THE reigning British ladies’ champion, Gina Andrews, is assured of claiming the title for an eighth time when the season ends on June 13th as she currently heads the Skinner’s leaderboard on 23 wins with Izzie Marshall on six, one ahead of Chloe Emsley.

In the battle to secure the men’s championship, James King tops the standings on 19 as Will Biddick and Bradley Gibbs share second place on 15.

Unfortunately, seven-time champion Biddick broke his ankle in a fall on Sunday at Upcott Cross where earlier he had to pull up the fatally-injured Cheltenham and Aintree winner, Unioniste.

On the same afternoon, Andrews and Marshall partnered a winner apiece at Kingston Blount, fighting out the finish of the ladies’ open.

Marshall tried to make all on the Alan Hill-trained Back Bar but this even-money favourite was headed at the last by the Andrews-partnered Deans Road (5/4) who stayed on dourly to score by a neck.

The winner, a 12-year-old Golan gelding owned by his breeder Michael Creed and trained by Andrews’s husband Tom Ellis, was one of four Irish-bred winners on the seven-race card.

The quartet also included the Hill-trained Gold Well gelding Normofthenorth who brought up a hat-trick under Marshall in the intermediate.

James King’s association with trainer Francesca Nimmo continues to pay dividends and here they landed division one of the opening maiden with the 5/4 joint-favourite, Night Duty, who was making his debut.

The five-year-old Kalanisi gelding, who was bred by William Bourke out of Lerichi (by Shardari), was previously in the care of Donnchadh Doyle.

Division two went to the Dale Peters-trained and ridden Mountain Assault (4/7), a seven-year-old Mountain High gelding who was having his sixth start between the flags. Bradley Gibbs kept tabs on his rivals when claiming the men’s open on the Ryan Potter-trained French-bred, Don Bersy.

Upcott Cross

As mentioned above, Will Biddick travelled to Upcott Cross on Sunday where he had mixed luck riding for the Chris Barber yard. He landed division one of the maiden on the French-bred Hermes Du Gouet, showing his skills on the four-year-old newcomer by Saddler Maker, but broke his ankle when falling at the last in division two on the leading Wandering Soul.

This left Josh Newman in front on the Keith Cumings-trained eight-year-old Flemensfirth gelding Don’t Ask Us, one of four Irish-bred winners on the seven-race card.

The riding honours went to Co Waterford’s Conor Houlihan who works for Biddick and won the opening conditions race on Raddon Top. That eight-year-old Getaway gelding is trained by Leslie Jefford for Sue Trump who bred the British Sport Horse gelding Mr Chunky on whom Ireland’s Padraig McCarthy won team and individual silver at the 2018 World Equestrian Games.

Houlihan completed a double in the concluding conditions race on the Mary Tory-trained Imogens Thunder, a 10-year-old Stowaway gelding.

Holnicote

There were five Irish-bred winners at Holnicote last Saturday including the James King-partnered 11-year-old Presenting gelding More Buck’s, who justified odds-on favouritism in the men’s open for the Michael Bowen yard, and the Will Biddick-ridden, Charlotte Budd-trained Rien du Tout, a nine-year-old Curtain Time gelding who landed the intermediate.

Bradley Gibbs combined with owner/trainer David Brace to record a double with two 1/2 shots viz Robin Des People, an 11-year-old Robin Des Pres gelding, in the older horses’ conditions race and the British-bred six-year-old Dr Massini gelding Gats And Co in the two and a half-mile restricted.

May 1st

Four meetings were held over the Bank Holiday weekend starting on Saturday, May 1st at Flete Park where James King and Francesca Nimmo combined to record a double with two of the four Irish-bred winners, viz Dr Time (restricted) and For Rita (conditions).

Co Galway-born Tommie O’Brien won the opening maiden on the British-bred Lucky Lucarno while the reigning British men’s champion, Jack Andrews, landed the concluding two and a half-mile maiden on The Rosary Flyer who was having his second start for Tom Ellis. The six-year-old Robin Des Champs gelding was previously trained by Dan Skelton.

There were five Irish-bred winners on the seven-race card at Dingley the following afternoon including John Nallen’s former charge Minella Friend who won the four-mile mixed open for rider Billy Chatterton and trainer Phil Rowley.

Jack Andrews completed a double in division one of the maiden on the David Phelan-trained Pollards Fen, a six-year-old Sans Frontieres gelding (ex Shy Sheila, by Rashar) who was having his third start.

John Dawson didn’t have a ride in the ladies’ open at Witton Castle on the Sunday but did in the other six races.

He finished second four times but returned to the No 1 spot twice including after the men’s open which he won on the Cherry Coward-trained Royal Chant. The Dawson-ridden Sine Nomine was beaten three-parts of a length in division two of the maiden by the Lottie Crane-trained and ridden Master Thyne, a seven-year-old Masterofthehorse gelding who was one of five Irish-bred winners at this meeting.

Mollington

Horses bred in this country won half of the eight races at Mollington on Bank Holiday Monday.

The quartet included the 10-year-old Westerner gelding Rio Bravo, who provided Bradley Gibbs with the first leg of a training/riding double, and the year-older High Chaparral gelding Thumb Stone Blues who won the veteran horse conditions race under his trainer, James King.

The Andrews siblings both rode winners, Gina claiming the second division of the two and a half-mile maiden on the David Phelan-trained eight-year-old Darsi gelding, Ivebeentold.