The point-to-point season has drawn to a close and the horses are ready for their summer holidays out at grass. We take a look back at the season in numbers, from prize money to impressive tallies of winners.
1 London 2012 Olympic silver medal-winning event rider Tina Cook saddled her first point-to-point winner when Peplum won at the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray on 27 April
2 Owner David Brace opened his seasonal tally with a double at the Harkaway Club fixture in December. He ended 2012-13 as leading owner with 21 wins
3 Page Fuller made it three out of three on That’s Rhythm in the AGA ladies’ series final at Stratford on 7 June
4 National and Harley novice champion Martin McIntyre became the fourth jockey — after James Cowley, Harry Derham and Conor Smith — to open his UK pointing account on the Richard Barber-trained Barneys Mate
5 The number of wins Mendip Express contributed to runaway national champion Will Biddick’s 39-winner tally
6 Philip Rowley saddled six winners at the Sir Watkin-Williams Wynn’s fixture on
10 March
7 The number of consecutive seasons that the Hobbs family have won the Minehead Harriers & West Somerset hunt race
8 Palypso De Creek won eight races to become the third Jill Dawson-trained horse — after Sweet Diana and Upham Lord — to win the national leading horse award
10 Nick Wright and Sally Randell tied for the inaugural Connolly’s Red Mills trainers championship (seven or fewer horses) with 10 wins
12 Owner-trainer John Hankinson enjoyed his first success for 12 years when Little George returned from a 27-month absence to win at the Mendip Farmers’ on 24 March
13 Harbour Court’s winning distance (in lengths) in Cheltenham’s Connolly’s Red Mills series final on 1 May
14 The number of times Peter Bull has won the south-east area veteran
riders’ Championship
18 Jamie Brown rode his first winner for over 18 years when Magic Maker won at Parham in April
25 David Renney rode as many winners (four) in 10 weeks with All Great N Theory as he had ridden in the previous 25 years
34 The number of winners saddled by the country’s leading trainer Richard Barber
35 The number of times Jacqueline Coward’s stalwart 13-year-old Narciso has won or been placed in his 38-race six-year point-to-point career
40 The starting price (40-1) of Corredor Sun, the winner of the season’s opener at Cottenham on 25 November 2012
50 The number of points Lady Dudley Cup winner Sybarite accumulated to secure the national leading young horse award
100 National champion and H&H columnist Jacqueline Coward recorded her 100th success between the flags on Artic Pride at the Middleton on 7 April
£500 The amount Pembrokeshire Hunt joint-master Wyn Morris paid at Ascot in December for his subsequent five-race winner Fair Point
931 Hexham farmer David Carr produced a superb training performance to bring Coastley back from a 931-day lay-off to win at the Haydon
£160,000 The price — a record for a point-to-pointer trained in the UK — paid for Larkhill maiden winner Vazaro Delafayette at Brightwells Cheltenham April sales
This article was first published in Horse & Hound magazine (20 June 2013)
