All Posts

Another busy weekend saw four point-to-points take place on Saturday and four more on Sunday, and West Mercian and South Midlands participants were on the scoresheet at seven of the eight fixtures.   James King and Ed Doggrell currently sit first and third in the national jockeys standings, and both added three wins to their tally at the weekend. They each had a double at Chilfrome in Dorset on Saturday – King on Shareyourbiscuits and No Hard Feelings, and Doggrell on Duc De

The Easter Bank Holiday is the busiest weekend of the pointing calendar, with twelve meetings taking place across the country, from Cornwall to North Yorkshire. With four fixtures in the West Mercian Area, along with two in the South Midlands, opportunities abounded for participants from those two areas. James King continues his remorseless pursuit of a fifth jockeys title and his four winners over the past few days – Rhythm Of Life at Higham in Suffolk, The Dancing Tree for

The Old Berkshire point-to-point at Lockinge on Easter Monday (6 th April) is one of the best-known and most popular meetings of the season, attracting crowds of up to 10,000. Lockinge usually attracts a huge crowd (Carl Evans) Racegoers are known for turning up hours before the first race and walking the course, a dog on a lead in one hand and a drink in the other! The fixture is the only one in the country to have taken advantage of a new rule, introduced this season, wher

By Russell Smith Connections with the trophy after Lift Me Up won at Kimble in 2024 (Neale Blackburn) Lift Me Up and IK Brunel, winners at the Kimblewick Hunt meeting over the last two years, are set to do battle in front of a bumper crowd at Kimble on Easter Saturday (1.30pm). Trainer Maxine Filby sent out Lift Me Up from the Marston St Lawrence stables of former Spice Girl Geri Horner and her motor racing husband, Christian, to land a mixed open over 2m 4f on this card in 2

With seven meetings taking place across the country – including the latest West Mercian Area fixture of the season at Maisemore Park in Gloucestershire – opportunities again abounded for horses, trainers and jockeys from the South Midlands and West Mercia. Chris Barber has his string in fine fettle and took his seasonal tally to 24 with four winners at three meetings. On Saturday, Mount Sinai won at Howick in Wales for Clara Brewitt while Skeeter Rock scored at Larkhill with

A – to date – season-high eight meetings took place last weekend, and South Midlands and West Mercian participants took full advantage, getting on the scoresheet at least once at all the fixtures, from Overton in Lanarkshire to Kilworthy, on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon. Henry Crow, no doubt still buzzing after his Cheltenham Foxhunters triumph, made the long journey to Overton from his Shropshire base and came back with a double thanks to Phantoms Cave and Eagles Rock, two

Cirencester Races – racing under its new name for the second time, having previously been known as the VWH point-to-point – was blessed with fine weather for the usual large crowd, along with plenty of runners. 43 faced the starter in total across the six races – the highest figure of the eight meetings across the country last weekend – and racing saw a homebred double for a stalwart of the sport, while at the other end of the scale, two trainers enjoyed a first winner. Owner

No local area meetings were among the four that took place nationally last weekend, but participants from the West Mercian and South Midlands areas still managed to get on the scoresheet at all of them, with involvement in every win on the card at Howick in Wales on Saturday. Top of the tree was Herefordshire-based trainer Chris Barber, an across the card double at Howick and Cothelstone in Somerset taking his score for the season to 19. Mount Sinai took the Open and Walkingt

On a weekend overshadowed by the tragic death of popular South Midlands jockey Sam Lee, there were a season-high six meetings – including two in the West Mercian Area – giving plenty of opportunities for South Midlands and West Mercian participants to get on the scoresheet, and they took full advantage, being involved in 21 victories at five fixtures, including a clean sweep at Bangor-on-Dee on Sunday. Star performer was again 11-time champion jockey Gina Andrews, who rode si

South Midlands and West Mercian participants again had a successful weekend, with involvement in 15 wins at the meetings at Kingston Blount on Saturday and Ampton and Larkhill on Sunday. Six of those victories were achieved by perennial female champion jockey Gina Andrews, who rode trebles at the Oxfordshire track on Saturday and in Suffolk the day after. She also trained all three Kingston Blount winners – Cheytac in the Conditions Race, Entity of Substanz in the 0-110 Serie

