ROBERT Tector is the latest former rider in Co Wexford to have made the successful switch to the handler ranks after he sent out his first winner on Sunday with the victory of Sevenofus in the mares’ maiden.
In doing so the 27-year-old was the next generation of his family to enjoy success in the pointing sphere, with his grandfather Neville a former rider, and his father Neil sent out homebred Whowhatwherewhen to win a Bennetsbridge maiden in 2013 under Mikey Fogarty.
Their Coolbawn Stud bred A.P. McCoy’s 4,000th winner Mountain Tunes and it was another homebred which kickstarted the Rathnure native’s step into training.
“I bred Chapmanshype who has won eight races for Jamie Snowden,” said Tector, who has worked for Liz Doyle, Willie Mullins and Colin Bowe, coming second in a Punchestown open on Mullins’ former Grade 1 winner Marasonnien in 2016.
“We sent him down to Liz when I was working for her and he won a Punchestown bumper first time out. We sold him after and that was how I was able to put in the gallop. That started it all for me.
“I now have a six-furlong uphill gallop and a mile-and-a-half grass gallop that is open to the public during the winter called Coolbawn Gallops. Colin Bowe, Denis Murphy, all the point-to-point lads around here would be using it and it is great to have.”
Having initially tried to mix working for Bowe with his burgeoning pre-training business, rising numbers led him to go out on his own with 30 horses now under his care, 10 of which he could be saddling in the pointing fields from his yard on the family farm which his father continues to operate as a sheep and tillage farm.
Learning curve
“I learned a lot from Colin that last year. Each of the yards I went to, I just wanted to get as much experience as I could. I rode a few in point-to-point and bumpers to get a whole feel for it as well and it was a brilliant learning curve getting to see every side of it before training.
“Only for the support of everyone who has helped me out and sent me horses over the last couple years I wouldn’t have been able to get started.”
SCENES of celebration are something that have largely been absent from the winner’s enclosure at point-to-point fixtures throughout the past 18 months, however the victory of two syndicates in particular at Castletown-Geoghegan on Sunday made for a welcome sight with the successes of Out Sam and Ballydam.
The former is the latest horse to carry the colours of the Cullentra House Stable Staff Syndicate to success with a member of Gordon Elliott’s team aboard in the past year.
Elliott team
On Sunday, Carl Millar was following on from Cian Chester and Aubrey McMahon, who had each won at Umma House 12 months ago in the same silks in what is a very commendable initiative from Elliott.
Millar was welcomed back into the number one spot by a number of his colleagues from Cullentra House.
Separately, the victory of Ballydam brought more success for the eight-strong members of the Lonely Poet Syndicate who have previously campaigned open horse Heaney and older maiden winner The Bolder Boy in the past five years.
Syndicates such as theirs have been thinner on the ground in recent times and while syndicate ownership may feature heavily on racecards courtesy of the many commercial operations in the younger age divisions, the ownership of just 13 horses aged six and older with a hunter certificate at the beginning of the week featured ‘syndicate’ in the name.
Contrast this with British pointing where the Point-to-Point Racing Company website there has a dedicated section listing the many syndicates with horses specifically for point-to-points and hunter chases, pitched as “low cost, fun and sociable” ownership.
Recent prize money increases here ensure that the winner of races for older horses receives €1,225, a multiple of the £250 that the winner of the highest value race at the opening fixture of the British season later with month will receive.
Sunday’s scenes are ones you would like to see more of and an emphasis could be put into driving affordable ownership back into point-to-pointing as the sport emerges from the pandemic.
Red Vision out of sight by 10 lengths
COLIN Bowe has now won the older maiden on consecutive Sundays with what looks to be two above-average performers for the age division. Red Vision (90++) overcame a near two-year absence to win a slowly run race by an easy 10 lengths. In beating a 106-rated hurdler he more than proved his well-being.
It takes a decent four-year-old filly to beat her male rivals, a feat Secret She Keeps (85+) achieved in very game fashion.
Wasdale Park (89+), touched off by a head over hurdles at Kilbeggan during the summer, came from off the pace to win going away and should have little difficulty doubling up soon.