Vale Of Aylesbury with Garth and South Berks – Easter Saturday 22nd March 2008

You could of been forgiven for thinking this meeting was at the beginning of December and not what should of been a beautiful spring afternoon. The weather was a mix of sun, rain, sleet, hail and snow and due to this inclement weather a smaller crowd than usual attended what is usually a very well attended meeting. The picnic baskets and deck chairs were abandoned and the warmth of the car with the heating on full blast was called for. The conditions at the course did not look too bad and the official going was good to soft, but many of the horses seemed to find the going very testing and many of them pulled up and did not finish their race. I am not sure if the weather was putting the horses off or the fact the jockeys just wanted to get back inside in the warm.

This photo will give you a good idea of the terrible conditions for the Mens Open Race as the handlers try and parade their respective horses.




Confined Race

The first race on the card was some what blunted by an intruding hailstorm halfway round which many of the runners, as you would imagine, did not take a liking to as only 3 of the 10 runners which set out finished the course. Longville Lad who had not run for a couple of seasons before making an appearance at Dunthrop last month put that run behind him taking the field along and quickening clear to score by an impressive 25 lengths. This showed the horse to be back to something like his best and should be followed in his next races. To the Top and Half Inch had a good battle for second place with To the Top coming out best but no match or danger to the winner. To the Top made several jumping mistakes, which did not help his cause. The other runner, which put in a poor performance was Peppershot for Phillip York who was never travelling and was duly pulled up.

Below : Longville Lad and Henry Kinchin clear of the field jumping the last in the opening Confined Hunts Race.





The Ladies Open Race

A quite competitive Ladies Race followed and with the 6/4 favourite Fauntleroy never in with a chance of winning the race after getting detached from the remainder of the field on the second circuit and eventually pulling up 3 from home. This left the door open for the other local runner Home By Midnight to take full advantage, as mentioned in the preview Home By Midnight has contested a couple of Hunter Chases on his last couple of starts and stayed on really well to catch Five Seven Live on the run to the winning line. Home By Midnight was beautifully produced under a decent ride by Maxine Filby and Five Seven Live lost nothing in defeat and his turn will surely not be long coming. Move Over also ran a decent enough race but was swamped by the front two on the run to the second last and should be able to take a similar race before the end of the season.

Below : Home By Midnight just behind Five Seven Live as they jump the last fence before going on to score in the Ladies Open Race.




The Mens Open Race

The Mens open race unfortunately only attracted 4 runners, but 3 of these horses were pretty decent which made this look an exciting race and so it turned out. Irilut, a prolific scorer in Mens Open Races, met his match when Murphy's Cardinal took it up 2 from home and Irilut had no answer as Murphy's Cardinal stayed on very strongly. Murphy's Cardinal looks a horse to keep on the right side off after this demolition of Irilut and should be followed for the rest of the season. Mr Splodge ran poorly dropping out of contention 5 out but I am sure he is capable of better and may of just needed this first run of the season, so I would not write him off just yet.

Below: Murphy's Cardinal puts in another great leap at the last to seal the Mens Open Victory.





Restricted Race

A very open restricted race came next and the site's nap Marble Leader was sent off the 6/4 favourite. On Top took up the running halfway round on the first circuit and never looked back from there on, showing some of his useful form from last season On Top obviously revelled in the testing conditions and could easily follow up on his next start now that he has hit form. Marble Leader and Sounds Good could never get close to the winner, both making too many jumping errors.

Below : On Top leads all the way to take the Restricted Race.





The Open Maiden Race

The Maiden race had the biggest field of the day and they sent off Primordial Soup the 3/1 favourite following a decent second at Didmarton. The maiden races at Didmarton are usually fairly strong and Primordial soup was the selection of this site. Leading from pillar to post, Primordial Soup jumped his rivals into the ground however he was tiring as the line approached and nearly got collared by the fast finishing Maddie's Dream under a strong Tash McKim ride. Maddie's Dream looks a good thing to go one better next time under similar conditions if these exertions have not taken to much out of her. Primordial Soup might prefer a slightly shorter trip but looks an improving sort and should be watched closely .

Below : Primordial Soup Jumps the last before hanging on to take the Open Maiden Race.





Hunt Members Race

The final race of the meeting was the Hunt Members race, which looked a match on paper between Lord Brunello and Long Courier. Amazingly enough this race was all about one fence on the second Circuit, this was the unlucky for some fence 13 when both Long Courier and Topol both fell independently and then the other runner Mariska's Token pulled up leaving Lord Brunello to complete the course in his own time. Long Courier was just in front when falling and it looked as if a good battle was about to commence when he came down. Emily Jarvis the rider of Long Courier took a crashing fall and was down for a while being seen to by the very quick and efficient ambulance staff. Our best wishes go out to her for a speedy recovery and we hope to see her back in the saddle very soon.

Below : Lord Brunello out on his own on his way to Hunt Members Victory.





A good number of decent horses attended this meeting, which in the past has not always been the case, as we quite often see very small fields with mediocre horses on what is one of the busiest days of the season for point-to-point meetings. Unfortunately, the weather put many of the crowd off as the attendance was well down on previous years, but to all those who braved the weather I believe they had an enjoyable day.

All pictures for this meeting were very kindly supplied by Neale Blackburn of Chasdog.

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