F EATURE POINT-TO-POINTING
Pointing to the future
Graham Clark talks to top jockey and trainer Will Biddick about the fundamental importance of point-to-point racing
F or most Jump racing fans the Cheltenham Festival is the high point of the sport – the ultimate stage for both human and equine stars to perform on. However, as with all sporting greats, careers have to start – and finish – somewhere. Household names like Cheltenham Gold Cup winners See More Business, Denman and Native River are all equine graduates of point-to-point racing, while the likes of champion jockey Harry Skelton, Sam Twiston-Davies and Nico de Boinville are among the top riders who started out in much more modest surroundings. Essentially a form of amateur horseracing staged over fences, the ‘pointing’ scene does not fall under the rules of National Hunt racing. There are more than 100 point-to-point courses in Britain and for riders to be eligible they must be over 16 years old, hold a Riders Qualification Certificate issued by the Point-to-Point Authority and be affiliated to a recognised hunt. Leading jockeyWill Biddick combines riding with pre-training and breaking in horses. The 34-year-old has more than 450 point-to-point victories to his name, along with seven National Championships. He also has a Cheltenham Festival victory aboard the Venetia Williams-trained Something Wells in the 2009 Freddie Williams Festival Plate on his CV. He explains: “Point-to-point racing is the grassroots of the sport and that is what makes it so important. Not only is it a leg-up for the horses and a stepping stone for their careers, but it’s the same for jockeys and trainers as well. To get more horses, trainers and jockeys into National Hunt racing, you need to support the very basics of point-to-points. “For the public it provides a great atmosphere – it’s really relaxed and it’s somewhere you can take
your family and friends. But you also get a more behind-the-scenes view of the racing industry than you do at an actual racecourse.” Official figures from the Point-to-Point Authority show that 80 per cent of runners will race under Rules at some point in their careers, while 71 per cent of professional jockeys taking part last season had previously raced in point-to-points. Traditionally, it has offered horses in the twilight of their careers the chance to bow out at a lower level, but there has been a rise in the number of young horses going in the opposite direction, succeeding on the pointing scene and being sold at auction to jumps yards. Biddick adds: “Older horses are still going into point-to-pointing, but it is definitely becoming a bit more commercial with the four-year-olds and the trading of them. I don’t see that as a bad thing at all –
Owner of Porlock Bay, John Studd with Trainer Will Biddick and wife Harriet and son Archie
42 KALENDAR
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker