Peper Harow May 9th 2009
The Surrey Union Hunt Point-to-Point
Peper Harow, 9th May 2009.
Report by Nicola Dean
Race 1: The Barlow Robbins LLP Solicitors Surrey Union Hunt Members, Subscribers & Farmers Race.
The opening race of the day saw 2 runners declared from the 3 entries. Elenas River (Kevin Dixon) was the red hot favourite at 1/7 whilst Jack Knappy (Alyce Fisher) was at 4/1. No finisher was available with some of the bookmakers at 5/1 who also offered one finisher at Evens.
Elenas River was taken to the front at the drop of the starter’s flag and had a one length lead at the first fence where both runners jumped well. At fence three Jack Knappy was slow over the fence and allowed Elenas River to extend his lead to four lengths. Elenas River had to reach at fence four but landed with his advantage intact, whilst Jack Knappy was once again slow and lost a further four lengths to Elenas River. The pair jumped well over fences five and six with Elenas River maintaining an eight length advantage over Jack Knappy. At the first open ditch (fence eight) Jack Knappy decided he didn’t want to participate anymore and refused, putting Alyce Fisher into the ditch. This left Elenas River to complete on his own. Despite being left to complete alone Elenas River jumped well over the remaining ten fences he was asked to negotiate and maintained a reasonably good pace whilst doing so to finish alone.
1st Elenas River, Kevin Dixon 1/7 (Favourite)
Time 6 mins 24 secs. Finished alone.
Race 2: The Fuse Restricted Race.
A field of 2 went to post in the restricted race. Cumbo Kid (James Owen) was sent off the 1/2 favourite with Lovely Day (Nigel Benstead) at 5/4. Again some bookmakers offered 8/1 on no finishers.
Lovely Day was reluctant to start and Cumbo Kid also set off very slowly and only had a 1½ length advantage at the first fence where Lovely Day stumbled on landing having decided that he would participate. Both runners were barely at a canter as they jumped fence two and as they continued on to fence three where Lovely Day made another mistake. The pair continued at a slow pace and jumped over fences four, five and six together. Cumbo Kid took a length advantage on the approach to the seventh but by fence nine the pair where in unison again and on landing it was Lovely Day who was asked to add some more pace to the race. At fence ten Lovely Day had a five length advantage but after fence eleven Cumbo Kid was asked to chase after Lovely Day and at fence twelve Lovely Day‘s advantage had been reduced to two lengths. Cumbo Kid made a mistake at fence thirteen but was much better over fence fourteen (second open ditch) and on the approach to fence fifteen moved to lead Lovely Day by a length. Cumbo Kid got in close to fence sixteen but still had a lengths advantage on landing. As the pair turned into the winning straight Lovely Day laid down a new challenge on the outside of Cumbo Kid and landed just in front at the penultimate fence but Cumbo Kid fought back and the pair raced side by side to the last fence where they were in the air together. The duo continued side by side towards the winning post with Cumbo Kid just managing to get his head in front before the winning post. Lovely Day managed to unseat Nigel Benstead after the winning post when trying to stop.
1st Cumbo Kid, James Owen 1/2 (Favourite)
2nd Lovely Day, Nigel Benstead 5/4
Time 8 mins 20 secs Distances a neck. Two finished
Race 3: The Wildwood Golf Club Men’s Open Race.
4 runners went to post for the men’s open race which saw Cape Stormer (Marcus Gorman) sent off as the 1/2 favourite. Dad Says Heazle (Peter Bull) was next in the bookies' market at 2/1 with Basic Fact (James Owen) at 3/1 and Oh Sunny Boy (Richard Spencer) the outsider at 8/1.
Cape Stormer was taken to the front at the drop of the starter’s flag followed by Basic Fact, Dad Says Heazle and Oh Sunny Boy and at fence three Cape Stormer had a 3 length advantage over Basic Fact and Dad Says Heazle who had a five length advantage over Oh Sunny Boy. The four runners continued at a reasonable pace over the remainder of the first circuit which saw Dad Says Heazle just move into second behind Cape Stormer at fence four and all jumped well over the first open ditch (fence eight) with Cape Stormer continuing to lead Dad Says Heazle, Basic Fact and Oh Sunny Boy. At fence ten Dad Says Heazle made a mistake and allowed Basic Fact to move back into second place three lengths behind Cape Stormer. At fence twelve Cape Stormer and Basic Fact started to open up a bigger advantage over Dad Says Heazle who received reminders and Oh Sunny Boy who was a couple of lengths further back. At fence fifteen Cape Stormer continued to lead by 1½ lengths but Basic Fact was moved up on his inside to try to gain an advantage on the home turn. Cape Stormer and Basic Fact were together at fence sixteen and ten lengths clear of Dad Says Heazle and Oh Sunny Boy. As the pair turned into the home straight Basic Fact had the inside line, and as Cape Stormer turned on his outside he slipped and Marcus was unable to stay in the saddle leaving Basic Fact a long way clear of his remaining two rivals. With safe jumps over the last two fences Basic Fact was able to take the race and provide James Owen with a double. Dad Says Heazle and Oh Sunny Boy battled it out over the last two fences for second place with Oh Sunny Boy just gaining a ½ length advantage on the run to the winning post to take second.
1st Basic Fact, James Owen 3/1
2nd Oh Sunny Boy, Richard Spencer 8/1
3rd Dad Says Heazle, Peter Bull 2/1
Time 6 mins 29 secs Distances 12 lengths and ½ length. Three finished
Race 4: The Charles Stanley Stockbrokers Ladies Open Race
The ladies open saw just 2 runners declared with Full Irish (Louise Allan) sent off the 1/5 favourite with Major Jon (Cynthia Haydon) at 5/2. Again some bookies offered 10/1 on no finishers.
