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Gelligaer Farmers
Lower Machen
Saturday 23rd May 2009
by
Brian Lee

Photos by Alun Sedgemore
http://www.sportingprints.biz

Point-to-Pointing in Wales really seems to have taken off this season with big crowds in attendance at most meetings.The Gelligaer Farmers fixture at sunbaked Lower Machen was no exception.

One rider who will have good cause to remember the meeting- when he finally decides to hang up his riding boots- is John Lewis Llewellyn, 38, who rode his 50th winner- 35 under rules and 15 between-the-flags- on Jason Parfitt's Find It Out in the members' race.


Fifty winners for John Llewellyn. Seen here on the left, on the way to winning the Members Race

Llewellyn, who is assistant trainer to his father Bargoed National Hunt trainer Bernard Llewellyn,chalked up his first winner under Rules on Rectory Boy at Cheltenham in 1991 and a week later his first between-the-flags on Marie Swift at the Banwen Miners meeting.

John, who used to deliver sacks of coal for a living - he was known in the Valleys as 'John The Coal' - rides only occasionally these days.However, he is still a good judge of pace and he managed to hold off the challenge of the long odds on favourite Mouseen, ridden by Welsh champion Rhys Hughes, on the run to the line to score by half-a-length.

Find It Out was successful in the same race last year when partnered by Isabel Tompsett. Tom David, who is having a cracking season, riding Justin Bryant's Classic Chance made every post a winning one to land the confined race and the blinkered nine-year-old,who has been described as ' a cheeky monkey', clocked the same time-6mins.8secs.- as when winning the restricted over the same course a fortnight earlier.


Classic Chance and Tom David jump the last on the way to winning the Confined Hunts Race

The mixed open race went to Pembrokeshire farmer David Evans's Makena, a 25-1 chance. Well ridden by Alan Johns,19, Makena, a multiple winner in France, won by two and a half lengths from the favourite Red Man after putting in a good jump at the last fence.


Entering the straight, the runners in the Mixed Open Race, at the picturesque Lower Machen course


Exiting the straight for the first time in the Mixed Open Race

Owner/trainer Robert Reddaway was hopping mad after his Fairly Glorious, backed from 7-1 to 2-1 favourite, held on by a length to win the restricted from Merthyrmawr.


The Restricted Race winner, Fairly Glorious and Sam Allwood, are seen here on the right alongside Merthyrmawr and Evan David

He told me: "It took us three and a half hours to get here from Devon and we came with the intention of having a good bet on our horse.But some b....... beat us to it and we didn't have a penny on.'' One bookmaker took three bets of £500 to £100 about the eight-year-old, and several other satchel men reported a number of £100 bets at 5-1 and 6-1.

Canndar, a seven-year-old bay gelding by Celtic Swing, who is owned by a Cardiff golf club syndicate, and trained by Abbi Vaughan in the Vale of Glamorgan, was an easy winner of the young horse maiden coming home a distance ahead of Cutlass Silver.


The winner of the Open Maiden Race for 5,6 & 7 year olds, Canndar and Rhys Hughes, can be seen here on the far right, alongside Slade Supreme (centre) and Meleeha

In the aged maiden, Clarby Express, owned by The Bar Five Racing (3) Partnership, headed by National Hunt trainer Dai Rees, and ridden by Josh Harris, won by four lengths from Shalati Princess. Canndar and Clarby Express are both destined to go summer racing.


Going down to the start "nicely" is Open Maiden Race winner Clarby Express and Josh Harris


Clarby Express getting his act together to jump the last to win the older horse Open Maiden Race


Cooling off after the final race

Well done to David Prichard,17, on winning the amateur riders flat race over two miles and one furlong at Bath races on John Flint's 20-1 outsider Corking.David, who was having only his second ride on the flat, made every yard of the running to win by a length from Black Or Red.

Welsh point-to-pointers did well at the two-day Stratford fixture. Overlut was a 12-1 winner for Rhys Hughes on the Friday evening and Bob Bites Back was beaten just three parts of a length. Then on Saturday, two Welsh point-to-pointers Lady Myfanwy and Cannon Bridge fought out the finish of the ladies' hunter chase with the former holding on by three quarters of a length.

Prolific Welsh point-to-pointer Chesnut Annie was made favourite but finished a disappointing fourth.The Welsh season comes to an end with the Pembrokeshire

fixture at Trecoed on June 6.However, Welsh horse racing enthusiasts are looking forward to June 18 when Ffos Las Racecourse stage their first ever meeting which will be a jumps fixture.

Gelligaer starting prices
Members: Find It Out (John L Llewellyn) 8-1
Confined: Classic Chance (Tom David) 3-1
Mixed Open: Makena (Alan Johns) 25-1
Restricted: Fairly Glorious (Sam Allwood) 2-1 fav
Young Maiden: Canndar (Rhys Hughes) 4-9 fav
Aged Maiden: Clarby Express (Josh Harris) 2-1 co.fav

Ffos Las fixtures
June 18 (Jumps), July 21 (Flat), August 28 (Jumps), September 13 (Flat), October 11 (Jumps), November 8 (Jumps), November 23 (Jumps) and December 21 (Jumps).

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