THREE meetings have been held in Britain since this column last appeared and there have been four Irish-bred winners at each.

The first of seven fixtures this season at Larkhill in Wiltshire was hosted by the Hursley Hambledon hunt on Sunday, December 1st when there was an upset in the ladies’ open. There, the Joe O’Shea-trained Ravished (4/6), who had started the campaign with a win at Cottenham two weeks earlier, was beaten a length by Southfield Theatre.

Trained by Sara Bradstock, whose daughter Lily was in the saddle, Southfield Theatre was bred in Ireland by Angela Yeoman who heads up the Southfield Racing Partnership, owners now of the 11-year-old King’s Theatre gelding. The bay, who is out of the Garde Royale mare Chamoss Royale, was winning for the fourth time in five starts between the flags and he also has a bumper, four hurdle and four chase wins to his credit.

The opening Tattersalls Cheltenham four and five-year-old maiden over two and a half miles was won by the 20/1 shot Pass Rusher who had failed to fire in three runs in the spring. The four-year-old Doyen gelding, who was ridden by James King, is owned by his trainer, Francesca Nimmo, and her husband, Charlie Poste, who purchased the bay from Ballincurrig Stud at Goffs UK’s Spring Store Sale in May 2018.

Reserve

Pass Rusher, who was bred in Northern Ireland by Joe Martin, is out of the unraced Presenting mare Coolrush, a half-sister to Rathowen (by Good Thyne) and to the dam of Midnight Target. This is also the family of Everett, Glenelly Gale and Cab On Target.

The Larkhill winner was consigned to Tattersalls Ireland’s National Hunt sale as a foal by Sunnyhill Stud, home of Doyen, as was his full-brother last month when he failed to reach his reserve and was brought home by Martin.

Co Galway-born but longtime English-based handler Rose Loxton got her season off to a good start when saddling Earth Leader to justify favouritism in the men’s open.

The two and a quarter-length winner was partnered for the first time by Angus Cheleda as Kanturk native Bryan Carver, who was successful on the six-year-old Presenting gelding in two hunter chases and an intermediate point last season, has since joined the conditional jockey ranks. Like Carver, former conditional Cheleda is based with Paul Nicholls.

ITV and At The Races presenter Luke Harvey sent out his own Raised With Praise to land the concluding three-mile open maiden on his British debut.

Ridden by Darren Edwards, the 2013 Getaway gelding ran five times in Ireland for Joe Casey, finishing a best-placed third in a six-year-old geldings’ maiden at Stradbally in April.

Raised With Praise, who was bred by Michael Conlon and cost Harvey £10,000 at Doncaster in May, is the 13th of 15 foals out of the unraced Be My Native mare Native Pine, a half-sister to the 12-time winner, Scotton Banks (by Le Moss).

Double for reigning champion Gibbs at Ffos Las

THE reigning Welsh champion, Bradley Gibbs, recorded a double last Sunday at Ffos Las at the Carmarthenshire Hunt fixture.

Gibbs landed the opening three-runner hunt members’ race on the Oscar mare Frelia, owned and trained by his father Dai, before doubling up in the concluding flat race for four and five-year-olds on the Roger Wilcox-owned and trained Wilcox And Co, a 2014 British-bred gelding by Dr Massini.

Riding Nerual, Gibbs had to settle for the runner-up spot in the Jockey Club mares’ maiden over two miles, five furlongs which was won by Kai Lenihan on the fellow 7/4 joint-favourite, Taboo.

Trained by Max Young, the winner was previously in the care of Philip Rothwell for whom she won a point-to-point and was placed over fences. Taboo, a 10-year-old daughter of Tikkanen, was bred by John Leckey out of the Lashkari mare Tasari.

Career

Philip Rowley sent out his fourth winner of the season when the Alex Edwards-ridden favourite, Wishing And Hoping, finished alone in the 12-runner mixed open. This was a third win in three point-to-point starts for the 12-year-old Beneficial gelding who won a bumper and two hurdle races when trained by Alan King.

The other Irish-bred winner on the seven-race card was the Sam Jukes-trained and ridden Shometheway. The six-year-old Presenting mare landed the restricted in the colours of Clive Bennett who had notched up his 100th pointing success as an owner at Larkhill on December 1st.

Seventeen-year-old student Alexandra Ingram had her first ride in the nine-runner conditions race and made it a winning one when the Tom Symonds-owned and trained Kaki De La Pree, having his first start between the flags in Britain, saw off the only other finisher, Dan’s Wee Man, by 20 lengths.

When trained by Pat Doyle for his wife Mary, the Kapgarde gelding won a four-year-old maiden at Dromahane in November 2011.

The 10-year-old Well Chosen gelding Navanman justified odds-on favouritism in the five-runner men’s open at Wadebridge on Sunday. The John Heard-trained bay, who provided Bryan Carver with five wins last season, was ridden for the first time in public by Darren Edwards.

Owner/trainer Holly-Anne Drowne recorded her first success in the saddle when landing the opening veteran and novice riders’ conditions race on the 11-year-old Shantou gelding Peterbrown. The 33/1 shot beat the beat the odds-on favourite, Hello George, by two and a quarter lengths. The other Irish-bred winners at this Cornwall Hunt Club fixture were the six-year-old Gold Well mare Goldbury in the intermediate and the year older Getaway mare Neetside in the restricted.