PENSHURST 25th April 2009 TEAM DEAN race-by-race reports
The Old Surrey, Burstow & West Kent Hunt Point-to-Point
Report by Nicola, Stephanie & Martyn Dean
Race 1: The South East Hunts Club Members Conditions Race.
The opening race of the day saw just 2 runners declared, Lord Atterbury (Stuart Robinson) and Parkinson (James Owen) who were both sent off at odds of 4/5 by the bookies.
The pair set off at a sedate pace with Lord Atterbury leading Parkinson by a length over the first six fences. Lord Atterbury jumped to the right over fence seven but continued to lead Parkinson by a length. Parkinson was low over fence nine which allowed Lord Atterbury to gain another lengths advantage and Parkinson was again low over fence ten. At fence twelve the pair were together and the pace of the race started to increase. At fence fourteen Lord Atterbury continued to lead by 2 lengths whilst Parkinson was slow over the fourteenth prompting James Owen to shake the reins and urge Parkinson on. The pair jumped the fifteenth together and on the run to the sixteenth Parkinson moved into the lead and had a couple of lengths advantage on jumping the sixteenth. Lord Atterbury tried to catch Parkinson and saw a good stride to the seventeenth, but Parkinson continued to lead and extended his advantage on the run to the last which he safely negotiated to reach the winning post ahead of Lord Atterbury.
1st Parkinson, James Owen 4/5 (Joint favourite)
2nd Lord Atterbury, Stuart Robinson 4/5 (Joint favourite)
Time 6 mins 52 secs Distances 4 lengths. 2 ran.
Race 2: The South East Hunts Club Members Race for Veteran & Novice Riders.
A field of 9 went to post in the Veterans & Novices race which saw Master T (Peter Bull) sent off the Even money favourite. Sheriff’s Friend (Josh Moore) was next in the market at 2/1 and Thoutmosis (Ed Turner) was also popular at 4/1. Reflex Blue (Will Hickman) and Dad Says Heazle (Steve Spice) both drifted from 5/1 to 8/1, Supreme Vintage (Tom Cheesman) was at 10/1, and Butler Services (T Underwood), Harrycone Lewis (M Clark) and Sharlom (J Akehurst) were all at 18/1.
Sharlom led over the first fence followed by Dad Says Heazle, Thoutmosis, Harrycone Lewis, Sheriff’s Friend, Reflex Blue, Supreme Vintage, Butler Services and Master T. Sharlom continued at a reasonable pace and the nine runners were strung out by fence three with Master T and Butler Services at the back of the field. Harrycone Lewis made a mistake at fence five and was also slow over fence six (first open ditch) and started to lose places. Thoutmosis was slow over fence seven and as the nine runners set out on their second circuit Sharlom continued to lead from Dad Says Heazle, Thoutmosis, Sheriff’s Friend, Reflex Blue, Master T, Supreme Vintage, Harrycone Lewis and Butler Services. Master T started to make progress after fence eleven whilst Harrycone Lewis continued to lose ground and was starting to get tailed off. At fence thirteen (second open ditch) Butler Services unseated whilst Sharlom continued to lead from Dad Says Heazle, Reflex Blue, Thoutmosis, Sheriff’s Friend, Master T and Supreme Vintage with Harrycone Lewis a distance further back. Harrycone Lewis was pulled up after the fourteenth where Sharlom still continued to lead but Master T was moving through the field and Dad Says Heazle was also prominent. At the penultimate fence Supreme Vintage was pulled up whilst Master T put in a good jump but was still a couple of lengths behind Sharlom and Dad Says Heazle. At the last fence Sharlom landed just ahead of Dad Says Heazle and Master T who was continuing to make up ground on the outside. The three runners raced towards the winning post in a line across the course and produced the closest finish of the day with the judges giving the verdict to Dad Says Heazle by a short-head with Sharlom just holding onto second place.
