Kelly Smith brought a frustrating season to an end by being crowned East Anglia’s Champion Novice Lady Rider despite enduring another afternoon of near misses at the Cambridgeshire with Enfield Chase Point-To-Point at Northaw on Monday).
Smith, from Newmarket, is yet to ride a winner but looked like breaking her duck when the front running Altareek still held the call with 50 yards to run in the Ladies’ Open. But her mount was mown down by the turbo-charged finish of Aunty Norma, who herself was giving a first ever victory to Melton Mowbray-based pilot Emma Burton.
Smith also had to suffer finishing in the bridesmaid’s position in the Hunt Race, finding Parsonhumfrywebber, ridden by her boyfriend, James Owen, three lengths too strong.
Nevertheless, Smith still had the consolation of clinching the County Linen Services-sponsored Novice award, which is calculated on a points basis, on this, the final day of the East Anglian season.
Owen made it a household double by sewing up the senior male jockey’s award, although his victory was soon matched by Rupert Stearn, meaning that Owen still trails 15 to 12 in the overall East Anglian Championship, which runs until the national season finishes on June 17th.
Stearn’s victory came aboard Alittlemoreaction, who took his perfect record for 2006 to four straight successes when denying Owen’s mount, Kicasso, in the Confined Race. Alittlemoreaction is trained for George Cooper by Robert Cundy at Raydon, near Hadleigh, while Stearn hails from Wymondham.
A last minute SOS phone call allowed Andrew Braithwaite to notch only the second victory of his season when he partnered Dunmanus Bay to a narrow triumph in a thrilling Men’s Open.
Braithwaite was just tucking into his lunch at Reading University when he received the call from trainer Julie Read, anxious to secure his services after intended rider Stearn had been claimed to ride Monarch Ruler.
Braithwaite reached the course with a minute to spare and proceeded to make all the running before holding off the twin challenges of Wood Colony and Trooper on the run-in. Read, from Chevington near Bury St Edmunds, said “Dunmanus Bay has been suffering from a flint in his foot which happened at Marks Tey in March, and we brought him back a bit too soon when we ran him at Fakenham last time.”
Les the Lizard, trained in Northamptonshire by Jimmy Tarry and ridden by Lenny Hicks, is a late maturing type who only reached the racecourse for the first time at the age of 12. But now, a year on, he is making up for lost time and comfortably landed the Restricted Race.
The final race of the season went to Kent raider Laurier de Cotte, who was giving jockey Olivia Maylam only the second success of her career.
Results
Race One (Members Race):
1 M S Burman’s Parsonhumfrywebber (Cambs with Enfield Chace) (J Owen),
2 R Newby’s Runningwiththemoon (Cambs with Enfield Chace) (Miss K Smith),
3 Mrs C R Rogers’ Good Vintage (Cambs with Enfield Chace) (Miss C Rogers).
Also: General Confusion (4), On The Day (f). Three lengths, one length. 6.51. SP 9-4 (Good Vintage 10-11 fav).
Race Two (Confined Race):
1 Lady Green and T Buxton’s Alittlemoreaction (Essex and Suffolk) (R Stearn),
2 J M Turner’s Kicasso (Suffolk) (J Owen),
3 The Marriage Family’s Pampered Gale (Essex) (Mrs N Cook).
Three lengths, two lengths. 7.13. SP 4-6 fav.
Race Three (Men’s Open Race):
1 Mrs P King’s Dunmanus Bay (Suffolk) (A Braithwaite),
2 Mrs E Keir’s Wood Colony (Farmers Bloodhounds) (L Hicks),
3 A Woodward’s Trooper (South Notts) (owner).
Also: Monarch Ruler (4), Dunrig (pu), Mount Kimble (pu). Half a length, half a length. 6.51. SP 7-2 (Monarch Ruler 6-4 fav).
Race four (Ladies Open Race):
1 M Jones’ Aunty Norma (Cottesmore) (Ms E Burton),
2 K Tork’s Altareek (Surrey Union) (Miss K Smith),
3 A Howland-Jackson’s Village Copper (Suffolk) (Miss L Allan).
Also: Romany Pearl (4), Spring Gale (pu). One length, half a length. 6.47. SP 3-1 (Altareek 2-1 fav).
Race Five (Restricted Race):
1 G Tarry and Miss F Tarry’s Les The Lizard (Pytchley) (L Hicks),
2 J Ratcliffe and H Hill’s Pirate King (Cambs University) (G Dyne),
3 A Maylam’s Miss Biddy (East Kent) (Miss O Maylam).
Also: Donrico (4), Bede (pu), Idaho Fall’s (pu), Joves Shadow (pu). Five lengths, 15 lengths. 6.48. SP 6-4 fav.
Race Six (Open Maiden Race):
1 The Maylam Family’s Laurier De Cotte (East Kent) (Miss O Maylam),
2 P J Millington’s Johnny Venture (Fernie) (owner),
3 A Lochore’s Rockley Beach (Camb Univ Draghounds) (L Hicks).
Also: Ciderlay (pu), Delgany Gale (ur), Fear Chun Chin (pu), Market Banter (pu), Merrimac (ur), Padamul (pu), Smartypants (pu). Three lengths, three lengths. 6.59. SP 7-1 (Ciderlay evens fav).
