Will Biddick, Britain’s most successful point-to-point rider, saddled a winner at the Cheltenham Festival today when Porlock Bay landed the St James’s Place Open Hunters’ Chase.
The 16/1 winner would have been ridden by his trainer, but a ban on non-elite sports meant Biddick and his fellow amateur riders could not take part. Instead he gave the ride to former point-to-point rider and now conditional jockey Lorcan Williams, who drove Porlock Bay to a short-head victory over the 2/1 favourite Billaway, ridden by Paul Townend for trainer Willie Mullins. Third place went to Staker Wallace from Enda Bolger’s stable.
Biddick told Alice Plunkett of ITV Racing: “I’ve been a bag of nerves all day. It is an unbelievable feeling. Lorcan gave him a peach of a ride. He jumped, he travelled, and Lorcan put him in the right position to finish it off.”
The victory meant Biddick, who is based in Somerset, can now claim to be a winning trainer and rider at the Festival. In 2009 he won the Festival Plate on Something Wells, trained by Venetia Williams.
A French import, Porlock Bay is owned by John Studd and was ridden by Biddick to win on his British debut at Kimble in November. Williams took over when the horse finished runner-up at Wincanton in a hunters’ chase ahead of today’s big race.
Porlock Bay (Will Biddick) after their Kimble win
Sky Pirate was another success story at the Festival having started life on the British point-to-point circuit. Ridden by Nick Scholfield for trainer Jonjo O’Neill, Sky Pirate won Wednesday’s Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase, four years after he made a winning debut at Larkhill for Sophie Lacey’s stable.
Other good performances by former British pointers during the week included Tea Clipper’s third place in the Coral Cup for Tom Lacey’s stable. Tea Clipper was trained by Lacey’s wife Sophie to win a restricted race at Larkhill in February 2019.