1st Dad Says Heazle, Steve Spice 8/1
2nd Sharlom, J Akehurst 18/1
3rd Master T, Peter Bull Evens (Favourite)
4th Reflex Blue, Will Hickman 8/1
Time 6 mins 43 secs Distances short-head and a neck. 9 ran, 6 finished.
Race 3: The Connelly’s Red Mills Intermediate Race.
Four runners went to post for the Intermediate race and the favourite was New Street Express (Paul Blagg) at 5/4 with Independent Trader (Nick Pearce) and Nessa (Tom Cheesman) both at 9/4 and Misty Brook (Philip Hall) just the outsider at 3/1.
Independent Trader led over the first fence from Misty Brook, Nessa and New Street Express. All four runners jumped well over the first five fences following Independent Trader in Indian file. New Street Express put in a huge jump at fence six (first open ditch) to move up beside Nessa in third. Independent Trader was slow over the seventh fence and the four runners started to bunch up again and the pace of the race started to increase. New Street Express put in good jumps over the ninth and tenth fences and continued to make progress through the field to move into second behind Independent Trader with Misty Brook and Nessa also close behind. Independent Trader continued to lead over the eleventh and twelfth fences with all four runners jumping well. After fence thirteen (second open ditch) Independent Trader increased the pace of the race further but the other three runners continued after Independent Trader and New Street Express jumped up to join Independent Trader at the fourteenth. The leading pair continued together over fences fifteen and sixteen with Nessa close behind whilst Misty Brook started to lose ground and was starting to drop back. On the run to the penultimate fence, New Street Express, Independent Trader and Nessa were in a line together across the track. Approaching the fence Nessa had just taken the lead on the outside but decided to run out through the wing leaving New Street Express and Independent Trader to land together. New Street Express had the inside line and started to open up an advantage on the run to the last fence. Another good jump by New Street Express at the last allowed him to gain an even greater advantage on the run to the winning post with Independent Trader a distance clear of Misty Brook.
1st New Street Express, Paul Blagg 5/4 (Favourite)
2nd Independent Trader, Nick Pearce 9/4
3rd Misty Brook, Philip Hall 3/1
Time 6 mins 46 secs Distances 3 lengths and a distance. 4 ran, 3 finished.
Race 4: The Elizabeth Champion Memorial Ladies Open Race
Four runners were declared for the ladies open race which saw Full Irish (Louise Allan) sent off the even money favourite just ahead of Carryonharry (Cynthia Haydon) at 6/4, Fantastic Champion (Kelly Smith) at 4/1 and Alpine Slave (Anna Sansom) at 8/1.
Carryonharry set off at a good pace to lead over fence one from Alpine Slave, Full Irish and Fantastic Champion. All four runners continued to jump well over the next couple of fences. Full Irish out-jumped Alpine Slave to move into second at fence four but the four runners had all bunched up again and were together in a line over fence five. Carryonharry moved back into the lead over the first open ditch (fence six) ahead of Full Irish, Fantastic Champion and Alpine Slave. All four runners continued in a tightly grouped bunch and jumped well over the next four fences. Fantastic Champion was slow over fence eleven but put in a better jump at fence twelve to join Full Irish a length behind Carryonharry. Full Irish had a better jump over the second open ditch (fence thirteen) and joined Carryonharry at the front of the field whilst at the same time Alpine Slave was starting to lose ground on the other three. At fence fourteen Carryonharry had gained a half length advantage again and the pace of the race increased. Full Irish rejoined Carryonharry at fence fifteen in the lead with Fantastic Champion also close behind, whilst Alpine Slave was pulled up. Approaching the penultimate fence Carryonharry and Full Irish were side by side, Carryonharry just landed first and had the inside line turning into the home-straight. On the bend Full Irish slipped up leaving Carryonharry clear of Fantastic Champion who was gaining ground but the advantage was too great and Carryonharry was able to add another win to his record sheet.
1st Carryonharry, Cynthia Haydon 6/4
2nd Fantastic Champion, Kelly Smith 4/1
Time 6 mins 42 secs Distances 5 lengths. 4 ran, 2 finished.
