REVIEW - GRAFTON POINT-TO-POINT - EDGCOTE - Sunday 14th May 2023

Nine went to post for the feature race, the PPORA Novice Riders Championship Final, with £1,000 total prize money and £500 to the winner and, appropriately for a novice riders race, it was won by the youngest jockey in the field, 16-year-old Cian Murphy on Give Us A Swig. Always in the first three, the pair took the lead five out, jumped and travelled well and were never in danger as they scored by five lengths and five from Largy Mountain and Cobra De Mai, both of whom were doing their best work at the finish.Give Us A Swig is trained at Soham, Cambridgeshire by Michelle Bentham – who used to have useful hunter chaser Jurado Express – and her partner Paul Birrane, who is feed man for leading flat trainer Charlie Appleby, and told me how they came by the horse. “We intended to give up training after Covid, but Cian’s mum Marie – who is assistant trainer to Charlie – asked us to find a couple of schoolmasters for him to ride, so we train him and Prairie Town (who was third in the preceding open) from our garden! We don’t have any facilities, so have to box them to Newmarket. We’ll go home and have a think about whether we give him one more race, but I’ll have to dig out my best bib and tucker for the awards at Stratford now!” Explaining his primarily white colours, with some yellow and blue, Paul said, “They’re for my team Leeds United, who’ll probably get relegated this season.”Norfolk-based David Kemp, who is enjoying a fantastic season, went home with a double, initiated by Clara Sorrento in the John White Funeral Directors Mixed Open. A small but quality field of five faced the starter here and jockey Rupert Stearn – on his first ride back since a crunching fall at Fakenham last month – made all on the twelve-year-old, who jumped exuberantly, led his rivals a merry dance and never looked likely to be beaten, eventually coming home eight lengths clear of Dundrum Wood, with Prairie Town 30 lengths third.David completed his double with the Dale Peters-ridden All The Ammunition, who followed up his Maiden victory at the last meeting here in the nine-runner Towcester Vets Restricted Race. Mid-division early, he made effortless progress on the final circuit to go second four out, before taking the lead a fence later and going on to score comfortably by seven lengths from the always-prominent Ultra Viers, with Bestfriend Barnaby two-and-a-quarter lengths further back.The NFU Mutual Open Maiden Race, in which twelve – the biggest field of the day – ran, went to the oldest horse in the race, ten-year-old Equus Flight, ridden by the oldest jockey, Phil York, who had ridden his 400th winner the day before on his 57th birthday. Placed six times previously, Equus Flight can be prone to tailing himself off before coming with a late rattle but while held up again, his jockey kept him in contention and took closer order going out on the final circuit before moving into third four out and taking the lead at the penultimate fence. Dennis El Menace had every chance but was eventually beaten a length with the fast-finishing Hugh De Lacy a neck back in third.Another one-horse trainer to come away with a win was Harry Stock, whose mare Chenery, in the hands of Zac Baker, took the Savills Owner-Trainer Conditions Race in the closest finish of the day. The odds-on shot looked to be struggling for much of the race as another mare – Heaven Scent – attempted to lead all the way and looked likely to do so jumping the last. However, she was passed by Padjoes Legacy on the run-in, who was in turn overtaken by a late run from Chenery, galvanised by her jockey to get up by a neck and three-quarters of a length.“She was never going and never happy. You need to ride her from the front, so I’m surprised she pulled it out of the bag” admitted the trainer. “She may have been in season. She’ll have a break now, having won three in a row, and go again next season.” Harry, who used to ride in points and trains Chenery from Heather Butler’s yard Toddington near Cheltenham, is possibly the only trainer to claim chimney sweep as their full-time employment! “I also ride out for Martin Keighley,” he confirmed. “I bought Chenery last summer on the recommendation of former jockey Mikey Hamill and brought her in late this year to take advantage of the lighter evenings and I train her differently, with lots of flat work and showjumping with my girlfriend Beth Whittle. She enjoys not being on the gallops.”The opening race on the card, the Heygates Country Feeds Members Race, sponsored by the same company for 40 years, went the way of another odds-on favourite in Champagne Noir, trained by Tom Ellis and ridden by owner Ellie Holder. Six of the seven entries took part, and he was always going well behind leader Creadan Grae. Taking it up four out, he was unextended to score by 11 lengths from the runner-up, who gave Jemima Taylor a great first ride. The Borobodur was three-and-a-half lengths third.11 took part in the day’s closing contest, the Framptons Planning Conditions Race, for veteran horses ten years old and over. It was won by Craigmor, a first success for 19-year-old Walter Barnett. Rear early, they made steady progress on the second circuit, took the lead four out and, despite hanging on the run-in, took the spoils by four-and-a-half lengths from the strong finishing Dr Des, with It’s For Alan – who was always close to the front – three lengths away in third.