The International Racing Club Point-to-Point, which has been staged at Barbury since 2017, will now take place at Cocklebarrow Racecourse near Northleach in Gloucestershire on Sunday 11th December 2022.
by Jake Exelby, South Midlands Area PRO
Stumps were drawn earlier this summer at Barbury Racecourse after some 30 years Point-to-Point racing, leaving the three fixtures held at the track to find alternative venues.
Action from the International Racing Club fixture at Barbury last season
Cocklebarrow, where racing has been held since 2014, has proved formidably successful under the guidance of trainer and columnist Charlie Brooks, with its annual fixture in January bucking trends for low crowds at midwinter point-to-points. The racecourse is well-supported by owners, trainers and racegoers alike and is located in a county where horse racing – thanks to Cheltenham – is probably the best-attended leisure pursuit.
Racing at Cocklebarrow last season
“We’re delighted to have found a new home for this unique fixture, which remains the only British one open to professional British and Irish trainers, and at which Irish riders can also take part,” reported Meeting Secretary Ilona Barnett. She continued, “This meeting regularly attracts one of the highest volumes of entries and runners of all the 140+ British Point-to-Point fixtures, and we look forward to transferring that support to Cocklebarrow in 2022.”
Fran and Charlie Poste, leading exponents of the development of young horses through the British Point-to-Point scene, added, “We are delighted that the International Racing Club meeting has managed to find a new course and have every intention of having runners at the fixture again in December”.
Cocklebarrow Racecourse will stage two race meetings this season, the International Racing Club and the Heythrop fixture on Sunday 22nd January. It is a left-handed, wide, rectangular and slightly undulating, galloping track of about 1m2f in circumference, with eight portable, well-built fences on each circuit. Viewing is excellent and the quick-draining Cotswold brash soil ensures that the going does not become too testing. It is located at Cocklebarrow Farm, Aldsworth GL54 3PP, approximately one and a half miles south of the A40.
For more information, contact Peter McNeile on 07850 091523 or at [email protected]