Honourable Spider out to catch them in his web

The first Point-to-Point meeting in the South Midland area takes place at Dunthrop (Heythrop) near Chipping Norton on Sunday 16th December 2007. They are expecting a big crowd and have 167 entries on a 7 race card. Due to the amount of entries they have already split the maiden into 2 divisions. Although it looks doubtful they will need to split any further races. The first race starts at 11.00 a.m. and for directions to the course please click on the courses link courses for all your travel details. At this meeting cars will be charged at £10.00 to include the driver with any additional adults costing £5.00 per person. There will also be several stalls a fully licensed bar and various other catering facilities.

Over the closed season Dunthrop have made a few adjustments to the course. Moving the first fence from the far running rail to the inside running rail. The winning line has also been repositioned from the inside of the track to the centre of the course. Both of these adjustments seem to be good ideas and it will be interesting to see the outcome on Sunday.

The meeting kicks off with an Open Maiden for 5yr olds + . This race has been divided and Division 1 looks a very open contest. Local trainer Rosemary Gasson has Parkbridge Lad entered and looks to have as good a chance as any. Blazing Guns also has chances as he was finishing very strongly in the maiden at Tweseldown . It would also not be a surprise to see Alan Hill's Topol run well, as we put him up at the Tweseldown Racing Club meeting but could only finish in 4th place. This was not a bad effort especially as he was off the track for over a year. A very hard race to get the new South Midland season on its way.

We then move on to the PPORA Club members race. This race should go the way of Mounsey Castle if turned out in this race, as is also entered in the Mixed Open Race. Mounsey Castle won impressively for the Hobbs yard last season and will be hard to beat against some very modest and well exposed opposition. River Reine is probably best of the rest and after his pipe opener at Black Forest Lodge could give Mounsey Castle most to do.

If Blazing Guns runs well in the first division of the maiden then this could point you in the right direction for the winner of Division 2. As Millview, Blazing Guns, and Declans Choice finished 2nd, 3rd, and 4th in the Open maiden at Tweseldown. Declans Choice could turn the tables on Millview this time around as he was finishing very strongly and would of probably won the race in another 20 yards. Still I feel Millville and Declans Choice will both need to improve greatly on this first run of the season to take the scalp of Primitive lass. Primitive lass only ran once last season and finished a decent 2nd. She would of learned plenty from that opening experience and looks certain to open her account this time around. This is not a strong race and should have a very big chance of breaking her duck.

The best race on the card with a fantastic entry is the Mixed Open race. These types of races are extremely hard to analyse as usually we have separate mens and Ladies races. In the Ladies race horses carry only 11 Stone but in the Mens equivalent horses carry 12 stone. So it can be quite difficult to compare the times of the races with the different amounts of weight. Obviously you would expect the ladies race to be run in a faster time with 1 Stone less to carry. The runners which take the eye are Chiculeo although I fear she could struggle to lug 12 Stone on her back as she is only a small horse and it may be best to wait another day for her. The 2 most likely winners are either Honourable Spider or Irilut. I would be slightly concerned with Irilut as he finished exhausted at Tweseldown only 2 weeks ago. If he has got over those exertions and with a run under his belt could be difficult to beat. However, Honourable Spider is a strong galloping front-runner who enjoyed plenty of success last season and his finest moment came when putting in a great jumping performance to take a reasonable Folkestone Hunter Chase. If fully wound up for his seasonal reappearance looks the one they all have to beat.

On Top for the inform Hutsby yard looks to have a good chance in the Restricted race. I would imagine he would have most to fear from Little Ed who ran a great race at Black Forest Lodge to finish just a couple of lengths behind On Top's stablemate Rash Move. This was a vast improvement on previous efforts and looks a major threat. Master Alf should also have a good chance in this race and could register a double on the day for jockey Peter Bull if Honourable Spider obliges in the Mixed Open race. This looks quite a decent little contest.

The Intermediate race looks very competitive but that first run of the season at Black Forest Lodge for Oscar Royal could well be the deciding factor. Oscar Royal is sure to strip fitter for that first outing and could record another double on the card for the Hutsby's following the double at Black Forest Lodge a fortnight ago. There are numerous other horses which could also have a chance. Sudden Arrival was in good form early last season but was not seen out since March, but he would be the most likely danger if returning back to the course on song. Of the others Lady Edison from the Duffosse team could also be in with a chance and there runners are always worth a second look.

The last race on what appears to be a really fascinating card looks to be between Candarli who won well at Black Forest Lodge on the opening day of the season and Gillie's Nephew. Candarli will have the fitness advantage and did really well to win having to shoulder a 7lb penalty. Although this was not the strongest of races. Gillies Nephew ran some good races last season and could need this first run of the season. But I still think he is the one to ruffle Candarli's feathers. The other horsve that is worth a mention is Calvic who came 3rd in a better race at Tweseldown a fortnight ago but was beaten a long way. This is more like his opposition and could run into a place.

As the actual declared runners for each race are not known until the day, I will make a selection of which horse I believe will have a good chance of winning the race. A second selection will also be given in case this horse does not run. The best two bets of the day will be tagged in the form of a Nap being the best bet, and a Next Best being the second best bet of the day.

Selections :

Race 1
Parkbridge Lad (Blazing Guns)

Race 2
Mounsey Castle (N.B) (River Reine)

Race 3
Primitive Lass (Declans Choice)

Race 4
Honourable Spider (Nap) (Irilut)

Race 5
On Top (Little Ed)

Race 6
Oscar Royal (Sudden Arrival)

Race 7
Candarli (Gillie's Nephew)


Dunthrop will also be staging 2 further meetings at the track on Sunday 20th January and Sunday 2nd March 2008.

Let’s hope the sun will be shining and everybody can have a really enjoyable days racing .

Please email any comments to info@southmidlandp2p.co.uk