THE latest meeting in the Yorkshire point-to-point calendar was held by Pendle Forest at Heslaker on Saturday and it was a good turn out for runners; the meeting had been well watered and had resulted in good ground.
The highlight of the day was the 3m 5f Mixed Open feature race which saw Jack Teal’s Shepherds Cave take another step forward and beat some useful rivals.
This continued to show the versatility of Shepherds Cave after he won at Easingwold the previous week and has now won over the extended trip on a stiff track - races such as the Grimthorpe Gold Cup must be on the agenda next year. One person who was riding and training her first winner was Rosie Howarth in the Novice Riders’ race aboard her own Major Ridge.
The pair stayed on well at the end to beat Alta Rock and Clues And Arrows.
The opening race was a Conditions race run over 2m 4f and it was a win for Oscar O’Scar, while the Open Maiden went the way of the Simon Edwards-trained Wingin A Prayer, who battled it out with the Chris Dawson pair Smart Seb and Foster’s Island to get the victory.
The winner just got on top of the pair after the last and put his previous experience to good use.
The Conditions race went the way of the Rory Bevin-ridden Templepoint trained by his mother Louise Bevin, bought last year at Doncaster’s May sales.
Templepoint took a big step forward on previous form to win in very easy fashion here.
The final race was the Hunt Members’ race and again went to the 15-year-old Forge Valley who was winning the race for the third time under Tom Greenwood.
The pair pulled readily clear of his sole rival Lauberhorn and the only other contender Windy Writer unseated mid-race.
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