REVIEW |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Adrian Wintle's double on Macy and Northern Deal during
Sundays Cotswold Vale Farmers meeting at Maisemore Park consolidated his
position as the leading rider in this years Area Championships. Macy followed up last weekends Andoversford success by taking
the Members for the Cheltenham based jockey and Redmarley trainer Martin
Jones. The winners was left in a clear lead after Tirley Gale encountered
problems on the final bend and Macy strode home to secure victory for the
trainers wife Jackie and his mother Margaret. Herbie Collins's Northern Deal recorded his fourth victory of
the season after Wintle had steered him to a facile win in the Mixed Open.
None of their rivals were able to get the improving 8-year-old off the
bridle and Wintle's mount came home 15 lengths clear of Rectory Garden
after Ashgreen had been exhausted by his efforts to match strides with the
favourite down the back straight. Fate conspired against Wintle in the Confined. His partner
Bright November had made virtually every yard of the running in this
contest and had just started to draw clear of the The Kings Fling, when
the 12-year-old ran the wrong side of the running rail on the final bend,
which left Polly Gundrys mount to record a fortuitous success. 26-year-old Emma Phillips will have cause to remember this
meeting more than most after Beyond the Stars had provided the Longdon
resident with her first success in the Restricted. The 12-year-old had jumped in exemplary fashion throughout,
but with the race in safekeeping thy had a major disagreement at the last
which left Miss Phillips struggling to maintain her posture but once they
were back on a even keel victory was assured. Stoke Bliss owner/trainer/rider Emma James and Helen Albert took Division II of the Maiden on Ascot Sales purchase Certain Surprise. The 9-year-old was always in contention and stormed through to take the lead between the final two fences and they finished 8-lengths clear of their rivals at the post. 23-year-old
Anna Clifford from Frampton on Severn has had to fit race riding
commitments in with her University studies over the last couple of years
but her ratio of winners to rides is quite high. Heavy Hustler provided
Clifford with her first winner last year and this combination repeated
their success in the Novice Riders Race at the expense of Carried Interest
and Tale Bridge. Ledbury's
Julian Pritchard maintained his challenge for the National Riders
Championship with a weekend double. He had little trouble steering Well
Ted to victory in the Ludlow Open during Saturdays meeting at Bitterley
but had to work much harder before gaining victory on Lord Tiddlypush in
the final division of the Maiden at Maisemore. The
5-year-old made significant progress down the back straight but these
efforts appeared to have been in vain as Thomas the Doubter held a useful
advantage at the last. Pritchard refused to accept defeat and in a
pulverising finish got his mount up in the shadows of the post for
Oxfordshire trainer Ginny Elliott and her father in law Kerr.
|