National Champion Point To Point Yard!
Well, I think Bank Holiday Monday deserves a whole blog to itself. The official Point to Point season drew to a close on Bank Holiday Monday and Josh and the team at Blackmore Farm finished in front of the Championship for Leading Yard with 27 winners, 2 clear of Alan Hill. The race for the Championship went right down to the wire and it was great to finish in front.
We took 4 runners to Upcott Cross and started the day with Whitsand Bay in the Conditions for Grassroot Riders. Ella Herbison gave him a very patient ride to get the better of Premier d’Troice in a driving finish to win by 1/2L. Buzz was new to us this season and has been nothing but a superstar since we had him. He leaves everything on the track and really grinds out his races. He has won 3 of his 5 starts for us and was 2nd on the other two occasions. He is another fun horse for owners John & Sonia Gardener. Important Notice was unfortunately having an off day and Josh very sensibly pulled him up. Hearts Corner finished on a good note to come 2nd to the progressive Jet Smart also under Josh. The day ended with Bruce Gobbler winning the Maiden under Darren Andrews. We knew before this race that we had won the Championship, so the pressure was off but it was most certainly the cherry on top of the cake to cheer Bruce home. Bruce ran a very promising race at Cothelstone so we were quietly hopeful of another good run and it was the perfect way to finish the day. It was amazing to give Richard & Bridget House another winner for the season and lovely for their daughter Sarah to also be there to enjoy it.
As the sun began to set at Upcott, the team were joined by lots of our owners and supporters to celebrate with several bottles of bubbles and another wonderful picnic put on by Josh. It has been the most amazing season for us all and we are so grateful for everyone’s support and help along the way, no matter how big or small it may be. Tuesday morning soon came around and we all enjoyed a breakfast of champions with Prosecco, Breakfast Rolls and Doughnuts.
Even though the official season has finished, the Devon and Cornwall area keeps rolling for another three meetings. We will have a couple of runners at both Trebudannon and Bratton Down and Sixteen Letters heads to Stratford Racecourse this evening to try and retain his crown in the Handicap Hunter Chase.
Photos by Sophie Davies
