A huge gathering of extremely enthusiastic spectators witnessed history being made at Horseheath when Gina Andrews duly rode the 304th point-to-point winner of her career on Fumet D’Oudairies in the Ladies Open to become the most victorious lady point-to-point rider in the sport.
Tumultuous applause and loud cheering greeted the pairing as they returned to the winners’ enclosure after their facile increase of pace saw them overtake the front-running Princeton Royale to win by three lengths.
True family support has been behind Gina’s success. Simon, her father, trained her first winner in 2008 and Gina’s husband, Tom, was responsible for the training of this record-breaking winner. As well as Simon and Tom, other immediate family members, including her mother Joanna and sister Bridget, were quickly on the scene to offer their congratulations, whilst brother Jack was in riding action over at Uttoxeter.
It was the combination of Gina and Jack who secured the purchase of Fumet D’Oudaries, who has now been ridden to victory by all three Andrews’ siblings, and the next, most likely, outing for the seven-year-old will be back at Horseheath at the end of January.
Gina summed up her equine superstar partner by saying, “He is just a phenomenal little horse and it’s a pleasure to have him in the yard.”
The record-breaking rider went on to heap well-deserved praise on the Horseheath course, considering it one of her favourites except when breaking her wrist here on her 21st birthday!
“It’s a very fair track with well-presented fences,” enthused Gina, who has now ridden 23 winners at Horseheath and is the course’s all-time leading lady rider.
Gina later went on to record her second winner of the day in the Restricted aboard the particularly impressive mare Mammoth, returning to racing after nearly two years away from the track, as the pair trounced their nearest rival by 15 lengths after taking the lead at the final open ditch.
Mammoth’s owners, namely Nigel Bloom, Tim Moore and William Wales, enjoyed a combined total of over 50 winners at Horseheath during their riding days and they were delighted to see the mare capture her second course win, having won her maiden here in February 2020. Their plaudits went to Gina and Tom Ellis, who found the mare for them and trained her perfectly for the occasion.
PPORA conditions contests for novice riders are usually competitive affairs and Bawnmore looked to make his customary front-running tactics pay dividends until challenged and subsequently overtaken by Mr Love and his partner Murray Dodd, who eventually ran out comfortable winners. Murray was recording his second success of his career and would have had full knowledge of the ability of Mr Love, along with trainer and part-owner Nick Pearce, as the gelding was a former inmate at the Dan Skelton yard, where both trainer and jockey are also associated.
The Men’s Open race was building up to be a close affair until Pont Aven departed at the third last fence, leaving Early Retirement and Vivaldi Collonges to battle it out between the final two fences and up the run-in. It was the latter who took the prize by a head under a strong riding finish from Ben Bromley.
Ben, who recently turned 19, has been gaining valuable experience riding on the National Hunt scene and is attached to the stable of Philip and Mel Rowley. Ben is more than happy to retain his amateur status, for the time being at least, and the opportunity to ride in points is something he particularly enjoys and is a natural extension of his pony racing days, most of which took place in East Anglia. He is the son of Vivaldi Collonges’ owner Anthony Bromley, a highly respected bloodstock agent and racing manager. The horse was purchased from leading amateur David Maxwell, who won a hunter chase with him at Newbury, and Anthony, co-incidentally, was also responsible for purchasing the horse from France for leading owner John Hales in its early racing days.
Pont Aven was none the worse for his fall and his day will come soon. Owner Tim Gredley was in attendance and, as well as receiving moral support from Frankie Dettori, who often wears the same famous Gredley colours, was enjoying the day’s action unfold.
The two maiden events produced eye-catching performances from two ex-Irish imports that will both go on to make their mark in the sport. Bloodstone, previously with Henry De Bromhead, was a £25k Doncaster Sales purchase and provided jockey George Henderson with his first winner for a few years, with the rider now boasting a career total of 24 successes. He broke his back about five years ago but was determined to resume his race-riding, which he has now achieved with grateful help of the Injured Jockey’s facilities.
Trainer Dale Peters pre-race advice had been to sit in behind, but with the partnership’s excitement and exuberance the pair were always leading a packed field and kept the momentum going when clearing the last fence two lengths to the good, before understandably tiring late on. They were almost caught by Call Colman and Alex Chadwick on the run-in but managed to prevail by a neck where it mattered most.
The most impressive performance of the day came from Coolagh Park and Izzie Marshall in the concluding Maiden Conditions race, who took up the running on the final circuit before winning handsomely, and with plenty in hand, by a distance at the line.
This was yet another winner for the Cranfield Family and Izzie’s record when wearing their colours is outstanding. The owners and trainer, Alan Hill, together with son Joe, will look forward to many more fruitful days if this exciting round of jumping, in these conditions, is anything to go by.
Kaproyale and James King won the opening Conditions race for the Poste team. Afterwards James commented, “The race fell apart coming down the hill for the final time,” and the partnership soon found themselves in front after being content to take a backseat early in the race. The fast pace of the race took its inevitable toll and there were only five finishers from the 13 who faced the starter.
But what a day’s racing, with 63 runners from 81 individual horses entered. Fantastic action all-round, but this was Gina’s day and all who attended were privileged to be there to witness her outstanding individual achievement.