This weekend we had our first runners of the Point to Point season. We travelled 720 miles with 3 runners and came home with two winners and a third – not a bad weekend!
On Saturday, Joe and Izzie travelled down to Dunsmore Point to Point with Hawkhurst for the Ineos Grenadier Mixed Open. Hawk has had a lot of physio since the end of last season which has been a huge help as he jumped fantastically. Hawk travels very strongly in his races and is known to be quite a hard puller, so it was less than ideal that when he landed over the second fence the cheekpiece on his bridle broke - luckily the xnb held the bit in his mouth so he was able to carry on with his usual enthusiasm! Despite this woopsie, Hawk still ran brilliantly to finish 3rd and will come on a lot for the run.
Hawk and Joe schooling on Friday ready for his seasonal debut!
On Sunday we headed to Ffos Las Point to Point with two runners, both ridden by Izzie and both making their yard debut. As we arrived the heavens opened and the racecourse had 7mm of rain in just 20 minutes, turning the going to heavy. Despite this, the Welsh Point to Point team did a brilliant job and the course looked fantastic.
Our first runner was Serenisa, a 6yo grey mare by Kayf Tara, in the Jockey Club Mares’ Maiden race. She had previously run in a few NHF and novice hurdles under rules with Jamie Snowden before joining the yard. Despite being relatively inexperienced on the track, she has shown a great attitude at home and has taken to jumping fences well.
After the second fence she settled nicely in front and didn’t see another horse for the rest of the race! She relished the softer ground over the 2m4f trip and pulled well clear from the rest of the field turning up the long home straight to win by 25 lengths.
Serenisa is owned by The Sunday Night Partnership and gave the members their first Point to Point winner. The syndicate is a great way to get involved in racehorse ownership for the season, with 10% shares available in 3 competitive horses at a one off cost of £2,000 + vat per share. Hopefully Serenisa will give the syndicate a few more winners this season, along with Mythical Prince and Lisheen Prince who are also included. If you are interested in joining, please contact lawney@lawneyhill.co.uk.
Our second runner was unraced 4yo Ilhela D’Engilbert (son of Karaktar), owned by Mrs Standen and Mrs Guinness, in the 4 & 5yo Point to Point Flat race. ‘Bertie’ was purchased by our yard sponsor Ed Bailey Bloodstock and the owner’s son James Standen, who is assistant trainer to Sam Thomas, at the Goffs Land Rover Sale in 2021. He coped very well with the heavy ground and took the lead 10 furlongs from home, drawing clear of his rivals and running on very well to win by 10 lengths. It was great to provide his owners with their first winner from their first runner, and hopefully there are many more exciting days out for him this season as we look to run him in a Maiden Point to Point next time out.
Congratulations to Izzie for riding a double on the day and a massive thank you to our hardworking team at the yard who without, results like these wouldn’t be possible! We are heading to Larkhill Point to Point on Sunday with a few runners, so fingers crossed the good results continue!
Photo credits: Sporting Prints
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