25 May 2008 Stratford – pointtopoint.co.uk Champion Novices’ Hunters’ Chase (John Corbet Cup)
Val Jackson & Robbers Glen: popular winners of the pointtopoint.co.uk Champion Novice Hunter Chase
On May 23rd 1977 Valerie Alder enjoyed a day to remember. Having passed her driving test at 11.15, she collected her father John from Walkergate Hospital, where he had been taken a week earlier with a split eyeball after a fall at Newcastle.
Her grandfather then drove both of them to Nottingham, where the teenager rode her first Hunter Chase winner on Lothian Brig, on ground described officially as "hard."
31 years later, to the day, Valerie Jackson (nee Alder) won the race which had been her goal all season, the Weatherbys-sponsored Novice Hunter Chase Championship, on her imposing eight-year-old Robbers Glen who, having looked tapped for toe when Kiama went for home after three out, rallied in the straight to jump upsides at the last and win going away.
"I don't know many people down here, but there seemed to be a lot of cheering when we came in," said Val, who as well as being owner, trainer and rider, had also driven the box from her Northumberland yard, setting out at 6.30am.
Val bought Robbers Glen, for whom Graham Wylie had originally paid 85,000gns, privately from out of Howard Johnson's yard, and was invited by the trainer to take the horse for a two month trial period before making her decision whether to purchase. "We arrived at the yard at 9.30, just as Howard was about to have his breakfast," recalled one of the Jackson "support team" Ian Hamilton, "and when we left at 3.30 he still hadn't had it!"
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Both Val and Polly Gundry, the rider of Kiama, were interviewed after the race by the stewards, who deemed them to have hit their mounts in the wrong place. Both received a caution but no fines were imposed.
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The disappointment of the race was the well-fancied Rydal Park, who was travelling nicely with a circuit to go, after which things went slightly awry. "A lot of it was my fault," admitted David Kemp. "I was probably ahead of the game at the water, but we didn't meet it on a stride and he landed awkwardly, then he got hit from behind by Jonjo's horse at the next and the saddled shifted. It took me a few strides to get level again, but when we bypassed the ditch and had to cut back in I was on the inside and we had no room."
Having realised that the best he could manage would be fifth or sixth, and that only with some serious pressure applied, David accepted defeat and pulled up, with Rydal Park reported none the worse for his exertions the following day.
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One of the main talking points prior to the race was the injustice of the balloting system, which saw some of the country's leading Point-to-Pointers failing to get into the race, while there were some in the field who certainly should not have received preference from the handicapper.
Among those balloted out were Little Ed, with seven Point-to-Point victories to his credit, Chorizo and Worship The Stars (both six), and Beautiful Dawn, Cottage River and Strong Weld, with four apiece.
This inability to take into account the performances of those with no form under Rules until you get much further down the list of directives must be an outdated mechanism as far as Hunter Chasing is concerned. This particular race is the highlight of the season for novice Pointers, so the fact that they are denied a run does make a mockery of the system and has the potential to insult sponsors, who would really like to see the best, and most relevant, horses competing.
Common sense would indicate that a much more logical procedure would be the use of the official Point-to-Point ratings when looking at Hunter Chases. To have past under Rules form as the primary source of qualification is surely questionable.