After no racing took place last weekend, Saturday and Sunday again proved successful for West Mercian and South Midlands horses, owners, trainers and riders, with involvement in no fewer than ten winners at three of the four meetings held nationwide. Jeremy Hill (centre) with James King and trainer's son Joe Hill (no relation) after Drayton Flyer's win Star of the show was West Mercian-based owner Jeremy Hill, looking for his first winner. He ran his entire string of three… a

Team Britten - (L-R) Fred, Tom C, Clara, Tom B (all photos Caroline Exelby unless stated) At the young age of 27 and with a string of just six, Tom Britten is already making a name for himself on the pointing scene, having taken big Hunter Chases at Cheltenham and Stratford, including the ‘Horse & Hound Cup’ at the latter venue, with What A Glance in 2024, and training the progressive Ocean Drifter to win four on the bounce in the past two campaigns, most recently scoring in

It was another successful weekend for the two Areas, with participants from West Mercia and the South Midlands involved in all six victories at Higham and seven of the nine successes at Larkhill (including a dead-heat!) To cap it off, Fred Timmis and Henry Bailey made the long journey to Friars Haugh and came back with a win at the Borders course courtesy of Sharing Is Caring in the Restricted. Connections celebrate after Sharing Is Caring's Restricted win (Sean Tasker-Brown)

With the weather continuing to play havoc with the point-to-point calendar, just one meeting took place this weekend – at Charing in Kent. Racing was competitive, and saw victories for the Chamings Family’s Protect The Future in the second division of the split Maiden, Chris Clarke’s Kansas Du Berlais in the Ladies Open, ending a run of seven consecutive placings (including one on the flat!) and Alan Hill’s The Dancing Tree - pictured below working at home - in the Restricte

Jo Priest, who trains a string of 11 pointers at the historic Caradoc Court stables in Herefordshire – where John Edwards enjoyed so much success under rules with the likes of Pearlyman and Yahoo – has long held a reputation as one of the shrewdest handlers in the business. Last season, she enjoyed a strike rate of over 25%, and eight of her ten horses won – four first time out. She enjoys a 100% record this season too, her Karaktere D’Enfer having taken a Young Horse Maiden

It was another fine weekend for participants from the South Midlands and Sandhurst Areas, with three winners at Horseheath on Saturday followed by a clean sweep at the first South Midlands meeting of the season, at Cocklebarrow on Sunday. The mare Ask Elli, homebred by Chub Castle, got off the mark for the season at Horseheath in the Restricted, while another to break their duck for this campaign was jockey Charlie Case, who took one of the Maidens at the Cambridgeshire track

James King was the main beneficiary of the weekend’s racing, a win at Revesby Park on Saturday and a Sunday Larkhill double taking him five clear at the top of the jockeys’ championship. His trip to the Lincolnshire venue was rewarded with a win in the Mixed Open on Linelee King – trained by Camilla Murphy, wife of rules handler Olly – while Chris Barber’s Grace A Vous Enki went nine from nine at the Wiltshire track with an emphatic performance in the Mixed Open. Barber himse

It was another successful Saturday for South Midlands and West Mercian participants, as they teamed up to take five of the six races at the East Anglian venue. While it was a quiet weekend on the West Mercian front, with just one area-qualified runner, four-time champion jockey James King rode a double on pointing debutant Jorah (Maiden) and I K Brunel (Mens Open) - both for Alan Hill - to go two clear in his quest for a fifth title. Hill has now had seven winners this season

Will and Annabel with Colibri Bleu (all photos Caroline Exelby unless stated) Based at Grendon, near Atherstone, Will Thirlby is one of an increasingly rare breed in the sport of point-to-pointing nowadays, a farmer-trainer-rider. After a promising start to his career as a jockey, with a high of 12 wins in 2018/2019, Will went to study at the Royal Agricultural College, before returning to help father Tim run the family farm – with 2,000 dairy goats to milk daily, it is the s

The second West Mercian Area fixture of the season was held at Chaddesley Corbett on Sunday, and plenty of participants from the local and South Midlands Areas were among the winners.   Heading the West Mercian roll of honour was Latitude, winner of the Mens Open for trainer Phil Rowley and owner Diana Williams, Vice Chair of the Harkaway Club fixture. Latitude wins the Mens Open Jo Priest, who trains at historic Caradoc Court in Herefordshire, has a splendid first time out r