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- Ynysybwl’S Bradley Earns Treble Chance At Ffos Las
Ynysbwl’s Bradley Gibbs was in cracking form at the Carmarthenshire Hunt Point-To-Point Steeplechases held at Ffos Las Racecourse (writes Brian Lee).
He won the Mares Maiden race on Highway Jewell, the Restricted Open on Captain McGinley and the Conditions race on TheGirlFromMilan.
Highway Jewell, a four-year-old chestnut filly and the youngest of the seven starters, finished alone after the early leader Jemma’s Gift had refused.
And Jemma Gift’s partner, the leading amateur rider Gina Andrews, apparently earned the wrath of the stewards and was fined £150 for not pulling up a beaten and tired horse.
Win number two came when the odds-on Captain McGinley ploughed through the heavy ground to come home a distance ahead of Honourable Henry in the four-runner Restricted.
In the Conditions Race the odds-on TheGirlFromMilan, handy throughout, won by ten lengths from Blazing Tom after surviving a last fence blunder.
Winning trainer David Gibbs, Bradley’s father, who owing to work commitments missed seeing the first of his son’s win and said: “I’ve trained a lot of no-hopers in my time, but its now nice to have some good horses to work with.”
West Wales’ Adrian Simpson has a share in all three of Gibbs’s winners.
The Timico Mixed Open race went to the Cotswold Vale invader Bally River Boy, a seven-year-old chesnut gelding, who, under 23-year-old James King, won by 18 lengths from the Byron Moorcroft partnered Union Jack D’ycy.
Bradley Gibbs’ mount Moral Hazard, the 5-4 favourite, finished a further ten lengths away in third spot.
Winning trainer Jake Slatter, who was full of praise for the organisers in staging the meeting under difficult conditions, said: “Bally River Boy can be a bit quirky at times and has been known to drop me.”
Winning rider King who has ridden around 70 winners said: “He’s a lovely horse who did a grand job. He’s just super.”
The closest finish of the day came in the opening Carmarthenshire Hunt Members’ race in which the eight-year-old Manhattan Mead got home by a neck from the favourite, Hospital, with Jack The Hat a further half-a-length away in third place.
However, Hospital’s owner/rider Elen Nicholas failed to weigh-in and was fined £60.
Manhattan Mead is owned by Gwyn Phillips and Paul Hamer, who also trains the horse, and was ridden by Ben Jones.
Ben is the son of Dai Jones MFH of the Carmarthenshire Hunt and who, like the winning trainer Paul Hamer, is a former Welsh champion point-to-point rider.
He was chalking up his 20th success and the odds are that we should be hearing more about this talented young rider in the future.
There were 11 starters in the Open Maiden Race For Horses And Geldings and this went to the Mickey Bowen trained Hidden Cargo, who, under Hereford-born Peter Bryan, beat the Llangeinor Hunt qualified Guiding Stars partnered by Sean Quinton.
Mickey’s younger brother James won the Garrad Silver Cup Handicap Chase at Ascot on the 33-1 outsider Valtor for Nicky Henderson.
Irish-bred Hidden Cargo is highly rated and Bowen said: “He’s an open horse running in a maiden.
“We will probably aim him at a hunter chase next year or the Dunraven Bowl at Chepstow in April.”
Six horses faced the starter for the Four, Five and Six Year Olds JRL
Group Flat Race over two miles and this was won by 10-1 chance Dr Kananga, who won by six lengths under Gloucestershire’s Danny Burton from the odds-on Geordie ridden by Peter Bryan.
Dr Kananga is owned by Ben Clarke and is qualified with the Seavington Hunt.
Winners and Starting Prices
Members: Manhattan Mead (Ben Jones) 11-4
Mares Maiden: Highway Jewel (Bradley Gibbs) 5-4 fav.
Horse & Gelding Maiden: Hidden Cargo (Peter Bryant) 5-2 joint-fav.
Timico Mixed Open: Bally River Boy (James King ) 9-4
Restricted Open: Captain McGinley (Bradley Gibbs) 4-6 fav.
Conditions: TheGirlFromMilan (Bradley Gibbs) 4-9 fav.
Flat Race: Dr Kananga (Danny Burton) 10-1.
