Chepstow’s Robert Stephens and Cowbridge’s Evan Williams both saddled winners at Taunton (writes Brian Lee).
Stephens, like Williams a former amateur rider, won the Invest South West Handicap Hurdle with Beltor, who was racing in public for the first time in 624 days, and Williams scored with recent winner Railroad Junkie in the Age UK Somerset Handicap Chase.
Beltor, ridden by TJ O’Brien and a 5-1 chance, won by three parts of a length from the well fancied Evan Williams trained Gwalia and Railway Junkie, well supported at odds of 5-2, won by two-and-three-quarter lengths from the Oliver Sherwood trained Broughtons Rhythm.
Rainroad Junkie bolts up in the Age UK Somerset Handicap Chase for Evan Williams and Adam Wedge 👏⚡️ pic.twitter.com/zmf4EnlPOT
— Taunton Racecourse & Conference Centre (@TauntonRacing) December 30, 2018
Hudson Yard, a four-year-old filly who scored at Chaddesley Corbett, has unofficially become AP McCoy’s first trained winner of a point-to-point.
The daughter of Yeats was listed in the racecard as being owned and trained by Ciaran O’Brien, who is head groom at McCoy’s Lambourn yard.
However, O’Brien gave the credit to 20-times champion Jump jockey McCoy.
“This is the first horse we’ve run in a point-to-point and didn’t want to over-do the publicity so she ran in my name, but AP has done all the work on her,” he said.
The Robert Stephens trained Beltor out battles Gwalia to return to winning ways for the first time since 2015 in the Invest Southwest Handicap Hurdle 🙌 pic.twitter.com/CaIf5aeTIE
— Taunton Racecourse & Conference Centre (@TauntonRacing) December 30, 2018
“She was difficult when she first came to us, but from the moment we started schooling her she changed completely.
“We’re running a pre-training yard, but it’s quieter in the middle of winter so we decided to have a couple of pointers to keep things ticking over – we’ve got this one and a five-year-old called It Might Work who could be running next month.”
2019 Point to Point fixtures:
JANUARY
Sunday 6
Sunday 6
Sunday 13
Sunday 13
Sunday 13
YORKSHIRE AREA POINT-TO-POINT CLUB
Saturday 26
Sunday 27
Sunday 27
Sunday 27
Sunday 27
Sunday 27
FEBRUARY
Saturday 2
Sunday 3
Sunday 3
Saturday 9
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY DRAGHOUNDS
Sunday 10
CHADDESLEY CORBETT, WORCESTERSHIRE
Sunday 10
Sunday 10
Sunday 10
Saturday 16
Sunday 17
Sunday 17
Sunday 17
Sunday 17
Sunday 17
Sunday 24
Sunday 24
COUNTRYSIDE ALLIANCE CLUB (WESSEX)
Sunday 24
Sunday 24
Sunday 24
Sunday 24
Sunday 24