Ready steady Freddie

Perfect intro

Patience is a virtue

Glory for Gloria

Racing is a small parish. In the world of horsecare, with less than 20,000 horses in training across the entire UK, it's not quite a trusim to say that everyone knows everyone, but it's not far off the truth. 

Even in the pyramid of excellence, there'll be connections between liverymen and breaking yards and licensed yeards, where the public profile is that much higher. And whilst much of the public visibility of the sport is inevitably soaked up by the top leaders of the game - both trainers and riders - the exploits of people further down the food chain are appreciated by all; witness the admiration of fellow riders toward James Best on winning his first Grade I chase in the Scilly Isles in mid-February.

So, despite the fact the yard contained little more than a dozen horses, the loss of the personable Mark Bradstock last week was keenly felt throughout. All along the Berkshire downs, and a great deal further afield, Mark had made his presence felt in the sport across a career spanning 40+ years. 

Mark first came to prominence as assistant to the remarkable Fulke Walwyn, who for many years held the record for the most winners at the Cheltenham Festival, before the growth of the sport inevitably allowed others to rise above him. Walwyn was a scion of the sport in the seventies and eighties, and still of the generation that made their way in the sport from the military and from hunting. His record of 40 Festival winners between 1946-86 remained unbeaten until only 2012, when Nicky Henderson finally reeled him in. 

Mark was no slouch in the saddle himself as an amateur, enjoying some 18 winners, notably as stable amateur for Walwyn, who trained for the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth, a keen supporter of the Jumps game. 

Marriage to Sara inevitably kept him in the racing game, Sara being daughter of none other than John Oaksey, rider, columnist and immense enthusiast for the sport, also a trustee and driving force behind the Injured Jockeys Fund. It wouldn't have been a difficult decision to try his hand at training back in 1988. But if truth be told, the Bradstock empire was never going to be huge.

This was, from the off, what some might call a boutique operation. On no occasion over that 36 year period did the yard's runner count exceed 50, and the 8 winners enjoyed in the 2014-15 season were largely embellished by the exploits of one novice, Coneygree, whose apogee was to beat seasoned chasers in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. It was a classic case of the little man winning big, last seen when Syrrel Griffiths drove Norton's Coin from his Welsh sheep farm to win the same race in 1990. 

Coneygree was not the start of a massive influx of horses however, and it's doubtful whether Bradstock would have wanted to rise ti the challenge of a megastable. His was an altogether more intimate association with his horses. With small numbers, he enjoyed disproportionate success, including a first running of the Jewson Novices Handicap Chase (now superceded by the conditions Turners Chase) at the Festival in 1995, and a Hennessy (now Ladbrokes Trophy) with Carruthers in 2015.

The stresses of running even a small yard manifested themselves in a heavy smoking habit. The Bradstocks were well known for their bonhomie and open household.

Latterly, daughter Lily has been keeping the racing tradition alive, particularly with Southfield Theatre, winner of multiple open races these past few seasons between the flags. 

The racing world passes on quickly, but it is to be hoped that the popular Bradstock will leave a lasting legacy well beyond the exploits of one or two thoroughbreds.

Eagle-eyed followers of Point-to-Point racing may have identified a key clue in pursuit of the winner of the St James's Place Foxhunter at the Cheltenham Festival in the gloaming of an otherwise unremarkable day at Wetherby last week. 

Hunter chases no longer fill the way they used to and often produce small fields where the more companionable atmosphere of the Point-to-Point scene draws more. They used to call it "pot-hunting", with the Foxhunter trophy the largest pot there is, both in race value and the sheer size of the trophy.

Wetherby's Join the Vickers Racing Club Open Hunters Chase included Sine Nomine in its 5 runner field, last seen winning the John Corbett Cup, aka the novice championship, at Stratford in late May where she impressed. Trained by Catterick Clerk of Course, Fiona Needham, herself no stranger to success in the Foxhunter, the grey mare Sine Nomine made full use of her mares' allowance to score here authoritatively with Benny's King and Windsor Avenue far in arrears. 

After the race, rider Jack Dawson told the Racing Post that the plan would be to head straight for Cheltenham.

West Country point-to-point rider, Keagan Kirkby, 25, has died following a fall at Charing point-to-point in Kent yesterday.

His horse, trained locally by Hannah Grissell, ran out through the wing of a fence on the second circuit of the final race. The on course Medical Team attended immediately and despite additional support from a 999 Helicopter Emergency Services Crew, he could not be saved. 

Keagan was a respected member of the Paul Nicholls team, who joined in 2019 and who had been awarded employee of the month in December 2021. He was shortlisted for the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards in the Rider / Groom category 2024.