Outsider rides his luck for victory

Apr 28 2008 by Peter Burgon, The Journal

Point to Point

IT often pays to back the outsider in a three-horse race and that was the case in Saturday’s Fife Members Race at Balcormo Mains near Leven as Darnley came up trumps at rewarding odds of 9-2.

The 11-year-old travelled and jumped well under Simon Clark but, after being headed three out, had luck on his side as the odds-on favourite Almost Blue was a length up when falling at the next.

Left well clear, Clark’s mount sauntered home 25 lengths ahead of the only other finisher, Wise Man. The winner, owned and trained by Fife Hunt Joint Master, Jeremy Billinge, was ending a long losing run stretching back to December 2003.

Philippa Shirley-Bevan’s in-form Bonchester Bridge yard equalled last season’s tally of 10 winners between the flags when Minouchka took the Ladies Open in the hands of Kelly Bryson without being asked serious questions.

Hexham amateur Andrew Richardson still leads Tristan Davidson by four points in the Northern Area Men’s Championship despite drawing a blank from his five rides. It might have been a different story had his mount, Mitchel Henry, not slipped on landing two out when two lengths up in the Men’s Open. Richardson did well to keep the partnership intact but their chance had gone as Senora Moss swept by to secure a one length verdict over Behavingbadly.

This was a career-best effort by the Jane Walton-trained mare, and a ninth winner of the campaign for 2007 Yorkshire Champion Chris Dawson, to make his 350-mile round trip from Sedgefield worthwhile. Dawson said: “She was idling in front and just did enough to hold off Behavingbadly”.

Richardson’s fortunes looked like changing in the Open Maiden for five, six, and seven year olds when he produced Moor Red with a perfectly-timed run on the inner to hit the front at the last but his mount met it all wrong and fell. Their demise left the way clear for Easter Queen to win by four lengths over Stoneriggs.

This lightly raced six-year-old mare, home-bred by Kilmarnock feed merchant, Robert Goldie and trained at Mindrum by Nichola Neill, had been given plenty of time to recover by connections after taking a crashing fall at the last in Waterford’s race at Dalston on her previous start.

The favourite, Grove Leader, looked in trouble down the back straight on the final circuit of the Restricted Race but picked up well after being given a couple of reminders by Chatton farmer Roger Green to head Bright An Bubbly two out and kept on to score by two lengths. The seven-year-old’s Duns-based owner/trainer Doreen Calder said: “He won a Maiden on soft going in Ireland on New Year’s Day last year and I bought him privately unseen four months later from Gerry O’Leary who has also supplied me with subsequent winners Gooner and Knocknaboul King.”

The two market leaders, Lucksar and Seaview Lass, cut each other’s throats on the final circuit of the NPPA Club Members Race and Indien Du Bouley swept past them after the second last as if they were standing still. The 12-year-old stayed on strongly in the closing stages to beat Lauderdale by ten lengths and give Edinburgh veterinary student Jack Wallace a second career winner.