Jockey Tim Lane endured a desperate day – breaking his leg and then having salt rubbed into the wound by missing out on two winners – as High Easter was bathed in winter sunshine for Sunday’s excellent Easton Harriers Point-To-Point meeting.
Lane suffered a nasty compound fracture of both bones in his right leg in a horrible Maiden Race fall. He was whisked off to hospital, where his mood is unlikely to have been improved by the news that two of his subsequent mounts had been successful in his absence.
Nick Pearce was Lane’s replacement in the Men’s Open Race, where he guided the Melton Mowbray-trained Araminta to a one and a half length defeat of None Stirred.
Pearce was probably lucky on two counts as the hot favourite, Rob Mine, was travelling smoothly in front when he most uncharacteristically ran out at the fourth last fence.
This was particularly unfortunate for Rob Mine as he needs to win an Open Race before next Sunday to qualify for the Cheltenham Foxhunters. Trainer Christopher Sporborg has entered him for two races next Saturday and, weather permitting, he may be able to come through the last chance saloon.
Lane had also been booked to partner Minino in the concluding Dodson & Horrell PPORA Club Members Race. Wymondham’s Nigel Bloom was his deputy and Minino, who is trained at Langham, near Colchester, by Wilf Tolhurst, made every yard of the running to beat Holmby Copse by five lengths.
Minino might have won his only previous outing this season but for a very slow start and Bloom’s most anxious moments came before the action had got under way as the ten-year-old gelding again proved reluctant to line up.Both Tolhurst and owner Barry Kennedy were afterwards quick to praise the starter, David Ringer, whose patience allowed Minino to be cajoled into jumping off on terms with the others.
Alan Coe, who returned to the saddle last November after a short-lived retirement, rode his first winner since his comeback when Lucrative Perk galloped her rivals into the ground in the last of three Maiden Races.Trained at Whittlesea, near Peterborough, by Katie Thory, Lucrative Perk eventually came home a distance clear to give Coe, 27, from Marks Tey near Colchester, a 48th career triumph.
The other Maiden winners were Filou du Bois, who is owned and ridden by his Newmarket trainer, Alex Embiricos, and All In The Stars, trained near Bath in Somerset by Paul Keane.
The latter produced a quite astonishing turn of foot to make up 20 lengths between the last two fences under Shane Walsh and, still only five years old, could have a bright future.
All seven entries stood their ground for the opening Members Race which, despite a slipping saddle, went the way of the favourite, Native Status, who is owned and ridden by Andrew Ayers, from Gestingthorpe, and trained at Great Yeldham by Robert Gardiner.The smallest field of the day produced the closest finish as the Cheltenham-bound Surrey raider Storm Castlegot up on the line to beat Spring Gale by a neck under trainer-rider Julie Wickens in the four-runner Ladies’ Open.Finally, the Northamptonshire-trained Teeton Priceless justified favouritism when landing odds of 5-2 in a closely fought Intermediate Race where the first seven home were covered by less than ten lengths.
Results
Race One (Members Race):
1 A Ayers’ Native Status (East Anglian Bloodhounds) (owner),
2 Mrs A Villar’s Marmalade Mountain (East Anglian Bloodhounds) (C Ward-Thomas),
3 Miss P Theobald’s Triple Eaves (Easton Harriers) (owner).
Also: Cormeen Lord (4), Act On Impulse (ro), Paperprince (pu), Rip Kirby (ur). Twenty-five lengths, five lengths. 7m 02s. W £2.50. SP 11-10 fav.
Race Two (Open Maiden Race 5, 6 and 7 Year Olds):
1 D Keane’s All In The Stars (Avon Vale) (S Walsh),
2 P Millington’s Ravensworth (Fernie) (owner),
3 N Padfield’s The Glen Road (Aldenham Harriers) (N Bloom).
Also: Pardon Me Son (4), Corn Bunting (pu), Fine And Dandy (f), Good Thyne Murphy (pu), Jupiter Jay (pu), Red Rookie (pu), Roppongi Crossing (pu), Six Bells (ro), Thurning Lad (f), Wicklow Chase (pu). Eight lengths, half a length. 7m 05s. W £11. SP 4-1 (Fine And Dandy 2-1 fav).
Race Three (Open Maiden Race 8 Year Olds and Upwards, Division One):
1 Ms A Embiricos’ Filou Du Bois (Cambridgeshire University) (owner),
2 Mrs F MacFarlane’s Nelsun (Pytchley) (R Cope),
3 Mrs J Bowen’s Tall Hat (Fernie) (N Pearce).
Also: Three Spires (4), Altar Society (pu), Camden Loch (pu), Grey Fusilier (pu), Looking Magic (pu).Six lengths, head. 7m 07s. W £2.50. SP 5-2 (Nelsun evens fav).
Race Four (Open Maiden Race 8 Year Olds and Upwards, Division Two):
1 Miss K Thory’s Lucrative Perk (Fitzwilliam) (A Coe),
2 B King’s Pakochino (Suffolk) (N King),
3 Ms N Hurn’s Harkness Warrior (Fitzwilliam) (J Owen).
Also: Brave The Waves (ur), Dolly Devious (f), Floorex Carpetman (pu), Tea Time (f), Trinity Buoy (pu).A distance, 20 lengths. 7m 10s. W £26.50. SP 6-1 (Trinity Buoy 5-4 fav).
Race Five (Men’s Open Race):
1 Mrs A Higgins’ Araminta (Cottesmore) (N Pearce),
2 C Frewin’s None Stirred (Kent and Surrey Bloodhounds) (T Faulkner),
3 Mrs J Tice’s Weavers Choice (Pytchley) (R Cope).
Also: Trouvaille (4), Ballad (pu), Motellino (pu), Rob Mine (ro). One and a half lengths, five lengths. 7m 00s. W £4. SP 7-2 (Rob Mine 2-5 fav).
Race Six (Ladies’ Open Race):
1 N Cronin’s Storm Castle (Kent and Surrey Bloodhounds) (Miss J Wickens),
2 J M Turner’s Spring Gale (Suffolk) (Miss Z Turner),
3 W Tolhurst’s Paradisio (Essex and Suffolk) (Miss A Stennett).
Also: Bens Gift (pu). Neck, eight lengths. 6m 58s. W £2. SP 11-10 fav.
Race Seven (Intermediate Race):
1 Mrs J Tice’s Teeton Priceless (Pytchley) (P Cowley),
2 N Pomfret’s Intrepid Gal (Cottesmore) (N Pearce),
3 J Ridge’s Bard Of Drumcoo (Suffolk) (D Kemp).
Also: Bedtime Boys (4), Border Burn (5), Early Morning Call (6), Will Hill (7), Americain Paddy (8), Borrow Mine (pu), Bruan (pu), Nousayri (pu), Sense Of Duty (pu), Society Lad (pu). One length, one length. 7m 01s. W£2.80. SP 5-2 fav.
Race Eight (PPORA Club Confined Race):
1 B Kennedy’s Minino (Essex Farmers and Union) (N Bloom),
2 A Humphrey’s Holmby Copse (Thurlow) (owner),
3 H Hill’s Rupert’s Choice (Puckeridge) (A Braithwaite).
Also: Drumlin (4), Hatcham Boy (5), Alpha Two (pu). Five lengths, 20 lengths. 7.01. W ££2.40. SP 7-4 jt fav (Hatcham Boy 7-4 jt fav).
