DISPATCHES FROM THE SOUTH AND WEST MIDLANDS: 9 AND 10 MAY

With just three fixtures this weekend, participants from the South Midlands and West Mercian Areas did not find the pickings as rich as is often the case, although the usual suspects continued to enjoy success.

James King and Senior Citizen

National-champions elect James King (overall) and Lucas Murphy (novice riders) had across the card doubles. King scored on Galudon at Holnicote in Somerset on Saturday and on Alan Hill’s Senior Citizen in the Area Conditions Race at Oxfordshire venue Kingston Blount on Sunday. He now stands on 54 for the season and is just one shy of his 350^thwinner between the flags. Murphy teamed up with Paul Nicholls at Holnicote and won with Emailandy, and travelled to Upcott Cross in Devon on Sunday to score on Woodstock Octo. With 14 wins – plus two under rules – he is all but guaranteed to be leading novice.

Jewel In The Park and Ed Doggrell (Tim Holt)

Chris Barber may fall just short of a first trainers title, but has enjoyed a splendid season, and took his tally to 38 with a Holnicote double with Jewel In The Park and Kings Affinity. Both were ridden by Ed Doggrell, another having by far his best campaign – he is third in the jockeys table with 32 wins.

Ed Doggrell and Kings Affinity (Alun Sedgmore)

Local connections did not enjoy their usual dominance at Kingston Blount, taking only three of the six races – and one of these, I’m Like A Lion for Bradley Gibbs in the Restricted, is South Midlands-qualified but trained outside the area – so it was good to see the ebullient and evergreen Tim Underwood bask in a third success of the year with new recruit Modern Drift, who he had been talking up for weeks!

Read Russell Smith’s review of the action at Kingston Blount here.