for 11,522 of them in all, including every one that ran on the Flat in Great Britain in 2017.
Extended, liberally illustrated essays deal with the top horses’ achievements and are often used to comment on important racing issues.