point-to-point-racing/2023/belvoir-garthorpe-26mar23" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Photos of the Belvoir meeting at Garthorpe.

A four-timer for Jack Andrews and trainer Tom Ellis at Garthorpe on Sunday completed another remarkable feat for the unstoppable G&T Racing team, as they finished the weekend with ten winners from ten runners across four different meetings.

The first of the team's wins came in the Restricted race, sponsored by Fairfax Saddles, where Pippa Ellis' Latenightrumble came home four lengths ahead of James Henderson's Bloodstone, with George Henderson in the saddle. " He's a much bigger, longer, slow burn developer than the rest of the family", Tom Ellis told me, before adding that Latenightrumble will now go on holiday until next season.

The Roythornes Intermediate race saw Jack Andrews first across the line again, this time on All Is True, this time for The Oak Partnership. This was a well-timed race, during which Frisson Collonges (Fred Henderson) and Tekap (Archie Wright) had been prominent before the winner had taken over the lead with two to jump to win comfortably. "He's an exciting horse for the future, our lad, and he will now head for the Intermediate final at Cheltenham", Tom Ellis said.

Bawnmore was the third of the Ellis team's winners, making history in the process as the winner of the longest race at Garthorpe in memory. The Chandlers Country Stores Conditions race was run over 3 miles and six furlongs and three starters all made strong contributions to the pace. Amber Jackson-Fennell led for much of the race on the eleven-year-old In Arrears after Sugar Baron and Archie Wright had set the early pace. Jack Andrews played a waiting game, staying with the other two until two out, then moving through to win this one by eight lengths from Sugar Baron, after In Arrears pulled up.

Finishing the day with the last of the four winners on the card, Andrews brought Pep Talking, a five-year-old by Pether's Moon, home in front of Horizon Dove (Paddy Barlow) in the last race, The Teigh Old Rectory Bed and Breakfast 2 mile 4 furlong Maiden.

The blue riband race of the day was the Ineos Grenadier Mixed Open race. David Kemp had Rebel Dawn Rising in this, an odds-on favourite despite being very unluckily brought down at Fakenham in the Robert Hoare Memorial Hunter Chase on 17^th March. Here, he made all, but as David Kemp said to me afterwards, “he just did enough”, as he ran in comfortable ahead of Janika (Rupert Stearn for Edward Turner) and First Drift (Jack Andrews for Maximillian Kendrick)

Earlier the opener had seen a welcome return to the Winner’s Enclosure for Jon Barlow who won the W. Spence and Son Hunt Members race with Barrack Hill, piloted by Paddy Barlow. This was one of the closer finishes on the day, as Kelly Morgan-trained Chahuteur came out of retirement for one last race under Tom Chatfeild-Roberts for his Father John. Becky Smith’s Square Viviani was in the race until the final turn and finished third.

The three mile Maiden was sponsored by Skelton Farms and Ponton Grange Liveries and was a match race between the Andrew Pennock-trained The Pier Field, ridden by Amber Jackson-Fennell and Money Spinner, trained by Nick Wright and ridden by Archie Wright. Despite being a typical match race, the finishing time was only about ten seconds slower than the mixed open, as the ex-Philip Hobbs hurdler Money Spinner made all to finish nine lengths clear of The Pier Field who made a mistake at the second last and never got back into it. Archie Wright said, “He really suffers from anxiety so we’ve just tried to keep it simple with him. We don’t really have a plan for him but he feels like a fast horse despite being bred as a stayer.”

Midlands Pointing now looks forward to the Easter weekend with two meetings to look forward to. On Easter Saturday the Pytchley with Woodland will host their point-to-point at Dingley and the South Notts are our hosts at Thorpe Lodge on Easter Monday.