Race 5: The Men’s Open Race
A field of 4 were also declared for the men’s open race. Theatre Knight (Nick Pearce) was the bookies favourite at 4/5 with Boy’s Hurrah (Phil York) at 5/2 and the other two runners Basic Fact (James Owen) and Big Al (James Sarchet) both at 6/1.
The men set off at a relatively fast pace with Big Al, leading Boy’s Hurrah and Theatre Knight and Basic Fact a couple of lengths further back. By fence two Big Al had a three length advantage over his three rivals. Basic Fact was slow over fence four, but the four runners had started to bunch up again by fence five. Big Al continued to lead over fence six with Boy’s Hurrah, Basic Fact and Theatre Knight close behind. As the four runners set out on their second circuit the pace of the race started to settle and the group continued to jump well. At fence eleven Theatre Knight started to make progress through the field, but at fence twelve Big Al started to drop back leaving Boy’s Hurrah to lead from Theatre Knight. Big Al was starting to get detached by fence thirteen where he was pulled up. Theatre Knight put in a good jump at the fifteenth whilst Basic Fact also started to move closer and the remaining three runners were all still in with a chance with three fences to jump. Boy’s Hurrah continued to lead over fence sixteen with Theatre Knight and Basic Fact close behind. At the penultimate fence, Boy’s Hurrah landed first and was urged on again turning into the home straight. Basic Fact was the one to give chase, but Boy’s Hurrah was able to pull away before the last fence and another good jump over the last sealed the race. Basic Fact finished clear of Theatre Knight who scrambled over the last.
1st Boy’s Hurrah, Phil York 5/2
2nd Basic Fact, James Owen 6/1
3rd Theatre Knight, Nick Pearce 4/5 (Favourite)
Time 6 mins 36 secs Distance 3 lengths and 4 lengths. 4 ran, 3 finished.
Race 6: The Grants Cherry Brandy Open Maiden Race
A field of 5 were declared for the final race of the day. Midleton Madness (Gordon Gallagher) was sent off the 4/6 favourite with Kanga Gold (Annika Panman) and Young Emma (Peter Bull) both at 3/1, Ath Tiomain (Jody Sole) at 8/1 and Carvilla (Steve Spice) just the outsider at 10/1.
Midleton Madness and Kanga Gold led over the first fence followed by Carvilla with Young Emma and Ath Tiomain both held at the back of the field. Ath Tiomain was slow over the first fence, whilst Midleton Madness got in close and hit the second fence. Young Emma made a mistake at fence three and at the same time Carvilla pulled himself towards the front of the field. At fence five Carvilla just led from Kanga Gold with Midleton Madness a length further back and Young Emma and Ath Tiomain a couple of lengths even further behind. Midleton Madness wasn’t very fluent over fence six (open ditch) and was also slow over fence seven. Kanga Gold was low over fence eight and also made a mistake at fence nine allowing Carvilla to open up a couple of lengths advantage and also allowing Midleton Madness to move into second place behind Carvilla. Ath Tiomain was pulled up at fence eleven when starting to lose ground on the other four runners. Kanga Gold started to hang towards the horseboxes approaching fence twelve and lost a lot of ground, dropping to the back of the field. Young Emma jumped well over fence thirteen (second open ditch) and started to gain ground on Midleton Madness and Carvilla. Midleton Madness made a mistake at fence fifteen allowing Carvilla to pull away again, but after the sixteenth fence Midleton Madness moved into the lead followed by Young Emma whilst Carvilla started to drop away but remained ahead of Kanga Gold. Approaching the penultimate fence, Young Emma was pushed to chase Midleton Madness, however Young Emma hit the penultimate fence hard which allowed Midleton Madness to pull clear on the home turn. Midleton Madness was fluent over the last and pulled further clear on the run to the line to lose his maiden status. Young Emma had a better jump over the last to take second whilst Carvilla pulled up before the last leaving Kanga Gold the only other finisher in third.
