The Pointing Thread

sorry ..thought she would just turn up or they would bend the rules with her being a celeb..she will be struggling to get a win from what i saw other day.,,would they bend the rules for the publicity do you think?
 
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Ive never taken enough notice to know the ins and outs of it, but somewhere at the back of my mind is a need for the jockeys to qualify as well. Martin will know, he knows everything :)
 
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You need a certain category of Amateur License to ride in the Foxhunters - basically go to a course in Newmarket which VP did back in August I believe, that's how she's qualified to ride.

Martin
 
I've not watched any of it lately - I know there's a jockeycam video of the fall knocking about, I might have a look at that if I can muster the energy!!

I like that she's planning to buy a couple of horses and keep going after this year ends, I hope she does well with that and has a lot of fun. A year was a big ask - even without the extra pressures.
 
Spot on Trudi - any decision on her riding PDP will be down to herself & PFN plus the owner, assuming the BHA stick to their rules and regs.

Martin
 
I'm no judge, but I've been watching point to point for twenty years and spent a few years heavily involved with the sport, and to my eye she rides OK. Not saying she's John Francome but you see plenty of less capable riders pointing. She might well fall off round Cheltenham but if she's happy to risk it why shouldn't she have a go? Pretty sure worse riders under less scrutiny have competed there.
 
I've seen worse riders with far more experience than her, she can get up from a fall too which will help her.

Two look massively overpriced today:

Barel Of Laughs (16:05 Doncaster). Useful horse under Rules a few years ago in Ireland and had a prolonged absence to overcome when pulling up at Warwick last month. He ran as if he'd improve for the run on that occasion and that proved to be the case given he was well supporter prior to a comfortable victory back on a sound(ish) surface at Barbury Castle in a decent time a couple of weeks ago. Sam Waley-Cohen rode on that occasion and Paddy Gerety booked to ride isn't a negative and I think he should be a single figure price here (currently 16's available, 14/1 generally).

Shoreacres (16:50 Ludlow). Not getting any younger having turned 13 in January but he has a good record fresh and ran well in the Foxhunters behind On The Fringe last year. He won FTO in a Ladies Open at Hackwood Park in 2014 prior to finishing runner-up to Siro Demur in a short HC at Leicester and he justified Even money favouritism when winning at Huntingdon over this trip FTO in 2015. He should be fit enough to do himself justice and with David Maxwell riding the favourite (needs a first or second here to book qualification for Cheltenham) you always have a chance of getting it turned over (Out Now tired very badly under Maxwell on the run in here last year). Grandioso's trainer is woefully out of form and Twirling Magnet is the obvious danger but Shoreacres is a huge price and I made him third favourite.

Martin
 
On the subject of Salsify, those rules are there for a reason and have been in place for a long time. If they didn't exist you'd have loads of pointers who weren't good enough turning up for the sake of having a Cheltenham runner, and horses from top yards turning up to win the race without ever turning up in a hunter chase or point to point.

To his credit salsify's trainer hasn't whinged about it at all. To be fair if they were that bothered there would probably be an open point to point somewhere he could win without exerting himself too much.
 
Two this weekend he could go in Benny - neither look particularly weak but he could run in them. Would sooner her ran in one pre-Leopardstown though to make sure he was qualified via that.

They could always do what some connections allegedly did a few years ago and paid people not to run - the result was a match, the horse in question collapsed after winning it (but did place in the big one), all alleged as just what I have read elsewhere from those at the meeting.

Martin
 
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