Hatcham Boy gained revenge for his previous week’s defeat by Fandango de Chassy when taking the Land Rover Men’s Open at the Aldenham Harriers Point-To-Point at Cottenham on Sunday.
Trainer Ruth Hayter, from Glemsford, near Sudbury, had given Hatcham Boy a five-day break in a field following his second place on heavy ground at Horseheath. This policy seemed to pay dividends, as the 11-year-old showed no signs of battle-weariness in beating Major’s Law by three lengths under Christian Ward-Thomas.
Fandango de Chassy was clearly ill-suited by this sharp track. Having got badly outpaced, it was only right on the line that he got up for third place, ten lengths behind the runner-up.
The Ladies’ Open saw a clash of two very good horses in Mr Snowman and Spring Gale and superior fitness probably just swayed the issue the way of Mr Snowman. Trained in Oxfordshire by Alan Hill and ridden by his wife, Lawney, Mr Snowman may go for the Cheltenham Foxhunters following this four length success.
Simon Sporborg, from Bishops Stortford, won aboard his father’s Ruperts Choice at Larkhill in Wiltshire on Saturday and the jockey-owner combination completed a weekend double with The Red Boy in the Restricted Race.
The Red Boy clocked a fast time in defeating Running On Super by a distance and he should be worth following in the coming weeks.
Alan Coe had to make an agonising decision before the older horse Maiden as he had the choice of three rides. He picked wrong as his mount, fourth-placed King’s Mandate, was overhauled approaching the last fence by The Secret Grey, who is owned and trained at Layer Marney by Alan’s father, Keith.
Well ridden by Paul McAllister, The Secret Grey held off a tightly-bunched group of three pursuers, headed by Light The Sky, by three lengths.
Ian Pearse, from Flamstead, near Luton, made a winning debut in the saddle at the age of 35 on Lonesome Traveller in the Members’ Race. Pearse belied his inexperience to survive a bad mistake at the third last and Lonesome Traveller went on to beat Bachelor-Carrasco by 20 lengths.
The younger horse two and a half mile Maiden was split on the day, much to the delight of jockey Stuart Morris, who won both divisions on Northamptonshire-trained horses. French import Le Vasco de Gama made light work of his eight rivals in the first section, while Sypiroout battled Mansirat by a length in the finale.
Results
Race One (Hunt Members’ Race):
1 M Stevens’ Lonesome Traveller (Aldenham Harriers) (I Pearse),
2 Miss J E Cook’s Bachelor-Carrasco (Cambs) (S Andrews).
Also: Water Pepper (pu). Twenty lengths. 6m 53s. W £1.60. DF £1.40. SP 3-1 (Bachelor-Carrasco 2-7fav)
Race Two (Confined Hunts Race):
1 Mrs G Pidgeon, P Kay and P Riddell’s Cut A Niche (Bicester with Whaddon) (M Baldock),
2 Mrs E Cardew’s True Chimes (Bicester with Whaddon) (J Owen),
3 W Tolhurst’s Tarthooth (Essex and Suffolk) (S Sporborg).
Also: Monyman (4), Borrow Mine (5), Dual Or Bust (6), Northern Yarn (7), Dalligan (8), Ballygar Boy (ur), Buckman (f), Fire On Ice (pu), More Fun (pu), Novatara (f). One length, 20 lengths. 6m 35s. W £7.60. DF £96.90. SP 8-1 (Tarthooth 8-11fav).
Race Three (Land Rover Men’s Open Race):
1 Mr and Mrs A Howland-Jackson’s Hatcham Boy (Suffolk) (C Ward-Thomas),
2 H and D Owen’s Major’s Law (Bicester with Whaddon) (J Owen),
3 C Hays’ Fandango de Chassy (Thurlow) (N King).
Also: Who Is Equiname (4), Who Am I (ur). Three lengths, 10 lengths. 6m37s. W £2.80. DF £25.10. SP 7-4 (Fandango de Chassy 4-6fav).
Race Four (Ladies’ Open Race):
1 Mrs T Hill and S Wilshire’s Mr Snowman (Vale or Aylesbury) (Mrs T Hill),
2 J M Turner’s Spring Gale (Suffolk) (Miss Z Turner),
3 Mr J Jones’ Province (Sinnington) (Miss J Foster).
Also: Abuljjood (pu), Alfredo Garcia (pu), Pongo Waring (pu), Upham Lord (ur). Four lengths, a distance. 6m 29s W £1.80. DF £4. SP 4-5fav.
Race Five (Restricted Race):
1 C H Sporborg’s The Red Boy (Puckeridge) (S Sporborg),
2 T Trigg’s Running On Super (Berks and Bucks) (M Foley),
3 B Clark and Miss C Lucas’s Glencoy (Puckeridge) (A Coe).
Also: Bathurst (pu), Beside Himself (pu), Fortune Hunter (pu), Imperial Mist (pu), Lancaster Boy (pu), Mind Your Step (pu), Premier First (pu), Primitive Charles (pu), Round The Bend (f), Shingle Beach (pu). A distance, a distance. 6m 33s. W £4.10. DF £14.60. SP 9-4fav.
Race Six (Maiden Race – 8 y.o. and over):
1 K Coe’s The Secret Grey (Essex Farmers and Union) (P McAllister),
2 Mrs B Abraham’s Light The Sky (Fernie) (E Andrews),
3 H Hobson’s Thunderbird (Puckeridge) (P Cowley).
Also: Kings Mandate (4), Cardinal Way (f), Classic Model (pu), Green Leader (pu), Greg’s Profiles (ref), Le Garcon Gris (bd), Moon Rising (pu), Out Of Actons (pu), Plessey Rose Lee (ur), Shula (pu), The Arkle Bar (pu). Three lengths, head. 6m 51s. W £7.30. DF ££11 (winner with any other). SP 7-1 (Green Leader 3-1fav).
Race Seven (2m 4f Maiden Race – 5, 6 and 7 y.o. Division One):
1 Mrs J Wilson’s Le Vasco de Gama (Pytchley) (S Morris),
2 J Hunt’s Well I Never (Atherstone) (A Sansome),
3 Mr and Mrs W Wales’ Second Thoughts (West Norfolk) (W Wales).
Also: African Leader (f), Grey Fusilier (f), Ilann des Ernees (pu), Kingfisher Star (pu), Principal Profile (f), Sovereign Gale (pu).
A distance, one length. 5m10s. W £4.10. DF £6.40. SP 2-1fav.
Race Eight (2m 4f Maiden Race – 5, 6 and 7 y.o. Division Two):
1 S Connell’s Syrpiro (Grafton) (S Morris),
2 N Padfield’s Mansirat (Enfield Chace) (S Andrews),
3 R Green’s Lord Drakkar (Suffolk) (T Lane).
Also: Sire de Brumetz (4), Bavard Push (f), Riverlord (su), The Flying Dragon (ur), Three Spires (pu). One length, a distance. 5m19s. W £4.10. DF £9.70. SP 7-4fav.
