THE Torrington Farmers closed the 2022-23 British point-to-point season at Umberleigh, North Devon, amidst the usual party atmosphere, a tradition that has lasted for half a century, writes Granville taylor.

The features of the racing included Molly Landau securing the National Novice Ladies’ title with a last-gasp double, plus a four-timer for the Luke Price stable.

Molly was off the mark when Too Many Diamonds took the opening Devon & Cornwall & Wessex Area Conditions race sponsored by the Torrington Arms in the colours of Anthony Ward-Thomas. 

Trained by his owner at West Meon, Hampshire, the 12-year-old started the season in a Leicester hunter chase but came here off the back of four successive seconds in points. 

His young rider sent him clear of odds-on favourite Kimarelli entering the final circuit, and said afterwards: “He was a different horse to last time. I couldn’t hold him. At halfway Ella (Herbison) said she was flat out on hers (Macca’s Stowaway).”

That put Molly level with Amber Jackson-Fennell for the National Ladies’ novice title. 

She went on to edge ahead of Amber when Captain MC shook off the sustained challenge of Golden Poet (Alice Procter) to win the Mixed Open sponsored by Pilton Auctions and The Little Tack Room. 

This was the first leg of Price’s four-timer, and there may be more to come from the Mahler gelding next season. 

“He is going for a wind op which he needs and will improve him,” said the senior member of the Price team, Luke’s father Kieran. 

The Devon & Cornwall Grass Roots Awards is a new innovation this year, designed to encourage participation of family-trained and ridden horses under the valued sponsorship of The Totnes & Bridgetown Races Co Ltd.  

Saturday’s race provided the most exciting finish of the season, with the three runners charging down the run-n locked together and virtually inseparable. 

After a lengthy deliberation and with the aid of a camera, the judge settled on a dead heat between Flaminger (Daniel Cherriman) and Vermilion Cliffs (Callum Pritchard), with Ask Nile (Molly Landau) just a head away in third. 

It was a sweet success for Daniel Cherriman on the grey Flaminger, trained at Market Drayton by Heidi Brookshaw. 

The rider has a dozen career winners to his credit and is joint master of the South Shropshire hunt.  

He said: “I rode my first ever winner here in 2017 on Churchfield Champ and have not been back since.”

The Galileo six-year-old Vermilion Cliffs was giving jockey Callum Pritchard his ninth winner of a remarkable season which has seen him crowned National Men’s Novice Rider champion. 

“I thought I was beaten three out but he came again and we just led at the last. I was between the others and didn’t have much room but he was brave. I thought I had just won.”

James King rode the other two winners for the Price yard. 

Hold Your Fort made up for being unluckily carried out at Bratton last week with a hard-fought success over Tim Underwood’s Must Have Hope ridden by Philip York in the Barum Stud Intermediate. 

The winner looked held after the final ditch but rallied to regain the lead before the last. 

“I had to fill him up coming up the hill, then had to come round Phil’s. 

“He winged the last,” reported the winning rider, whilst 57-year old Philip York reported that his mount, “didn’t jump so well.” 

Any chance of Amber Jackson-Fennell sharing the Ladies’ Novice title disappeared here when Dr Time was pulled up. 

Worse was to come for Phil York when he took a nasty fall at the last in the Smallridge Bros Ltd Maiden when in third place on Oh Nelson. 

Both horse and rider were unscathed as Get Supreme went on to claim the prize in the Price’s familiar red and white colours.

“He was a bit disappointing at Bratton Down and I wasn’t sure that he would stay. He loved the firm ground though and I got a nice tow from Zac Baker(on runner-up Vango Vick),” said winning rider James King.

Price’s team, based at Ynysybwl near Pontypridd, are regular visitors across the bridge to West Country points, but Martin and Jane Wanless travelled even further from their base in sight of Bangor-On-Dee racecourse. 

Their 240-mile journey was rewarded as Aclassagold landed the Kivells-sponsored Tim Forster Memorial Restricted under Charlie Marshall, who was partnering his eighth pointing winner of the season and reported: ”The track suited him, he was strong up the hill and winged his fences.” 

The long-standing tradition of closing the point-to-point season in Devon in early June faces a threat – this time not from the usual suspects, but from within the hierarchy of the sport which is likely to mean in future a cut off for the season’s pointing fixtures at the end of May.   

The most jovial quote of the day – or indeed the season – came from Kieran Price, the senior member of the Price team in his lilting Welsh tones, no doubt buoyed by their successes; “We could do with an extension of the season not the other way,”