The pair set off at a reasonable pace with Major Jon just landing first over the initial fence. By fence four Major Jon had a 3 length advantage but he jumped to the right over fences five and six and his advantage had been reduced to only a length by the time the pair reached the first open ditch (fence eight) and at fence nine the pair landed in unison with Major Jon on the outside of Full Irish. The pair continued side by side over the next three fences. Major Jon made a mistake at fence thirteen and after fence fourteen (second open ditch) where Major Jon jumped to the right again, Full Irish was urged to open up an advantage over Major Jon. Both runners were untidy over fence fifteen, but Full Irish started to pull further away from Major Jon and turning into the home straight with two fences left to jump had a five length advantage. Full Irish continued down the middle of the winning straight and put in good safe jumps over the last two fences to take the race and provide the Turner Family from East Anglia with their third successive win of the day. Major Jon again jumped to the right over the last two fences to finish eight lengths behind Full Irish.
1st Full Irish, Louise Allan 1/5 (Favourite)
2nd Major Jon, Cynthia Haydon 5/2
Time 6 mins 38 secs Distances 8 lengths. Two finished
Race 5: The Edgebury Press Ltd Grants Cherry Brandy Open Maiden Race
A field of 5 were declared for the maiden race. Young Emma (Peter Bull) was sent off the 11/10 favourite with Phantoms Lair (Anneka Panman) at 7/2, Flynn John (Georgina Andrews) at 4/1, Sealed Order (James Owen) at 5/1 and Tartar Rose (Tom Cannon) just the outsider at 11/2.
Sealed Order and Tartar Rose led over the first fence where Tartar Rose made a mistake with Phantoms Lair, Flynn John and Young Emma a length further back. The five runners continued at no real pace over the next two fences, Phantoms Lair was slow over fence three allowing Flynn John, who put in a much better jump, to move into third. By fence six Sealed Order and Tartar Rose had a 2 length advantage over Phantoms Lair, Flynn John and Young Emma who were all in a line together. Flynn John made a mistake at the seventh fence whilst Phantoms Lair was untidy over fence eight (first open ditch). The pace of the race was still relatively slow as the five runners set out on their second circuit with Sealed Order and Tartar Rose leading by 2 lengths from Flynn John, Young Emma and Phantoms Lair. At fence twelve Tartar Rose was extremely low and ploughed her way through the fence, barely staying on her feet, but she managed to maintain her momentum with Tom Cannon still in the saddle and continued beside Sealed Order towards fence thirteen. Young Emma made a mistake at fence fourteen (second open ditch) when starting to make up ground on Sealed Order whilst Tartar Rose was starting to drop back through the field. At fence fifteen the pace of the race increased and Sealed Order maintained a 2 length advantage over Young Emma with Flynn John also trying to make up ground. After fence sixteen Young Emma moved to the front of the field and Phantoms Lair also started to make up ground and chase after the leaders alongside Flynn John whilst Tartar Rose started to drop back. Turning into the winning straight Young Emma and Sealed Order were side by side with Phantoms Lair gaining ground on the leading pair. Approaching the last fence Young Emma had a narrow advantage over Sealed Order and Phantoms Lair who were both trying to close the gap that Young Emma had opened up, but Young Emma ran on well to take the race and lose her maiden status and also secure the Men’s Championship for Peter Bull.
1st Young Emma, Peter Bull 11/10 (Favourite)
2nd Phantoms Lair, A Panman 7/2
3rd Sealed Order, James Owen 5/1
4th Flynn John, Georgina Andrews 4/1
Time 6 mins 53 secs Distance 1½ lengths and ½ length. Five finished
Race 6: The Rookery Barns Ltd South East Hunts Club Members Race for Novice Riders
A field of 3 were declared for the final race of the day and of the season. Independent Trader (Josh Moore) was sent off the 4/6 favourite with Thoutmosis (Ed Turner) at 5/4 and Badgers Glory (Will Hickman) the outsider at 4/1.
The three runners set off at a moderate pace and were together over the first fence, before Badgers Glory moved into the lead before the second fence ahead of Independent Trader and Thoutmosis. At fence three Badgers Glory had a two length advantage over Independent Trader who was four lengths clear of Thoutmosis. The trio continued in this fashion over the next four fences. At fence eight (first open ditch) Independent Trader took off slightly further back than Josh Moore had planned and had to reach to ensure a safe landing. Following this Independent Trader was pushed into the lead before fence nine ahead of Badgers Glory. Independent Trader put in good safe jumps at the tenth and eleventh fences whilst Thoutmosis continued a length further back and Badgers Glory started to drop back and lose ground and was four lengths behind Thoutmosis after the eleventh. At fence twelve Thoutmosis had joined Independent Trader and was racing on his outside. Thoutmosis made a mistake at the thirteenth and lost some ground, but he made this up again by the fourteenth (second open ditch) where the leading pair were together again and both jumped well whilst Badgers Glory continued five lengths further back. Thoutmosis was slow over the fifteenth and allowed Independent Trader to gain a two length advantage again whilst at the same time Badgers Glory was starting to get detached from his two rivals. Independent Trader kept the inside line at fence sixteen ready for the turn into the winning straight whilst Thoutmosis continued to challenge on his outside. As the pair turned into the home straight Thoutmosis slipped slightly and although Ed Turner managed to stay in the saddle he lost a lot of momentum allowing Independent Trader to gain a two length advantage. Thoutmosis battled hard to close the gap over the last two fences, but Independent Trader held onto the advantage he had gained on the turn to take the race ahead of Thoutmosis. Badgers Glory finished at his own pace for third place.
