Big plans ahead for the feature hurdle victor

Weeks don’t come much busier than the last one at Worcester Racecourse.  Two race meetings in 4 days were quickly followed by the West Midlands Area Point to Point annual awards dinner.

Racing highlights included the feature hurdle of the season which was the £18,500 Totepool sponsored handicap hurdle. The 14 horses who lined up for a race worthy of its billing include the one-eyed mare, As I Am, who won 3 races at Worcester last summer before going on to success in a listed mares’ races at Newbury and Cheltenham over the winter. Claines trained Bobowen, winner of the 2013 Market Rasen Summer Plate also took his chance in the race.

The eventual result of an exciting finish was a 1-2 for Irish owner, JP McManus with his second string horse, Vulcanite (pictured in the green far side below) defying top weight to beat the AP McCoy ridden, Join The Clan. Vulcanite now heads for the Galway Hurdle.

 

 

Hereford trainer, Richard Price enjoyed a winner for Worcester based owners, Derek and Cheryl Holder.  Iguacu shed his maiden tag over jumps going one better than his recent Uttoxeter run. Price formerly trained Flaky Dove to win the 1994 Smurfit Champion Hurdle, a horse who also ran at Worcester back in 1991.

 

Wolverhampton racecourse is currently having a new Tapeta all weather surface laid on its track and legendary trainer, Michael Dickinson who is currently overseeing this operation, was spotted enjoying a busman’s holiday at the Worcester family raceday. Dickinson is famous for not only training 2 Cheltenham Gold Cup winners, Silver Buck and Bregawn, but also for being the only person in history to train the first five home in a Gold Cup in 1983.

 

Mike Hammond who trains at Abberley had a rare Worcester winner ridden by Denis O’Regan.  Provincial Pride staged a rally having been booked for fourth place over the last hurdle.  The horse was formerly trained in Ireland by James Joseph Mangan, trainer of the 2003 Grand National Winner, Monty’s Pass.

 

The West Midlands Area includes 12 hunts, all of whom run annual Point to Points. The season which started last December and ended in June culminated in the annual awards dinner at the Racecourse on Saturday.

 

It was a good night for trainer/amateur jockey, Tom Weston. Weston picked up accolades for the leading Area point to point trainer, for leading horse with Soutine and finished runner up to Mark Wall for the top gentleman rider honours.

 

Racing resumes at Pitchcroft tomorrow when gates open at 12.20pm.