Point-to-point column: Somerville Boy shows age is no barrier to success!

Last week's Cheltenham Festival provided us with competitive racing and, for the point-to-point world, victory for the British-trained Barton Snow in the Princess Royal Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase was a highlight.

Trained by Joe O’Shea, owned by the MMI partnership and ridden by Henry Crow, the nine-year-old is a true Point-to-Point and Hunter Chaser having made his way through the ranks over the past 18 months. Connections have since confirmed he is set to head to Aintree in a bid to be the first horse since On The Fringe to complete the double of British champion Hunter-chases. 

Point-to-point-connected victories included Ask Brewster who became the first British point-to-point graduate to win at the Cheltenham Festival, and we witnessed many jockeys who started within the grass-roots sport ride winners on the greatest stage. 

Four Festival-winning jockeys all started their careers within the grass-roots sport. Ben Jones, Tom Bellamy, Charlie Deutsch and James Bowen all benefited from learning on the small stage. 

Evidence suggests our sport will long provide the perfect stage to learn the basics before establishing oneself as a National Hunt jockey. 

A poignant run came in the cross-country race where the popular Latenightpass ran his last race. Making his debut at Cottenham in 2017 this admirable little horse took connections to some wonderful places and retired sound aged 13. 

Whilst better known for his achievements under Rules in recent seasons, he started his career point-to-pointing and has become a household name within the sport, regularly followed and supported by fans.

Regular jockey and wife to his trainer Tom Ellis, Gina Andrews said: “He was our horse of a lifetime. Bred by Tom’s Mum, Pippa he has been a superstar. He ran 38 times, he won 13 and ran for eight consecutive seasons. He gave me the best day of my career winning the Aintree Foxhunters and made my dreams come true riding him in the Grand National.” 

Across a busy weekend we saw a number of doubles and trebles for jockeys, owners and trainers. In the north on Saturday at Hutton Rudby, Yorkshire-based 20 year-old Thomas Easterby, who is the son of dual-licensed trainer Tim, rode a treble and is a young jockey on the up.

These victories followed up a first hunter-chase win the previous weekend aboard his mother's Bellaney Lord.

Summerville Boy provided Easterby the first leg in the Mixed-Open and the 14-year-old who won the Supreme Novice Hurdle in 2018 shows no sign of his age. Winning on the horse for the third time, Easterby said: “He is a real professional who still loves his job and he won nicely.”

Easterby works full-time for his dad and has ridden 24 winners point-to-pointing, one hunter-chasing and six on the Flat. He said: “my goals are to ride as many winners as possible and remain amateur, I wouldn’t rule out turning professional, but not in the near future.” 

At the other end of his career, the talented and established Zac Baker enjoyed a double at Howick aboard the Jo Priest-trained duo Karaktere d’Enfer and Is Our Otis. 

Baker has had a long and successful partnership with Hereford-based Priest and they are no strangers to the winner's enclosure.

Baker, whose brother is former professional Flat jockey George Baker, has ridden over 150 winners is a well-known and popular member of the weighing room. He is now attached to the Tom Ellis and Gina Andrews yard and explained his role there: “I have been with Tom and Gina for three seasons, it has flown by! I am the ‘Zac’ of all trades, master of none! I do lots of the breaking in, riding, schooling. I do a lot of the miscellaneous stuff too, keeping everything working like the washing machines, drains unblocked, gallops managed, keeping the tractors and harrows all up to scratch. I float around doing a bit of everything!” 

Baker’s previous job was as amateur jockey to Nigel Twiston-Davies and a career highlight during that time was in 2017 when he won the Welsh Champion Hurdle at Ffos Las on The New One. He said: “It was a really special moment, Big Nige letting me have a go on his yard superstar, he was always the people’s horse so to be given the leg up was very special. It was an awful wet day but I couldn’t have cared less. It was amazing.” 

Now in his 15th season race riding, it would be easy to assume Baker's career was coming to an end, but he confirmed: “My love for race-riding still goes on, it isn't getting any easier as I get older, you still have to apply yourself and put a lot of effort in to keep yourself up to scratch. Trying to keep a constant flow of contacts and connections with nice horses is difficult, it is a real juggling act keeping everyone happy too. Jo Priest has been part of my life for eight or ten years now and we have had lots of success together. We started off with a winner the first time I rode for her and it keeps flowing! I am five winners away from riding 200 in total and I hope to achieve that soon.” 

He concluded: “I have been lucky, touching wood, with injuries. Collarbones and wrists along the way and many concussions but fingers crossed I can stay healthy and fit and I would love to reach 200 point-to-point winners. I will be 32 soon and would love to keep going for now - so give me three or four more years!”

Milborne st Andrew, Dorset, BH20 7JN. 6 races, first race 12.30pmSiddington, Gloucestershire, GL7 6HN. 6 races, first race 1.30pm 

Overton, Scotland, ML8 5QF. 6 races, first race 1pm 

Garthorpe, Leicestershire, LE14 2RT, 6 races, first race 1pm 

Ston Easton, Somerset, BA3 4EG, 6 races, first race 12.30pm 

Kilworthy, Devon, PL19 0JX, 6 races, first race 1pm. 

Fakenham, Norfolk,NR21 7NY. 6 races, first race 1pm. 

Dalton Park, Yorkshire, HU17 7PW, 6 races, first race 1.30pm.